New owner / Baby not eating :(

[lindsey87]

Hello all!,
I recently got a beardie for my birthday a few weeks ago, and I am starting to have some concerns about my little Stanley :/ He was bought at PetCo on September 8th, and seemed very happy, healthy and alert. PetCo said that they were not sure how old he was but he is only about 6 inches long. He is in a 10 gallon aquarium..I know that he will need a bigger one soon we are in the process of building him an upgraded home His lights come on at 7 a.m and I put in a fresh salad for him around 8 but he has never had any interest in eating the salad. I then give him crickets around 10 a.m. and up until about a week ago he would chase down the crickets and he loved them (they were extra small crickets, no larger than the space between his eyes) and would eat ~50 total in a day. Then, i purchased Phoenix worms for him and oh boy did he love those even more. Then, he slowly started not chasing the crickets and would only eat them if they were right in front of him. Now, he has gone to not eating anything at all and just seems to be laying around all day. I give him warm baths every other day to keep him hydrated and put little drops on his nose for him to lick off, and sometimes he will do lick them off, but not all the time. I was getting very worried about the little guy because he seemed to be losing energy and alertness so i bought him some baby foods and was feeding him those and "force feeding" phoenix worms until I could get him into a vet.
Well, last night I took him to the vet and she said he was very tiny (8 grams). For starts I read on here that you are to give them as many live feeders as they want in a 10-15 minute period which is what i was doing. The vet asked me how many crickets I was feeding Stanley and I told her that he would eat ~20 crickets in a sitting. She then told me that was way too many and his primary diet should be greens not live feeders and that it was probably my fault that he is not doing well because I gave him too many crickets and they scratched his throat which is why he is not longer eating. I feel HORRIBLE! could I have caused my little stanley harm?! Also, I read on here that loss of appetite could be from parasites, so I asked her if that was possible and she said not likely and said nothing else about it. She gave me DMG vitamins to give him daily and said to crush up greens and fruits to also syringe feed him. I hate thinking that I did this to me little guy. Is it possible that I did feed him too many crickets?! If anyone could give me some more advice i would be forever grateful! I want to do anything I can to help my poor little guy!!


PS - he is on non-adhesive shelf liner
his cool side is ~80 and his basking spot is around ~105
he does not have a water bowl in his home
zoo med 50W basking spot lamp
Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture (* i ordered the ReptiSun 10.0 last night online, should be here within 3-4 days)
There is a screen on top of his tank but I cut out the areas where his lights are so he gets full UVB rays

 

[MissFirefly]

I hate saying this but please don't take your vet's advice. As babies and juveniles they should be getting appropriately sized feeders 2-3 times/day and as much as he can eat in a 10-15 minute span so you were doing that correctly. He should also have a salad available every day though he might not each much of it as his age.

What are you measuring your temps with? Getting a proper heat gradient is very difficult in a 10 gallon tank so I'm worried the readings might not be correct. The new UVB should also help boost his energy and hopefully help stimulate his appetite.

Is he pooping daily? If not, he may have a mild impaction which could also decrease appetite.

 

[lindsey87]

Thank you for your response! I was shocked when she told me that I fed him too many crickets. I was actually worried I wasn't feeding him enough crickets. But is it possible that his throat is scratched from the crickets? I felt horrible when she told me that and said that it was my fault he wasn't eating. I made sure that they were no larger than the space between his eyes. I also do provide salad for him every morning before I give him crickets and leave it for him to eat throughout the day.

I was using the stick on temp gauges but then I read on here that they can be inaccurate (which they were) so I went out and bought an Acurite thermometer with a probe. His basking spot is on one far end and the cool end is on the side so I'm am trying to get the best heat gradient possible for him.

When he was not eating he was no pooping. However, he would sometimes have just the urate after I would give him a warm soaking. I also rad on here that soaking in a warm bath and gently massaging their tummies could help with impaction so I was trying that, but I don't think he was impacted I think he was just not pooping because he was not eating. But now that I am force feeding him with a syringe he is pooping. He pooped last night and this morning a little while after I fed him.

Is there anything else you would suggest to do? I want to do whatever I can to help my poor little guy out. I feel so bad for him.

 

[MissFirefly]

It's very unlikely the crickets scratched his throat especially since they were the right size.

Also, contrary to what you vet thinks parasites can cause a dip or loss of appetite in bearded dragons. Is there another vet near you? I'd call and find out what they charge to do a fecal test as it will be good to know if that's the issue or something that can be ruled out as a possibility.

I would continue syringe feeding but also continue to offer feeders. You may also want to try something else aside from crickets like dubia roaches, butter worms, or silk worms. Something different might catch his attention.

 

[lindsey87]

Well, that is the vet that the worker at PetCo told me to take him too. He also told me that I did not have to pay for the vet visit that PetCo would pay for it which I thought was considerate of them to do. I also asked another vet in my area what he thought and he was actually worse than the lady I took him to. He told me not to bring him in that the amount of crickets that I fed him was waaay too much and I more than likely caused internal damage to his organs by a protein overload? I also addressed the idea of parasites to him and he also turned it down and said no to a fecal. There is one more vet i'm going to contact and see what they have to say about him. Along with crickets I also am offering him Phoenix worms but he closes his eyes to those as well. Do I have to buy the other feeders you suggested online? or do you know if they are available at PetCo or Petsmart? Thank you so much for taking time to help me! I appreciate it so much!!

 

[AHBD]

Hi Lindsey....I agree with the others that your vets are way off. Most vets are not experts, many have never raised baby dragons to adult the way many of the owners on here have, and the amount of crickets you fed was fine, as long as they were the right size. Your problem is almost certainly from the bulbs you have which reportedly produce the wrong UVB wavelengths. I would strongly advise against a fecal test, a baby beardie doesn't tolerate meds. well, and in his condition the meds. could make him worse. You may need to turn off the bulb you have, also a 10 gallon tank is much too small for a proper heat gradient, they should never be sold as starter kits. I've raised beardies for many years, and the advice about feeding as many as they will eat is correct, as long as the size is right. The advice about feeding more veggies applies to when they get older....they shoild eat greens in some amounts when they are small, but they need lots of insects to properly grow. I believe your problems are all from the wrong set up that these stores continue to sell. You are best off with the Reptisun 10.0 UVB long tube , a regular housebulb for heat, and a 20 gallon tank so there is enough room for a hot side [ about 105 ] + a cool side [ about 77- 82 ]

 

[lindsey87]

AHBD,
thank you for your response! I appreciate it very much. this site has helped me so much. I trust the advice given on here which is why I was feeding him the way that I was, and all the vets I talked to are just making me feel like a horrible owner I'm in the process of building him a bigger home now. and I ordered a reptisun 10 uvb tube light online so it should be here within a few days. Would you suggest that I turn on the zilla uvb tube light I have now until the reptisun comes in? I just want to do whatever is necessary for him to get back to his perky happy self and all of the vets I talk to are making me feel horrible.

 

[Alaskadeanna]

I too have had bad luck with beardies from petco getting sick. I would find a vet who would do a fecal. Fecals aren't usually that expensive. I pay about 28-30. Especially since he is from petco parasites are a worry. Most employees don't have extensive knowledge on animals that petco is selling. (My petco here recommends sand and compact UVB bulbs) trust your gut. It is your baby!

 

[Alaskadeanna]

I would also look in to jump start by zilla. It is a appetite stimulant and a caloric supplement.

 

[lindsey87]

Yeah, petco also tried to sell me sand for his substrate, which I knew was not good for them. But they also were nice enough to pay for a vet visit for my little guy, so I'll give them credit there. I purchased Fluker's Repta+Boost will that work the same as the Zilla?

 

[Alaskadeanna]

I tried the repta boost and didn't really like it. My little guy wouldn't take it. But the jumpstart is fruity and he took it a lot better.