not eating

[arrowjace]

hello! so we just recently got a second bearded dragon from an unfit home, i mean spider webs in his tank, dead crickets, no proper lighting, etc. we’ve since recently cleaned his tank real good, new sand, new basking rock, all of it. they said he was roughly 8 or so, so he’s geriatric. however, even with proper husbandry, he is not eating and i haven’t seen any poop in his tank. we’ve tried a variety of options (hoping maybe he was just being picky while trying to adjust to a new home) we’ve had him about a month and i’ve only actively watched him eat 2 crickets (both ive hand fed to him). and everytime we put some crickets in there for him, they’ve just died from him not eating them. i’ve tried mealworms, crickets, blueberries, spinach, raspberries, and i’ve even tried allowing him to watch our other beardie eat in hopes he can see and learn from it. (i’m not sure if that would actually do anything, i only tried because we sometimes will do it at work with dogs, i work at an vet hospital but unfortunately we don’t see reptiles or wildlife). you can definitely tell his age affects him by the way he moves around. his back legs aren’t as strong as they once were and he’s just a big cuddle bug wanting to sleep. i’m about to make an appointment with another vet to look at him, i just thought nothing bad could come from asking here… he could be eating some crickets in his hiding rock but im just not confident that thats the case. any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!! (attached pic is him and his enclosure)

 

[KarrieRee]

hello! so we just recently got a second bearded dragon from an unfit home, i mean spider webs in his tank, dead crickets, no proper lighting, etc. we’ve since recently cleaned his tank real good, new sand, new basking rock, all of it. they said he was roughly 8 or so, so he’s geriatric. however, even with proper husbandry, he is not eating and i haven’t seen any poop in his tank. we’ve tried a variety of options (hoping maybe he was just being picky while trying to adjust to a new home) we’ve had him about a month and i’ve only actively watched him eat 2 crickets (both ive hand fed to him). and everytime we put some crickets in there for him, they’ve just died from him not eating them. i’ve tried mealworms, crickets, blueberries, spinach, raspberries, and i’ve even tried allowing him to watch our other beardie eat in hopes he can see and learn from it. (i’m not sure if that would actually do anything, i only tried because we sometimes will do it at work with dogs, i work at an vet hospital but unfortunately we don’t see reptiles or wildlife). you can definitely tell his age affects him by the way he moves around. his back legs aren’t as strong as they once were and he’s just a big cuddle bug wanting to sleep. i’m about to make an appointment with another vet to look at him, i just thought nothing bad could come from asking here… he could be eating some crickets in his hiding rock but im just not confident that thats the case. any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!! (attached pic is him and his enclosure)

Please get rid of the red light------------- you need a good UVB I am posting 3 of them please get this as soon as possible -- this is why your dragon is not eating please get him out in the sun for direct UVB 15 minutes sitting on you or longer depending on how hot it is there
Zoo Med 24" Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO Hood you want this bulb
22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO or this one
Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood
or this one you will need to change the bulb out to the Reptisun posted above you want the 2 ft or 24"
https://hydrobuilder.com/sunblaster...mp.html?opts=eyJhdHRyaWJ1dGU5MDEiOiI2NjEwIn0=
I am not a fan of sand or crickets -- sand harbors bacteria and can cause infections etc--- I recommend getting some textured NON adhesive shelf liner easier to clean w/ 50-50 water / vinegar -- more sanitary - please do not leave crickets in the tank -- they can bite the dragon and cause an infection - please no spinach its a calcium binder -- here is a website for nutrition Nutrition Content ignore the kale info its out dated and a good staple feeder -- he is not able to absorb calcium from having improper UVB - red lights will cause eye damage actually any colored bulbs will do that -- please get rid of it --- what are his surface basking temps and how are you getting them? I dont see any temp gauges -- you want 2 digital probe thermometers one one the place where he sits to bask you dont need to leave it there but spot check every so often so you know the bulb is up to par w/ temps -- please let me know if you have any more questions once this is all fixed the dragon should start eating again

 

[Chris.]

You want to get rid of the red light for sure. Stick with bulbs in the range of 5000k - 7000k, best would be a daylight (6500k) bulb but most basking bulbs will be around 5000k.

What kind is the basking light (on the right)?

He might be in need of extra UVB, you should get him a tube style UVB bulb.
In addition you can get a MVB and let it shine on him for a couple of hours per day to give him some extra UVB exposure (MVBs put out much more UVB than any other bulb).

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Congratulations on acquiring your new dragon! I'm sure that he is very grateful for his new home.
As Karrie suggested, please try to get a good quality of UVB lighting because that has a tremendous effect on their overall health & wellness. He will have trouble absorbing his calcium &
other nutrients without UVB exposure.
To feed him, try getting a large plastic bin in which you can put him in along with the crickets, just a few at a time. That will eliminate them being left in his tank to avoid them biting him or stressing him.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie