NEW MOM TO A JUVENILE BEARDIE WHO REFUSES TO EAT

[nena]

Hi,

I brought Charlie home exactly one week ago. He was born on April 9th and its about 9-10 inches with the tail ( i havent' measured him yet) He would only eat kale... i tried giving him collard greens, green squash and chikory but he didnt even touch those at all... so i got him more kale... he didn't poop over the weekend which had me worried sick reading all these stories of impactation... but on monday he finally pooped and has done so every day since... he was eating a lot of crickets before... but since monday he's only eating a few and seems not to like to be around them at all... i use a separate rubbermaid container to feed him... (its about the size of a breeding tank.. just a little taller) so i would put him and the crickets in there for about 15 minutes... but since last night he gets really streesed being there and just stands on his back feet like reaching out to me to take him out... im new to the whole thing so i have really nothing to relate to... i also tried giving him some grapes and bluberries but again he didnt touch those either... he also doesnt like to be watched while he eats... if im stading over him he looks up.. or he hears me talking... so he gets distracted and wont eat so i put him in the middle of the room and peek at him from behind the chair to make sure he is eating.. that's how i noticed he didnt really eat much this morning... i also feed him twice a day in the morning and at night.. i haven't given him a bath yet but i will tonight... i mist him twice a day after eating... im sorry i am all over the place but im just jotting down the things that i remember... im not sure if there is something wrong with charlie.. but i just wanted to get it out threre to people that relate to the cause.. since i find myself telling my friends over happy hour "gee my charlie wont poop what's wrong with him?" just to get the weirdest looks!!! lolz... anyways you guys are amazing! and i hope i can get some insight as to whether i am doing the thing right or not...

ohhh some stats on his viv and lights.

Charlie's home is a 50 gallon tank (48"Lx13"Wx18"H)
He has a 48" fluorescent strip with 2 reptisun 10.0 bulbs
and a 100Watt hood basking light
his temps are 105-111 on the hot side and 84-87 on the cold side
I have an infrared thermometer
He has ramps that take him to be about 6 inches from the fluorescent on the cold side
and a tree to bask on the hot side
he sleeps on his sleep log
ohhh and i forgot he poops right in front of his food tray?! is that why he's not eating the greens?? omg i am a mess... i hope you guys understand what i mean!!

thanks~~~

 

[Hopefulresearch]

Maybe just relocation stress, but I'd keep an eye on it. Have you tried baby food? Many people say this works. I know yours isn't quite a baby still but its worth a shot.

 

[andrewrobinson2]

Beardies are focused by moveent crickets could be too fast. You should try him with Waxworms (Not melee worms) Ive had mine since he was a baby and he loves them.
If all else fails there is nothing wrong with him eating veg but mineral Suppliments added to them would be a good idea for his development.

 

[Valex]

Waxworms should not be fed as a staple, they are way too fatty. They can cause fatty liver disease. They should only be fed as a treat a couple of times a week. But some dragons are known to refuse any other food once they have had waxworms.

One of my dragons will not eat in a seperate container and has to be fed in his enclosure. I would try feeding in the enclosure.

 

[Neromom39]

I agree with Valex... if your baby is not eating outside of the viv, then even though it is a pain to remove everything for crix, it is worth it. I just lost a baby (2 months old) about 3 weeks ago because we could not get him to eat.

Take a few of the crix and put them in a baggie and then into the frig for about 15 - 20 min. This will slow them down. After you place them in the viv, the heat will start to revive them and once they start wiggling, your beardie should nom them right up.

Worth a try - and they really don't like to be watched when they eat, do they ?

 

[nena]

thank you all for the replies.... he ate better yesterday... i just orderded him more crickets and should get those soon i think the ones i got him mightve gotten too big for him and also i was keeping the live crickets with the dead ones... so they smelled really bad maybe that's why Charlie wasn't eating them either... im gonna see how he does today and tomorrow... if he continues not to eat much i guess i will start feeding him in his tank... now how about phoenix worms? can those be used as a staple? and silkworms?? im trying to slowly switched into a diff staple protein so i dont deal with the crix anymore...

 

[Abe]

I feed my little guy in his viv, it is a pain to catch the crickets. But he does eat most of them i throw in.

 

[nena]

Oook so to update all... Charlie was shedding... and i think that might've been why he wasn't eating... i didnt get a chance to try feeding him in his viv, cause for the past 3 days he's been eating like he hadn't eaten in days... i think sunday morning he must've eaten about 50 crix or more in 15 minutes... and in the afternoon he ate another batch of 50 or 60... i was so excited!! so for the time being he's eating great! even the big crix, the crix company made a mistake and sent me 3/4" crix instead of 1/2" that i ordered... i was a little freaked out about impaction and everything... but i figured if they were too big Charlie wouldn't eat them... but he did eat... and lots of them! i am getting a new batch of 1/2" tomorrow but to be honest Charlie ate most of the 3/4"... lolz... and he is pooping regularly every day... one thing though... in 2 ocassions he pooped in his eating container :| is that not good?... and on his viv he also poops right in front of his greens tray... but lately he poops near his basking tree as well.. its like a guessing game when i get home... lol...

 

[Neromom39]

Yay Charlie!!!

Shedding really has a way of making your dragon seem like it has bigger issues, doesn't it? :wink: Then they get rid of the old skin and they are a whole new dragon - appetite and all!