Not Eating much!

[Lisafosc]

Hi guys,
We have two juv dragons, both males approx 13inches and 14 wks old. Apart from thier colour the other huge difference in them seems to be thier appetite and size, I cant tell you how much they weigh as do not have scales, however there is a vast difference in thier size as in head size and stomach! Theo the fat one goes crazy for food as soon as you approach the viv with thier food bags, but Draco this week has been REALLY hard to feed. I thought there may be some kind of pecking order (although there are no signs of dominance atm, dont worry another viv is on its way and they will be seperated within a couple of weeks, as they are both males.) so have been feeding them seperatly made no differance, so have also tried feeding Theo 'the fat one' first and then removing him to feed Draco.
They are bathed daily and both drink, neither will eat much veg or fruit, but Theo eats some at least, i feed them rocket salad, with grated squash as a staple, then occasionally we add blueberry's, grape, carrot, peppers. All food is dusted daily, but 2x a week I dust with Nutrobal. We feed 4th crickets daily also dusted, small meal worms in the evening again dusted and wax worms as treats.

They live in a 90cm x 45 x 45cm Exo terra viv with the appropriate Exo terra setup, all working fine, all temps fine and taken with probe thermometers.

Draco is eating a small amount daily, for instance today he ate 2 x crickets and 2x mealworms. He seems healthy other than this, and does look like he has lost weight!

Any idea's what is wrong??????

Please help

 

[minipumpkin]

hi, a few things we need to know before we can help.

what uvb light are you using?
what sort of spot light (basking light) are you using?
what is the substrate?
what are the temps?

meal worms arent very good for beardies as they can cause impaction. you said you used nutrobal 2 times a week and the rest calcium?

 

[AHBD]

Even if one doesn't seem to stress the other, it probably is being stressed just by the mere presence and close proximity of the other.They all have different personalities. Once he is in his own enclosure he should [ hopefully] get on track, and even then don't let them view each other through the glass. It's good that you feed them separately. By the way, are they siblings, purchased from the same place ?

 

[Lisafosc]

All Exo terra lights, sun glow spot, desert uvb 10.0 and 5.0 temps all good! Its the Exo terra set up so light enclosed in the slot on hood, seperate spot, google the Exo terra setup will be easier for you to check it out there.

Yes other dust is calcium.

Yes the dragons are siblings, from same store at the same time, had them for a few weeks and have been doing great. Except for Draco now! He will reluctantly eat very little!

Other viv has been ordered but may take two weeks! How long can he go on just eating a couple of bugs a day? When should I try baby food and such like?

 

[Lisafosc]

Thanks for your time by the way guys, REALLY apprechiate it Lis xXx :wink:

 

[alkemisten3]

All Exo terra lights, sun glow spot, desert uvb 10.0 and 5.0 temps all good! Its the Exo terra set up so light enclosed in the slot on hood, seperate spot, google the Exo terra setup will be easier for you to check it out there.

Yes other dust is calcium.

Yes the dragons are siblings, from same store at the same time, had them for a few weeks and have been doing great. Except for Draco now! He will reluctantly eat very little!

Other viv has been ordered but may take two weeks! How long can he go on just eating a couple of bugs a day? When should I try baby food and such like?

Very likely it is because of dominating behaviour etc. etc.
Dragons can survive quite long without food, mine was doing 0-3 crickets a day for weeks unfortunately, and I tried everything that I knew of (in those days).
Now I know solution was simply that she has bad case of pinworms and before possibly coccidia I suspect.

Have you taken em for a fecal test? SO worth the money!
If you still find them picky eaters after separation, try Repaid, might work wonders! See thread about the "miracle product":
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=114920
www.Reptaid.com 8)

 

[Lisafosc]

No not done a fecal test with them yet, only had them since Christmas eve, but is on my next to do list! Only one of them is being picky, the other eats like a horse, which is why I agree it is prob dominating behaviour, at least the new viv is on its way! If one had parasites wouldn't the other?

 

[AHBD]

With parasites, one could have a higher amount of them, and a stressed dragon would suffer more and the parasite load would most likely flourish more in it. It's great that he's still eating some, and, yes, he may do better once he's on his own. The good thing about beardies is that they are hardy, and he should do fine with the proper care and re-arranging of his living quarters. When you get the new viv, try putting Theo the hearty one in so the weaker one doesn't have to be stressed by a new enclosure again.

 

[Lisafosc]

Yeh thanks thats great advice as I was going to put Draco in the new enclosure as he pays more attention to the glass surrounds, i had ordered a wooden one to put him in to try to reduce the stress he seems to feel, about having glass sides as well as the front!

i feel much happier being reassured that he will be ok eating small amounts for a while.

I am trying my best to get him to eat crickets only, but as he only eats a couple then refuses to eat any more, i am tempting him with mealworms and waxworms, just so he eats more than he would (if just offered crickets), do you agree this is the right thing to do? Or do you think he should just have the two crickets he is eating?

 

[AHBD]

Yes, the meal and waxworms are fine, just to keep him going. Crix are to be preferred but mealworms are not the " poison" that some people make them out to be. Babies can become impacted by them, but larger dragons can easily eat them. Make sure to dust with calcium powder, and be sure he has appropriate basking [ 105 F] temps. so he can digest properly.

 

[Lisafosc]

Yeh temps are good, and I dust all foods!

 

[minipumpkin]

i would say its because of dominating and submissive behavior myself also.

 

[Lisafosc]

Thanks! So does the biggest dragon automatically always become the dom one? I know that Theo is the Dom bc about a week after we 1st got them, Draco was arm waving alot, although I havent seen Theo head bob or act domineering at all!

But then back then they were pretty much the same size!

I'm pleased that I decided to order the new viv straight away, as i had been advised that they would be fine together for about a year, lol these petshops seem to make up thier own info. especially as we were told that we defo had a male and a female ha ha, (not that I would have housed them together long term any way!

 

[shifty43]

Another thing you can try if he gets stressed out in the glass tank, is to put up paper towels or any other type of paper on the sides and back of the tank. I was having a lot of trouble with my female getting stressed out and not being very happy in her tank until i put up paper on the sides and back of the tank. She has been a lot happier since i did that. Not sure if that will help with the eating part but it should help with the stress part once you get them apart.

 

[Lisafosc]

Thank you!

His appetite has improved, he's eaten 8 crickets today what a relief!