New tile, now beardie hasn't eaten for 6 days. Help!

[Ack]

My beardie is around 6 months old (give or take, the pet store wasn't sure of his age when I got him). I've had him for about 4 months and he's been healthy and eating well. I feed him dubia, collard, mustard, and turnip greens. He has UV, temperature, etc. all correct as recommended in the care sheets on this forum.

6 days ago I replaced the repti-carpet on the bottom of his cage with slate tile. Since then he won't eat a thing. Right before I changed them he was eating normally, right after I changed them he went on a hunger strike. He's had absolutely nothing to eat for the past 6 days, and he's starting to become noticeably skinnier. I'm getting worried.

I keep dubia in the bowl he used to eat from and greens in his greens bowl. Several times a day I try to hand feed him a dubia and he always just turns his head away. He used to happily eat them from my hand any time I offered.

Any advice? What should I do? I understand they can sometimes get stressed when you change their enclosure around, but how long should it last, and how long can he go without eating before I should get worried?

 

[wmwelch]

I would be more worried about dehydration, so make sure that you are soaking him in warm water for about 15 to 30 minutes on a regular basis. I have had beardies go on mini hunger strikes, but they usually can't resist when I offer them baby food through a needless syringe. A favorite is a mix of turkey and squash, you can also mix some calcium or multi vitamin into the baby food. I usually thin it as needed with either some pedialyte or water. Then put a little on his mouth. As goofy as it sounds if one of mine still doesn't start eating right away, I start licking my lips right in front of them, and they usually will mimic me and then start eating once they get a taste of the baby food.

Wendy

 

[Ack]

Thanks. I managed to get a little baby food squash with calcium powder into him. I'm not sure whether he actually liked it or was just licking to get it off of his face. I dripped it onto his nose and he'd lick it off as it dripped down. He wouldn't come to the syringe, though. And eventually he started running away from it so I didn't force the issue so I wouldn't stress him out anymore.

He still won't touch bugs or greens, and we're now on day 7 of no eating (aside from a few CCs of babyfood squash.

Oh, and he does get a bath every few days for at least 15 min. He explores the tub, licks the water, and basically acts as if nothing's wrong.

Any more help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!