Not eating - Update! YEAH she ate today!

[kimmie]

Angie just doesn't seem interested in bugs - period! She'd been eating supers for the past few weeks w/o any problems and then BAM - doesn't want them! I got PW's/Grubs in today and I managed to get 2 into her. First one she ate, second one I tricked her to eat. She eats her collard greens (provided I hand feed them to her) ...I think she might be eating those on her own, not sure.

She's alert, looks fine, all my setup has been gone over ...and over again. I did drop the heat down because it seemed she didn't like it as hot. We turned off the a/c yesterday and today it was a wee warm, not bad though but the humidity was at 52% in her viv. I'm hoping that goes down with the ceiling fan turned on high and lights out overnight.

I thought she was going to shed, at least her tail looked darker (about 4" of it at the tip). It's lighter now so it's just a matter of waiting that out.

Question is, would she starve herself, or eventually eat on her own? Should I try syringing some baby food (chicken and squash) onto her nose or be more patient? She's testing my patience - which I have NONE of! (if you haven't figured that out yet :lol

I'm hoping my leaving some grubs for her for breakfast will get her to come around and eat! She used to get them when she was smaller.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hi Kimmie! So Angie is still not having much of an appetite. Definitely try the PW's and see if that sparks an interest in her eating. She could possibly be tiring of the supers.
Is she losing any weight? You could get some babyfood and see if she takes that, yes. You can also mix her calcium/ vitamins in with the babyfood as well.
You mentioned the end of her tail darkening... was it black? A tail turning black, starting from the tip extending up, can sometimes be a sign of distress.
I know I have asked this before, but how old is Angie? You are further north... is it getting much cooler there? I wonder if she may possibly be trying to brumate already.
Is she basking much or is she still hiding quitre a bit?
What are her temps right now?

 

[kimmie]

Hi Kimmie! So Angie is still not having much of an appetite. Definitely try the PW's and see if that sparks an interest in her eating. She could possibly be tiring of the supers.
Is she losing any weight? You could get some babyfood and see if she takes that, yes. You can also mix her calcium/ vitamins in with the babyfood as well.
You mentioned the end of her tail darkening... was it black? A tail turning black, starting from the tip extending up, can sometimes be a sign of distress.
I know I have asked this before, but how old is Angie? You are further north... is it getting much cooler there? I wonder if she may possibly be trying to brumate already.
Is she basking much or is she still hiding quitre a bit?
What are her temps right now?

- So far she's maintaining weight - she dropped a few grams but went back up and is hovering around 352.
- Her tail was dark but it's normal now, actually lighter, thus my thinking she was getting ready to shed in that area. Not sure what she'd be in distress for though.
- I guesstimate her age to be around 7 months old. We got her mid April (5 - 6" in length from a petstore). She's about 18" in length now.
It has gotten cooler so that we can turn off the a/c (and probably why the humidity is rising in her viv) but it's only in the high 70's - mid 80's.
- I did change her basking bulb from a 75w to a 50w and that's keeping her basking area around the mid 90's. She's not been hiding as much since that change (maybe she didn't like the higher temps).
- Temps on basking side are mid 80's and cooler side high 70's with the basking area mid to high 90's.
- Humidity keeps getting higher though. Yesterday it was around 50 and this morning it jumped up to 59. Not sure how to get that down lower when I don't even keep a water dish in there and no misting.
- I was able to trick her into eating 2 pw's yesterday and that was it. I did put 15 in her dish this morning but don't know if she's eaten them yet as I'm waiting for my son to txt me.
- Brumation - guess I need to reread that information again ...and again to prepare myself! I will be getting a visit with a vet next week so hopefully if she IS going that route, we can make sure she's fit before hand.
- oh she's pooping only 1 x a day now (used to poop 2 x but then she's not eating as much); she does still like her salads though, even if she doesn't eat a lot of it.

 

[kimmie]

As far as I know, she's maybe had 2 PW's today - that's it. And she's NOT pooped yet either! She has NO interest in bugs and minimal in her salad! I have an appoint. for her next week at the vet - I just hope it's nothing serious and that she's just getting ready to brumate - but it's enough to drive me insane not knowing also.

 

[kimmie]

BUMP!!!

 

[mickeysmomma]

They sure make us worry, don't they! I have three beardies...one hasn't eaten any salad in weeks. But fine otherwise. Ugh.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello Kimmie,

So Angie ate a few pw's?! That's good! At 7 months, she is a little young for brumation, but we will not rule that out. So she has a vet appt next week.. make sure to take a poo sample with you for a fecal test. You are not seeing alot of poop right now, because she is not eating much. Like I said before... she could just be going through a phase. They do this sometimes.
Have you tried any babyfood with her?

 

[kimmie]

No poop yesterday, no interest in food (bugs) and possibly her salad. I'm picking up some baby food today on way home from work so I'll be trying that. I wasn't sure if force feeding her would be good or not. Especially if it is possible she's brumating (or starting).

A phase - EY YI YI, does she not realize how nerve wracking this is to me :lol:

Oh do I try syringing the baby food, drop some on her nose, or try to actually get some into her mouth? (the latter should be fun) She was taking collard green pieces from my fingers ....until I tried making a pw burrito! She gave me the one eye ball stare like "how could you!" (sorry had to jump onto another ie window to repair my forums database)

Ok if I don't have any poop to take because she's not eating/pooping, will the vet be able to do something ? I know so many questions, I'm just an OVERLY concerned bd momma right now! This puberty crap ...she needs to KNOCK IT OFF! :lol:

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

If she is still eating a bit, then giving her some babyfood shouldn't be a problem. I normally don't even recommend babyfood unless they are eating nothing. Sometimes feeding them babyfood makes them a bit lazy about eating on their own. I guess they figure if you are going to feed them, why do it on their own,LOL. Since you are so worried about her though, I say go ahead and try it. It may stimulate her appetite.. hopefully. Just get some turkey or chicken babyfood, some squash would be good too. Thin it a little with water and then syringe feed it to her. You should not have to force it and I would not recommend it since she is eating some food on her own. Dropping it on her nose should do the job. :wink: You can add her supplements to it as well.

 

[kimmie]

Thanks Dawn, I'll try that today in hopes of getting her appetite back.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

You're welcome!
Let me know if she likes it (they usually do) :wink:

 

[kimmie]

You're welcome!
Let me know if she likes it (they usually do) :wink:

You betcha! I hope this gets her going again (eating and pooping). I miss my girls voracious appetite! Plus I have 2 tubs of PW's that are dying to be eaten (literally :lol: )

 

[kimmie]

You know I wonder about her age. I keep looking at those growth charts and while I know every dragon is different (hell look at my own kids :lol - she's 19" already and weighs about 350 grams and "supposedly" is only 7 months old.

 

[kimmie]

It's a good thing people here understand just HOW excited we get when we see POOPAGE! ROFLMAO Not too many of my friends DO understand though, they give you those looks like "UMMMM ok???" as they slowly back away from you!

I came home to find a NICE large poop from Angie - you'd have thought it was a birthday present I was so excited! Looked normal too. Still hadn't eaten ANY of her pw's and she "might" have had some salad but I couldn't swear to it. Tomorrow I'll do the trick of putting some water in the bottom and then the greens. Maybe that will get them to last longer so I can tell if she's eaten any vs them drying up!

I did get baby food and mixed up some applesauce and chicken. MY GOD that chicken stuff STINKS! I can't believe I fed that to my kids ...neither can my DD! She did lick it off everytime I put it on her nose and actually licked from the syringe but she didn't take a lot (maybe .6 ml) so not quite a teaspoon. I guess something is better than nothing. Oh I did mix some calcium powder in there with it. YUMMO

I still wish I knew what it was that was bugging her but if the vet can tell me more next week, I'll be happy! In the meantime, I'm putting up with the puberty or whatever it is for now. I just hope I don't spoil her to the point she'll ONLY want to be fed via the syringe!

 

[kimmie]

Well I'm persistant (ok stubborn) and thought I'd give it another go. Maybe she needs glasses :lol: She STILL won't look at the PW's so I thought "why not" and tried a superworm! YEAH she ate 6 of them! I am SOOO tickled! I tried to offer more collard greens but she went to eat the piece I was holding and then stopped and took a look - guess she was thinking I was sneaking a PW in there somewhere! ROFL