now i just wait till he dies i suppose

[iwoodtoo]

It's day 17 now with no food. He just sits and basks most of the day, drinks a bit.
All his needs are up to specs. I had him to 2 vets and both said he was fine, fecal was fine also. Not much else i can do.

 

[Freeie]

Are you offering crickets? you can force baby food. Dont give up

 

[sunkist]

Could he just be somewhat brumating? I have a guy doing that now. Are you bathing him? I would definitely make sure you are doing that daily to ensure he's getting his fluids in.

 

[binger]

I'm no expert, but I'm really hoping this is some kind of brumation behaviour....

Have you tried force feeding, or babyfood in a syringe? How old is he?

 

[iwoodtoo]

he is about 6" long, am guessing he is 7-10 weeks old. I tried to force feed him with an eye dropper but he just clamps his jaws shut. Even the vet tried to no avail. Both vets got the end of a tongue depressor into his lips but he would not open his jaws.

 

[sunkist]

Are you bathing him???? I had my first beardie die like that and it wasn't pretty. It was before I knew about baths and he had just gotten wayyyyyyyyy too dehydrated.

 

[Freeie]

Have you tried tossing him live small crickets? What all have you tried

 

[culbert9]

I would offer him meal worms, wax worms, crickets, greens, just keep the options open. It's not cheap but its something you can try.

 

[Epic]

You might want to try roaches too. My dragon stopped eating for a week, and once I threw in some roaches he ate them up.

 

[MrT]

dont give in his life is worth saving
try some vegatable baby food and just dab a little on his nose

it will be hard but please dont give up

 

[clear]

Go buy some berries and grapes, also buy any feeders you can think of, even wax worms. Give warm baths everyday also.

 

[slantedii]

What about after he falls asleep...late at night wake him up and try to force feed him. Dragons are so lethargic at night he may not be able to put up a fight.

 

[Edricks]

My little dragon D has had the same problem. He's a pet store purchase, and so came with a lot of problems to begin with (kinky toes, -really- nasty parasites etc) We got the vet to check him out, got rid of the parasites and for a while he was great, then, after his first brumation, he just never got his appetite back. He got really lethargic and kinda just laid aorund most of the day, up on his stick, watching people, didn't touch his worms, and it was all I could do to shove greens down his throat.

The one thing he would eat, with out problem, were horn worms. He'd even let waxies go by, but hornworms were gone in a flash. Now, hornworms are bloody expensive, and as much as I love my baby, he's not going to eat gourmet food just because he's a picky little bastard, especially when the vet checks him all out and says his perfectly heathy. So this is what I did:

I bought a hand blender. One of those little portable blenders usually made for using smoothies? It cost me $30. Into the hand blender I tossed his veggies, his calcium, his vitamins, his worms, some baby food, some jump start and water to keep the mixture liquidy and set the whole thing to mushify. I had to experament a little with different kinds of syringes to use because the stubborn bastard kept biting the tips off, but if you can get your vet to give you a decent supply of some bigger ones, they work best. Then, it was just a matter of getting it to him. I found that leaning against a bed or a couch and brining my knees up, having him facing away from my on my thigh was the best position. Now, you'll probably want to find your own comfort zone for this, but here's what worked best for me:

1) Cup his head in whatever hand isn't your writing hand (lets assume you're right handed, so you'll be using the left for this) with your thumb resting on the top. You're going to want your most dexterous hand working the syringe. He's going to try and pull away and will probably move backwards, but since he's facing away from you on a slope, he'll only trap himself closer to you.

2) With your left index or middle finger, gently pull down his bottom bottom lip on the right side, near the corner, as though you want to get a look at his teeth. He wont like this either, but tough cookies, he's gotta eat something. Just remember to be gentle and patient. It might take a couple of times for both of you to get used to this.

3) Fit the tip of the syringe between his two lips. Don't try and force it past his teeth!

4) Carefully slide the syringe around to the front. Be careful not to press inward too hard, or you might hurt him. His natural reaction will be to open up as the tip of the syringe comes closer and closer to the front. When he does this, be ninja and pop the syringe in and squirt in as much goop as you can before he flails away, just make sure you don't drown him doing so.

5) Give him some time to recover and glare at you, then repeat, until he's taken at least a syringe worth.

It's time consuming and tricky and frustrating, but it's a better alternative than watching him starve himself.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, I do make smoothies with the same hand mixer X3

 

[vickson420]

Ok wait before you give up on him lets take the time and go over everything.First there is no way he is brumating because judging by his size he is a baby.I want to know when did he poop last?Did they do a fecal on him?Were these vets herp vets or just regular vets?Any decent vet would have been able to tube feed him so I am questioning why they didnt do this.Lets go over some of your basics:
What type of UVb are you using?
what are his temps?
Where and how are you measuring them?
What vitamins and calcium are you giving?
How often are you bathing?
This is not a lets wait and die situation.Force feeding is difficult but even clamped shut it can be done,trust me on this.
Please answer all of these questions and lets see if we can help you save this little guy.
I am also moving this topic to the ER as that is more appropriate for this discussion.

 

[binger]

My little dragon D has had the same problem. He's a pet store purchase, and so came with a lot of problems to begin with (kinky toes, -really- nasty parasites etc) We got the vet to check him out, got rid of the parasites and for a while he was great, then, after his first brumation, he just never got his appetite back. He got really lethargic and kinda just laid aorund most of the day, up on his stick, watching people, didn't touch his worms, and it was all I could do to shove greens down his throat.

The one thing he would eat, with out problem, were horn worms. He'd even let waxies go by, but hornworms were gone in a flash. Now, hornworms are bloody expensive, and as much as I love my baby, he's not going to eat gourmet food just because he's a picky little *****, especially when the vet checks him all out and says his perfectly heathy. So this is what I did:

It's time consuming and tricky and frustrating, but it's a better alternative than watching him starve himself.

Just thought I'd add.... my big Mr. Grey is doing the EXACT same thing. Only eats Hornworms ($!!!)

Did the force feeding get his appetite back, or are you still working with the syringe??