New Baby Beardie won't eat - No idea why not

[ColeDWestin]

Just got my little Ryu last weekend. He's 4 months old and I want him to have a good life with me. I'm already having troubles with getting him to eat, but I legitimately have no idea why. I've followed all the advice I could from some experts (one guy has owned bearded dragons for over 20 years), yet nothing works.

First couple of days, he ate his crickets (properly dusted with calcium powder) without issue. Little nibbles of his veggies, but otherwise no complaints. Now he won't eat at all. Nothing besides an odd cricket if it is right in front of him. He otherwise ignores his crickets (or runs away when I place them in front of him). Just sits on his basking spot or hides inside his little rock cave. Attached is a picture of his cage and everything I use with it before I set up and put him in it, all brand new and bought alongside him. Temperatures are 96 F in the hot zone, 90 in the cool, and atop the log (basking) is 106. I use Desert Substrate as flooring.

(Note: The cage used to belong to my previous Bearded Dragon - Safi - who passed away 7 months ago).

Crickets are 2 week old ones. Smaller than the gap between his eyes, so not a choke risk. Veggies are mix of Bok choy, some kale, and pieces of pepper with nutrition pellets snuck inside.

It's possible he's still stressed out from the moving to a new home, but I legitimately cannot think of anything I'm doing wrong that makes him turn from gulping down all he can to not touching a thing like he has. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[KarrieRee]

Just got my little Ryu last weekend. He's 4 months old and I want him to have a good life with me. I'm already having troubles with getting him to eat, but I legitimately have no idea why. I've followed all the advice I could from some experts (one guy has owned bearded dragons for over 20 years), yet nothing works.

First couple of days, he ate his crickets (properly dusted with calcium powder) without issue. Little nibbles of his veggies, but otherwise no complaints. Now he won't eat at all. Nothing besides an odd cricket if it is right in front of him. He otherwise ignores his crickets (or runs away when I place them in front of him). Just sits on his basking spot or hides inside his little rock cave. Attached is a picture of his cage and everything I use with it before I set up and put him in it, all brand new and bought alongside him. Temperatures are 96 F in the hot zone, 90 in the cool, and atop the log (basking) is 106. I use Desert Substrate as flooring.

(Note: The cage used to belong to my previous Bearded Dragon - Safi - who passed away 7 months ago).

Crickets are 2 week old ones. Smaller than the gap between his eyes, so not a choke risk. Veggies are mix of Bok choy, some kale, and pieces of pepper with nutrition pellets snuck inside.

It's possible he's still stressed out from the moving to a new home, but I legitimately cannot think of anything I'm doing wrong that makes him turn from gulping down all he can to not touching a thing like he has. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Your temps are off--- they need to be 105-110 surface basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer you want 2 in the tank --- - the UVB needs to be unobstructed meaning NO screen it looks to be of a fine mesh like a screen door - its blocking 30% of your UVB rays -it needs to be 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor piece- cool side is too hot -- you want 80ish ambient temps - once these are in order he should start eating more but his appetite will really pick up when he adjust to his tank and surroundings -- please get these fixed and then watch his behavior -- please add fresh salads to his diet --- Nutrition Content ignore the kale info it is outdated --- its a good staple feeder I would also add some BSFL to the tops of his salads they are a great salad lure www.symtonbsf.com you will need a bowl similar to this Amazon.com '
feed as many as you want they are a great staple feeder and great for babies -- he should be getting vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week lightly coated on his insects and calcium D3 5 x per week lightly coated on the insects -- do not dust the BSFL - they are calcium enriched - make sure hes hydrated by giving water on his nose w/ spraying so he can lick or use a eye dropper -- his poops will tell you if hes dehydrated --- if the urate is dry looking hes dehydrated - you want it formed moist and white --

 

[ColeDWestin]

Your temps are off--- they need to be 105-110 surface basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer you want 2 in the tank --- - the UVB needs to be unobstructed meaning NO screen it looks to be of a fine mesh like a screen door - its blocking 30% of your UVB rays -it needs to be 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor piece- cool side is too hot -- you want 80ish ambient temps - once these are in order he should start eating more but his appetite will really pick up when he adjust to his tank and surroundings -- please get these fixed and then watch his behavior -- please add fresh salads to his diet --- Nutrition Content ignore the kale info it is outdated --- its a good staple feeder I would also add some BSFL to the tops of his salads they are a great salad lure www.symtonbsf.com you will need a bowl similar to this Amazon.com '
feed as many as you want they are a great staple feeder and great for babies -- he should be getting vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week lightly coated on his insects and calcium D3 5 x per week lightly coated on the insects -- do not dust the BSFL - they are calcium enriched - make sure hes hydrated by giving water on his nose w/ spraying so he can lick or use a eye dropper -- his poops will tell you if hes dehydrated --- if the urate is dry looking hes dehydrated - you want it formed moist and white --

Your temps are off--- they need to be 105-110 surface basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer you want 2 in the tank --- - the UVB needs to be unobstructed meaning NO screen it looks to be of a fine mesh like a screen door - its blocking 30% of your UVB rays -it needs to be 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor piece- cool side is too hot -- you want 80ish ambient temps - once these are in order he should start eating more but his appetite will really pick up when he adjust to his tank and surroundings -- please get these fixed and then watch his behavior -- please add fresh salads to his diet --- Nutrition Content ignore the kale info it is outdated --- its a good staple feeder I would also add some BSFL to the tops of his salads they are a great salad lure www.symtonbsf.com you will need a bowl similar to this Amazon.com '
feed as many as you want they are a great staple feeder and great for babies -- he should be getting vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week lightly coated on his insects and calcium D3 5 x per week lightly coated on the insects -- do not dust the BSFL - they are calcium enriched - make sure hes hydrated by giving water on his nose w/ spraying so he can lick or use a eye dropper -- his poops will tell you if hes dehydrated --- if the urate is dry looking hes dehydrated - you want it formed moist and white --

Managed to get the cool side down to 80 with some adjusting, and basking temp to about 108. Basking spot is also a bit closer to the lamp, within the range you suggested.

Gonna buy the various greens tomorrow when I get a chance. Kale will mostly go to my meals going forward, though he seems to nibble on it a bit now and then. Got an order of BSFL on the way as well, so that should help food wise.

Poop seems to be as described. Dark brown, with white urate. Gave him a bath too, just to be safe. I think dehydration might be the culprit, but I'll update if things change. Or if they don't.

Thanks for the support/advice.

 

[KarrieRee]

Managed to get the cool side down to 80 with some adjusting, and basking temp to about 108. Basking spot is also a bit closer to the lamp, within the range you suggested.

Gonna buy the various greens tomorrow when I get a chance. Kale will mostly go to my meals going forward, though he seems to nibble on it a bit now and then. Got an order of BSFL on the way as well, so that should help food wise.

Poop seems to be as described. Dark brown, with white urate. Gave him a bath too, just to be safe. I think dehydration might be the culprit, but I'll update if things change. Or if they don't.

Thanks for the support/advice.

Baths will stress- him out - I would rinse the greens and use the dropper or drop water on the snout

 

[ColeDWestin]

Baths will stress- him out - I would rinse the greens and use the dropper or drop water on the snout

Seems I can't do anything right here. Poor guy...

Now I got a new problem: somehow the tank is now too hot. 90 in the cool zone, up to 125 in the basking spot (which I immediately moved away from).

Should I change my bulbs to a weaker level so they won't be as hot? Doing so might have UV issues though.

 

[KarrieRee]

Seems I can't do anything right here. Poor guy...

Now I got a new problem: somehow the tank is now too hot. 90 in the cool zone, up to 125 in the basking spot (which I immediately moved away from).

Should I change my bulbs to a weaker level so they won't be as hot? Doing so might have UV issues though

how are you getting the temps? Are you using a digital probe thermometer? Surface basking temps 105-110-- move the one basking bulb off the cool end of the tank -- you want only one end w/ your basking bulb- and your UVB --- you can set up different spots for basking under the UVB --

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Just got my little Ryu last weekend. He's 4 months old and I want him to have a good life with me. I'm already having troubles with getting him to eat, but I legitimately have no idea why. I've followed all the advice I could from some experts (one guy has owned bearded dragons for over 20 years), yet nothing works.

First couple of days, he ate his crickets (properly dusted with calcium powder) without issue. Little nibbles of his veggies, but otherwise no complaints. Now he won't eat at all. Nothing besides an odd cricket if it is right in front of him. He otherwise ignores his crickets (or runs away when I place them in front of him). Just sits on his basking spot or hides inside his little rock cave. Attached is a picture of his cage and everything I use with it before I set up and put him in it, all brand new and bought alongside him. Temperatures are 96 F in the hot zone, 90 in the cool, and atop the log (basking) is 106. I use Desert Substrate as flooring.

(Note: The cage used to belong to my previous Bearded Dragon - Safi - who passed away 7 months ago).

Crickets are 2 week old ones. Smaller than the gap between his eyes, so not a choke risk. Veggies are mix of Bok choy, some kale, and pieces of pepper with nutrition pellets snuck inside.

It's possible he's still stressed out from the moving to a new home, but I legitimately cannot think of anything I'm doing wrong that makes him turn from gulping down all he can to not touching a thing like he has. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’d stick to calcium without D3, they get all they need from proper UVB which you have. They can overdose pretty easily,

 

[Chris.]

Seems I can't do anything right here. Poor guy...

Now I got a new problem: somehow the tank is now too hot. 90 in the cool zone, up to 125 in the basking spot (which I immediately moved away from).

Should I change my bulbs to a weaker level so they won't be as hot? Doing so might have UV issues though.

You could also get a dimmer switch if you are using a standard dimmable bulb.
It's what I do as you obviously can get away with much less wattage during summer and their temperature preference shifts towards cooler temps when they become adult.
Can you maybe mount the UVB inside the tank?

 

[KarrieRee]

I’d stick to calcium without D3, they get all they need from proper UVB which you have. They can overdose pretty easily,

The baby needs calcium D3 5 x per week and only ONCE per day till hes approx one year old - lightly coated on the insects - when he turns a year old then the calcium needs to go to a calcium w / out D3 no phosphorus 1-2 times per week lightly coated on the insects - the T 5 will help him produce calcium

 

[J4ckdaw-]

The baby needs calcium D3 5 x per week and only ONCE per day till hes approx one year old - lightly coated on the insects - when he turns a year old then the calcium needs to go to a calcium w / out D3 no phosphorus 1-2 times per week lightly coated on the insects - the T 5 will help him produce calcium

Hmm… well, at least that’s what I’ve been told.

 

[ColeDWestin]

My apologies for not responding sooner. I was actually running around making necessary changes to ensure his tank was built up correctly the last day and a half. The heat issue was due to a brainfart on my part (I was moving the heat lamps too close together and not noticing the obvious. I blame it on panicking for my new beardie. It has been fixed, and temperatures are at 80*F (Cool), 95*F (Warm) and 108*F (Basking) now.

To answer Chris' question, my original UV light was juuuust a bit too big to fit inside the cage. (The frame could fit, but then I couldn't plug it in after. If it was just 2 inches shorter, then I wouldn't have needed to scramble and look around for a new frame)

I've just finished adding a new UV Light frame (same model as the original, but a smaller size) inside his tank at the 12 inch mark. Almost immediately, Ryu has perked up and started eating again. Still doesn't quite trust me 100% (still acclimating to his new home) but at least he's eating and drinking again without issue.

I apologize again for my lack of reply, and I thank you immensely for fixing my tank so he is doing better. If you see any issues with my new set up, please let me know, and I'll fix them to the best of my ability.

Thanks again.

(For those curious - Ryu is Japanese for Dragon)

 

[KarrieRee]

My apologies for not responding sooner. I was actually running around making necessary changes to ensure his tank was built up correctly the last day and a half. The heat issue was due to a brainfart on my part (I was moving the heat lamps too close together and not noticing the obvious. I blame it on panicking for my new beardie. It has been fixed, and temperatures are at 80*F (Cool), 95*F (Warm) and 108*F (Basking) now.

To answer Chris' question, my original UV light was juuuust a bit too big to fit inside the cage. (The frame could fit, but then I couldn't plug it in after. If it was just 2 inches shorter, then I wouldn't have needed to scramble and look around for a new frame)

I've just finished adding a new UV Light frame (same model as the original, but a smaller size) inside his tank at the 12 inch mark. Almost immediately, Ryu has perked up and started eating again. Still doesn't quite trust me 100% (still acclimating to his new home) but at least he's eating and drinking again without issue.

I apologize again for my lack of reply, and I thank you immensely for fixing my tank so he is doing better. If you see any issues with my new set up, please let me know, and I'll fix them to the best of my ability.

Thanks again.

(For those curious - Ryu is Japanese for Dragon)

Please get a piece of decor directly under the uvb 12-15 inches- it's too close on the ends

 

[ColeDWestin]

Please get a piece of decor directly under the uvb 12-15 inches- it's too close on the ends

Done and done. I measured, and it's just over 12 inches directly over the basking spot - temp at 105-106*F

 

[Chris.]

That's good news he's eating and drinking. Your setup looks really nice, he will enjoy it very much when he's acclimated.
Is that a sock on the left side?

 

[ColeDWestin]

That's good news he's eating and drinking. Your setup looks really nice, he will enjoy it very much when he's acclimated.
Is that a sock on the left side?

Yes it is. One of mine to help him recognize my scent easier. When he smells the same smell from the large hand entering his cage, he’ll know it’s friendly.