New guy, with some issues :(

[Woodsman]

First off, great community! I've been lurking and researching - finally got my beardie about two weeks ago. Out of the gate, having some problems. Long post, so I'll include a TLDR.

He's a small "fancy," probably quite young. Bought from a big box, unfortunately, due to availability. I also feel bad for those guys and wanted to rescue one... although I generally don't like to contribute to their business model. Enough on that though.

He's about 5-6 inches long without his tail. I have him in a 20g to start out while I build his adult enclosure, kept the decor simple with a faux rock archway to bask. The first night, he ate 5-6 crickets. I figured it was because he'd been fed at the store etc. Second day, nothing. This continued for the next few days, although I did see him eat a mouthful of greens one day. Collard and Mustard green mix and some acorn squash is available in his dish all day.

I thought maybe it was the crickets, so I switched to BSF larvae. The first day I tried them, he ate about 9 in one feeding, nothing in his second feeding and nothing on a third attempt. It's now been another week, no sign of eating anything at all.

I've checked, double checked, triple checked his temperatures. I'm using a Reptile UV Mega-Ray as a bask-UVB combo, its gets a touch hot in the dead center of the light, about 112 F, so he seems to bask slightly out to the side of the center. Checking the temp where he basks it's about 103-105F. He does pop his head into the hot part occasionally though. I have a halogen flood light on the cool side, on a dimmer, and keep it at 80-82 degrees.

Overall, he basks upright, he isn't lethargic, he has strength and energy, but he's skinny and stopped eating.

TL;DR:

So I'm worried about his eating habits. The first week, ate once on the first night and once on the fifth day. It's now a bit over two weeks. Is this common?

UVB is Reptile UV Mega Ray, 112F dead center, he basks slightly off center at a 103-105F area. Cool side is 80-82F.

At first I was convinced we has just settling in. Now I'm getting worried. At what point should I "force feed" or try baby food on the nose etc? Should I try other foods like superworms? I'm planning to take him to the vet - but I know they will need a stool sample, and no food = no poop.

Thanks for any help!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....can you post pics of him as well as the tank ? Here's how:
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
Then use the XIMG button
Also, how are you hydrating him ?

 

[Woodsman]

Here is his enclosure, too much going on?:



And a pic of him under the Mega Ray:

 

[Woodsman]

For hydration, at first I just left the bowl of water in his tank. I did see him drink from it once... otherwise after he settled in the first week I've given him a bath twice, which he drank both times. I'm hesitant to handle him too much just yet but wanted to make sure he at least started drinking.

 

[AHBD]

That's a very nice set up, it's possible that he could be a little overwhelmed, a little dehydrated but he still looks good although a tad thin. So if you include his tail he's about 10-11" ? He's a bit small for superworms, if you do get any for him be sure they are between small + medium at the most, and only a few at a time. Crickets, dubias, Phoenix/calci-worms are all good choices. Offer him water via syringe or eyedropper on his snout or give him more frequent baths since he's drinking in them. You can try baby food as well but I think he'll go for the live food if you keep offering it. If he doesn't start eating well within another week or so you might get a fecal test done to rule out parasites.

 

[Woodsman]

My main concern is letting him go hungry really. I'm not sure when to intervene and force feed or try to trick him etc. How long should I let him go without eating before I resort to drastic measures? I won't be able to get a fecal sample if he doesn't eat SOMETHING at some point.

He seems to eat new food when it's introduced (ate crickets the first night, never again. Ate BSF larve the first offering, never again) so I thought maybe try varieties until he settles on something. Superworms were the first that came to mind.

It's now the 9th day since I've seen him eat, and the fourth day since he's pooped.

 

[AHBD]

Getting him hydrated can help his appetite. Then try squishing a cricket or other insect until the guts come out the back. Then lightly rub it on his snout....sometimes that will et them to eat. And you can offer baby food squash, green beans or make your own slurries. Sometimes a probiotic will help with the appetite [ Benebac, Acidophiliz +, soy yogurt ] eventually he will poo again + you can get it checked. But for now, try the things I mantioned, water is important.

 

[Woodsman]

Thanks for the input. It's very possible that he isn't getting proper hydration, it was kind of a balancing act between the need to put him in the bath to drink and allowing him to settle in (ie not handling him too much too early). I'll try the dropper idea while he acclimates.

Hopefully things improve, I'll update the thread. If anyone else has other ideas or things I haven't thought to look for please chime in.

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear that your little guy is worrying you, he sure is adorable. I agree with you that 9 days is a long time for a little one to go without eating. It's certainly worth a try what AHBD about squishing a cricket & rubbing it on his nose. If that doesn't work though, rather than waiting any longer, I would recommend picking up some squash, green bean or sweet potato baby food as well as some chicken or turkey baby food. You can mix some of one of the meats with a portion of one of the veggies, then use a plastic medicine dropper or needleless syringe to put drops on his nose for him to lick off. You can even add a small pinch of calcium to the mixture. Babies can't go very long without protein so that's where the meat babyfood will help give him a boost.

Be sure to keep him very well hydrated too as that is very beneficial.

Please be sure to keep us updated on him. Hope his appetite kicks in very soon.

 

[Woodsman]

This morning he ate one cricket. It's progress, I guess. It had fallen into his water bowl, he grabbed while it was struggling. That gave me the idea to maybe drop few into his water and he'd get them... alas, he stared... raised his tail like he was going to grab them... I waited... nothing.

Sigh. Going to get baby food today.

 

[diamc]

That's good that he at least ate one. Hope he takes to the babyfood well.

 

[Woodsman]

Well, one more update.

Turns out, little dude LOVES roaches I went to the pet shop and picked up one of everything, lol. Small superworms, waxworms, small dubia roaches... Tried one by one of everything. When I got to the roaches, he came alive!

Of course, he did this with the crickets on the first night, and the BSF larvae on the first round, too. He ate about 7 of them one after the other before he stopped chasing them when offered.

Hoping that he continues eating this way, I'll update later in the week. Progress!

 

[diamc]

That's great. Hopefully he will continue to grab them like that. You must feel so much better.

 

[Woodsman]

Couple of updates.

First, I grossly miscalculated his size. He (or she) is about 6-7 inches in total. I guess I'm bad at judging size, but here we are.

Second, in a 10-15 minute feeding period, he eats 2-3 roaches. That's it. I do this 3 times a day, he eats between 5-7 roaches a day at this rate. He will chase them down after he eats a couple, but then just stare at them.

So my new question is, am I worrying too much? This number of bugs is dramatically lower than what I'm reading from others (10-20 crickets in one feeding), maybe it's due to his small size? Some of the roaches I'm feeding him are "walking the line" of being too big, but they are all within the space between his eyes. They are just really "wide" and I'm concerned. His pooping schedule is every other day since he's been eating again.

 

[AHBD]

It's possible that they are just at the size where they could be causing discomfort or at least filling him up more quickly.