Not eating much...

[Jrl6130]

So I just got my bearded dragon Ellie ive had her for almost a week now and she is 3 months old. She is housed in a 40 breeder with a reptisun 10.0 long tube and a 90 watt basking light. Her temps are 103 basking spot and cool side of 87. She dosent really go on her branch to bask so i just put her their and she'll climb down when shes done. The whole time i've had her she has only eaten a few phoenix worms a day and yesterday I got her crickets she she had 3 last night but nothing more. I put some more in her tank this morning but she didnt seen intrested. She pooped yesterday. I'm at a loss at why she wont eat and im really worried about it. She has had stress marks since yesterday but I think thats because she keeps seeing her reflection. I plan on going out and buying some backround either saterday or sunday, for now i'll put a towel behind her tank. Also, i dont know why but she has been digging a lot... Thanks for all your help.

 

[kcarello]

First of all congratulations on your new baby!!! Now lets see if we can figure out any problems. What are you measuring your temps with? You need either a digital with a probe or a temp. gun. If you have the probe type, you need to leave the probe on the basking SURFACE for an hour before taking the final reading. Then the same for the hot side, and the cool side. With your baby not basking and digging I am guessing it is too hot for her in the viv. Do you give her baths at all? She may be getting dehydrated. Give her a nice warm soak for at least 10 - 15 minutes. They absorb water through they're vent so baths keep them hydrated. You can also use a dropper or needleless syringe and drip water on her nose and see if she will drink that way. It is normal for them to not eat much at first due to relocation stress. First though, if you haven't already, give her a bath, use warm water like you would for a baby, not too hot. Let me know how it goes and lets work on your temps.
Kelly

 

[Jrl6130]

Thanks for the reply! Yes I have the zoo med probe thermometer And her temps at the moment are 95 with a cool side of 81. She keeps digging and she still hasent eaten :'( I give her a bath three times a week and she had one today and she hasent poop in the past two days.

 

[kcarello]

Where did you get her from? Are you sure she is only 3 months old? How big is she,,length from tip of nose to tip of tail, and weight? Alot of times dragons won't eat at first due to relocation stress..its the digging that is puzzleing me. Do you know what her diet was before you got her?

 

[Jrl6130]

Yes. I got her from fairytail dragons and she was fed crickets before I got her. She is 7 inches and was the "runt" of the pack. I also have a birth certifict for her. She didn't have stress marks the first few day I got her but the last five days she's had them constantly. I don't have her weight sorry.

 

[clintjulie]

right away get flukers repti aid we waited to long i just cleaned the dirt off my hands from burying poor ijormungandr. This fraking sucks and I don't want that to happen to anyone. Hydrate and repti aid him/her right away please.

 

[kcarello]

It sure wouldnt hurt to take clintjulies advice.

 

[Jrl6130]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! I'm giving her baths and still tryin with crickets. The earliest I can get the Repta aid is tommarow at noon because they had to special order it for me. She started closing her eyes more (( I'm so worried about her.

 

[Jrl6130]

So I just gave her a bath and I tried putting a little drop of water on her noes and she does nothing. Shouldn't she be licking it???

 

[clintjulie]

use an eye dropper with spring water to put in the bearde\ies mouth stay close to the back of the mouth and slightly and gently use the dropper to open its mouth not damaging the teeth. do this until you get the reptiaid

 

[kcarello]

you can add a little unsweetened juice to the water to hopefully make her want to drink it
Oh Yeah!! Flavored pedialyte!!!! Try to give her some of that. And chicken baby food mixed with some squash baby food, add a little calcium powder, then some water to thin it down a little..then try sryinge feeding her.
Please keep us updated.
Kelly

 

[Jrl6130]

Thanks!! So I called the petstore and the order didn't come in but the nearest petco has Repta boost not Repta aid! Im also going to buy the baby food and pedialyte.

 

[kcarello]

Keep us updated and let us know how things are going.

 

[Jrl6130]

Of course! were going to petco now to get the Repta boost then off to target for baby food. Do I need the pedialyte is im getting repti boost? Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[Jrl6130]

She's getting better!!!! I fed her the Flukers stuff and she lapped that up then I fed her squash and apple and chicken baby food and she ate a lot of that! Hopefully she'll eat crickets again soon! When should I stop feeding her the baby food and Flukers?