not really eating

[chelsmm]

Calvin is a 3-5 year old male beardie who is new to us. He moved in with us about 3.5 weeks ago after being with a family for three months. Before that he was with a family for 2-3 years, and before that he was at the pet store. So we aren't sure exactly of his age or his previous circumstances.
Currently he is living in a 40gal breeder tank with proper lighting and temps. He was very ornery until this past week. He bit me a few times and charged at me every time I'd put him down. Now he seems like he is calming down a bit and getting use to us.
I hold him daily, although briefly. He prefers to be down. So I'll sit near him and pet him or have my hand nearby. We have taken him outside twice now, both times very successfully. He seems super chill. We bathed him twice for about 5 min each before he started to try to get out. So, overall, he seems to be getting use to the new situation.
But, he still isn't eating. He has eaten only a few superworms and blueberries since moving in with us. He had three Phoenix worms as well. That's in the 3.5 weeks. He is offered a gorgeous salad every day (collards, mustard greens, squash, carrots, etc), but it goes untouched (except for when he walks through it). He is offered a superworm dusted in calcium daily (he was living off of superworms before we got him). He was offered live crickets dusted several times and let them get away. Once he licked one. I bought a tub of Phoenix worms, but he turns up his nose at them. The one thing he will usually eat is a blueberry. And I mean ONE blueberry a day, if that.
Should I worry? He is active. He runs around the house when we let him out or he will go to the front door and look outside. I suppose he could be eating a few bites of salad each day, but I have never seen it, and for the most part, it looks untouched.
He licks everything when he is out of his tank. And when I put the new salad down in his viv, he opens his mouth and licks. It's super cute, like he's excited. But then he doesn't eat!

So, should I worry? He's a good size- 21 inches or so. He seems healthy.

Thanks. Chelsea.

 

[JayceeBuddy67]

Hi!

When you say proper lighting and temps, what is the brand and type (Bulb, coil, tube.) and the exact temps and what you take them with?

Since his previous diet was only superworms, try to only offer a salad for a few days, so maybe, if hungry, he'll eat.

Good Luck!
:wave: :wave: :wave:

 

[chelsmm]

Thanks.

Reptisun 10 UVB bulb- the long kind, not the coil. I think it's 24 inches?
100watt bulb for heating. I bought a reptile one at the pet store because I couldn't find a white light at the hardware store that would get hot.
Temps for basking are usually 95.5 or so. Temps on the cooler side are less- 85. I use a point and shoot temp gun. Not sure what brand or anything. It is my husband's. He use to use it for wine before I stole it for Calvin. It should be quite accurate though.
Today he spent an hour outside in the sun with us. It was hot and sunny. We offered fresh greens outside just in case, and we did mist him when he was outside. He ignored the greens and the drops of water. He also ignored the annoying ant that kept climbing on him. He looked at it a few times, but he didn't try to get it!
Every day I offer salad. He does have a dish with a superworm in it. I usually put a new one in each day and leave it. I take the old one out and put it back in with the other superworms so it can recover! But he mostly ignores them in there. The only times he has eaten them is when I put one on the floor when he is out and about.

 

[JayceeBuddy67]

This article is awesome! Except, the basking and cool side need to be 5-10 degrees cooler. You care is awesome! What substrate is he on? http://www.justanswer.com/pet-reptile/2yvxi-cant-bearded-dragon-lizards-eat.html#re.v/172/

 

[chelsmm]

He's on reptile carpet.

He's still really not eating as far as I can tell. He will drink water most days of i drop it on his nose. A few times he has lapped it up from the tub. He pooped last on Saturday, but before that it was many many days. I offer live bugs each day, but he never eats them. Today I put some strawberry in his nose, and after about ten minutes of letting it sit there he finally licked it up. But he refused more. I tried baby food chicken and squash, and he licked it off his nose once. That's it.

I don't have a scale, and he'd never sit on one anyways. But he seems skinny to me.

He's active. The past few days have been hot here, and so we
Have had him outside for about an hour at a time each day. He seems happy. He climbed into a tub that I had outside for him. He runs around the house when I let him out inside the house. So he doesn't seem weak or anything. But he's refusing even his favorite super worms.

He is more comfortable with us now, so I wouldn't think it was stress still.

Any ideas?

 

[CooperDragon]

His behavior indicates that he's content but the lack of appetite is a little concerning. Adults don't need to eat a LOT but you should probably notice some of the salads gone. I suggest you keep offering the salads as you're doing - those are very good. As long as he's active and curious he's probably OK. I would try picking up a kitchen scale to monitor his weight. I found that putting a shoebox top on it and taring it allows a fairly accurate weight to be recorded. If he isn't losing weight then that's good. If he is, then you may need to consult a vet to see if there may be an underlying issue. Weight trends are usually a good measure of overall health.