Not eating anymore? Help!

[colbsteroon]

My beardie hasn't been eating his crickets/small superworms anymore. (they are smaller than the space between head). His basking temps aare 105-110 and he has been pooping every other day due to the fact that he doesnt eat much anymore. He might eat 1 or 2 crickets but other times he just looks at his food like hes gonna eat it but then carries on.

Any suggestions? thanks

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. How old is he? How long have you had him? Can you give a run down of the set up?

 

[colbsteroon]

well i cant really tell you the age but he is over 13 inches including the tail and i've had him for 2-3 months. I have a UV light and basking lamp, a newspaper flooring, a water bowl, some fake branches, and sometimes i put in a bridge. I also put in veggies some time, but he never eats them. the only veggie he actually ate and likes is corn, which i feed him once every 2 weeks maybe...

 

[destiny1998]

Can you get more specific about yor set up? Like what are the temps and how do you take them? What kind of uvb light? Tube, coil or compact? What's the brand? How big is his home? Don't put a water dish in there. Beardies hardly drink from standing water and it raises the humidity in the tank. Also his diet should be 80% veggies and 20% protein. Here is a site for what to feed beautifuldragons.com. He needs to have salad every day. And having corn every two weeks is not salad. Maybe you could feed veggies in the morning and offer live feeders in the afternoon.

 

[disturb3d0n3]

At 13 inches he is still growing. Mine is 10 inches and only 5 months so I'm not sure I'd enforce the 80% greens 20% protein diet just yet. I could be wrong..

But as Destiny said, corn is definitely not "greens". If he keeps this up you might want to get a fecal done to be sure there's no parasites or anything that's causing this loss of appetite.

 

[colbsteroon]

well i bought a bunch of greens and made him salad, but like i said before, he just won't eat them...

 

[MikenIke]

Try getting some waxworms and put like two in with the greens. My beardies really like collard greens. If not he might need a fecal exam to check for parasites.

 

[colbsteroon]

hmm... would that be a little fattening?? if i did do that how many waxworms in each dish and how many times a week?

 

[nursejones813]

Hi! You should put a salad in everyday. If you are going to try to put wax worms in it to entice him, I would just put a few in. The best way I found for my Beardie to eat his greens, is to put some on his basking spot along with in his dish. Slick likes mustard greens and butternut squash. (He's 4 mo. and 16") You can also try some different worms if he is bored with crickets. Calci worms are good. And you can leave them in his cage all day so he can get them when he wants. What kind of UV do you have?

 

[colbsteroon]

k so ive been giving him collard greens and mustard greens every day but he wont eat it, but he has been very lazy and not moving and sleeping every chance he gets (every time i take him out and put him on my bed he will dig under pillows and sleep) is he brumating or just being lazy?

 

[nursejones813]

You're unsure of how old he is? What kind of lighting do you have? Be specific. I didn't see that in the thread earlier.

 

[colbsteroon]

nope i dont know his age. maybe 5-6 months? i have a compact uvb with a basking bulb that raises to 105-110 degrees

 

[nursejones813]

Compat UVBs are not good for Beardies. Try a reptisun 10.0 tube. You can get an under the cabinet light fixture at Walmart for like $8. Then mount it inside the tank with Velcro or command hooks. You can pick up a reptisun 10.0 at some pet stores or online.

 

[colbsteroon]

oh cool, i wil try that! i thought they were $30 and my parents would never buy that, but still... why isnt he eating? is he brumating?

 

[nursejones813]

They usually don't Brumate until they are a year or so old. But they are very sensitive to lighting, and temperature. So, that could be the cause. But, if your not sure how old he is... Does he shed often still?