New Beardie Not Eating Much

[tayloranne]

Hi everyone — I know this is a pretty common issue and I’m probably just stressing myself out over nothing, but was hoping to get some reassurance. My new beardie Hawke was shipped to me in NC from FL, and arrived six days ago. Since then he seems to have settled in really well, aside from the fact that he hasn’t been eating much. When I fed him this morning, he ate three dubias and a phoenix worm, which has been about the usual since he got here. Sometimes he will also eat the occasional cricket as well or nibble at his salads. He does seem more willing to go after the dubias than anything else, so I’ve ordered more that will be arriving Tuesday.

I know relocation stress is probably the cause, along with the fact that he seems to be about to shed quite a bit. He’s already shed most of his legs, and his body/head are significantly less bright than the rest of him. Still, I just want to make sure he’s doing alright. I’m already so attached to the little guy, and I definitely don’t want to be starving him or anything!

For reference, he’s in a 40 gallon breeder, has a 100w halogen floodlight on a dimmer on the basking side, an 18” Reptisun 10.0 tube UVB, and a digital thermometer with a probe to measure temps. I keep the probe directly on the basking rock, which stays around 105-110. The cool side stays around the upper 70s. In spite of not eating much he does poop daily, and it has always looked normal. Currently he is on reptile carpet, but on Friday I picked out tiles and will be picking them up on Monday (the shop couldn’t cut them for me until then). Thanks for any advice you can give!

If it helps, this is him, taken just a few minutes ago.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

Have you contacted the breeder for advice? I note that you have had him for a week. He should be eating more then three roaches and one or two phoenix worms a day. It can take a couple of weeks for them to adjust from relocation stress. Provided that he does not completely stop eating and does not become lethargic, I would see if his eating picks up. If his eating does not increase around week 2, I would get a fecal test done for parasites. However, if he starts completely refusing food, losing weight, sleeping or dosing off during the daytime, or if his poo becomes runny or smelly I would schedule a vet appointment now and not wait to the end of two weeks for relocation stress to subside.

 

[tayloranne]

Thanks for the response, Daisy. That’s just about correct, it’ll be a week exactly on Tuesday. Aside from not eating much, he seems great — really active, doesn’t really hide at all, and doesn’t mind at all when I handle him outside of his viv. His appetite seems to be slowly increasing each day. He had a pretty impressive amount of his salad earlier today, and ate a few more roaches. The weirdest thing to me is that he goes after any roaches I give him almost immediately, but will almost completely ignore any crickets that are offered. I’m thinking they might be too small, or something.

I have already located a reptile vet nearby, so I can take him there if need be. I have read that it’s not always a good idea to get a fecal when you first bring them home, since the stress can cause parasite numbers to increase, but I’ll follow your advice and have one done if he starts to seem sick or goes much longer without eating enough!

 

[DaisyDragon123]

You are correct about not doing parasite testing while a dragon is still going through relocation stress because the parasite count may be unduly high because of the stess. Theoretically if the dragon has something like coccidea at an acceptable level prior to shipping and going to the new home it will be higher during the relocation period but should adjust back down to an acceptable level once the dragon is settled in good. Sometimes, however, the level gets too high resulting in an earlier than anticipated visit to the vet. Watch his eating. It should be increasing during his second week with you.

 

[tayloranne]

Yeah that definitely makes sense about the potential increase in parasite numbers. Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it! I'll do as you suggest and see how he does as we head into week two. With any luck, his appetite will pick up and everything will be fine -- otherwise I'll be sure to give the vet a call sooner rather than later.