Our baby bearded dragon has not eaten or pooped since Sunday

[CEHSTJ]

Help! We purchased a baby bearded dragon last Saturday. Our two boys (8 and 10 yrs old) named it "Smaug" after the dragon in the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. We have a 50 gallon terrarium, but have placed the baby in a 10 gallon terrarium inside to allow it to grow into it's space. We have paper towel as substrate, have both a shallow water dish and shallow feeding dish with fresh kale and dandelion greens mushed up in it. We have sprayed the walls and few plants as well as the baby dragon itself to keep it hydrated (three times a day). We have a 100 watt basking light for heat and a UVB light to allow for vitamin D absorbtion (which is a coil one and as we speak my husband is going to the pet store to buy a tube flourescent as recomended). The temperature in the basking area is between 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and around 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit in the shady area. We have crickets that have been "gut loaded" and are smaller than the space between the dragon's eyes (now, at first the dragon ate two crickets that may be questionable in size). We dust the crickets first with calcium and vitamin D3 before attempting to feed the dragon.

Sunday the baby ate two crickets and a bit of greens. Since then it (not sure what sex it is yet) it has not had a bowel movement or eaten. I realize that it needs time to adjust and get use to it's new surroundings, but when is it a real concern? We have committed ourselves to it's care and are concerned about what to do. I was at first concerned that the crickets it ate had become impacted and tried to follow some tips found online to help with this. We gave the baby a bath in warm water and then used a drop of olive oil placed on it's nose which it swallowed. We then tried "massaging" its belly delicately for a couple of minutes. This has not seemed to help yet. The baby is about six inches long from snout to tail. It doesn't seem as active as it was in the pet store, it sleeps most of the day and rarely moves around. We have picked it up once a day for about ten minutes each time. The terrarium is in a low traffic area and has natural light as well as the above mentioned lights. If anyone has been through a similar experience or knows anything that might help we are in great need of advice. The dragon is actually a birthday present for our 8 year old son (birthday is today) and he is aware that his lizard might not live. He has not handled the lizard only once holding it at the store. I really don't want to break his heart and would appreciate any assistance. Thank you!

 

[LJean]

Not sure how to help.
I had a similar situation when I first brought Calypso home. She would not eat if I was looking. I had to put her in a seperate tank (I used an extra ten gallon), dump in some crickets, and leave the room. It would take a few minutes even then for her to feel comfortable enough to eat them. (this went on for a few months). Can you try that? Or use phoenix worms in a dish (so you dont have to worry about them getting out of the dish and crawling around the tank).

Also, bathing at least 2 times a day will help keep him hydrated (and may help him poo). If the baby is impacted, I am not sure feeding bugs is a good idea. Hard to say. You could try some babyfood (like chicken or veggie) mixed with a bit of water and using an eyedropper, drip a bit on his nose to see if he will lick it off. This will give him some nutrients and some water.

I sure hope you find a solution. Keep us posted.

 

[CEHSTJ]

Thank you for the suggestions. We will try to give him/her baby food first with an extra bath and once he/she does go "poo" we will try your suggestion about leaving the room for it to feed. The baby does get active when we mist in warm water. That seems to be the only time it is active. Will post the outcome of this situation.

 

[LJean]

Sure hope it helps!

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...Just wondering how your dragon is doing.
Were you able to get some babyfood in him?

I wouldn't be surprised if he will be better when he has the correct UVB light...no compacts nor coils and no ReptiGlo 10. The ReptiSun 10 long fluorescent tube is great, and the MegaRay or T-Rex Active heat Mercury Vapor Bulbs are even better. They are a little pricey but are heat and UVB in one bulb, plus they need replacing only once a year instead of every 6 months.
ReptiSun 10 seems to be cheapest at http://www.PetMountain.com at about $20. It needs to be 6"-8" from his basking spot with his heat bulb right beside it on one end of the tank. You can use regular household bulbs for his heat. Leave these on 12 -14 hours a day. If it is cooler than 70 at night, use a ceramic heat emitter, which gives off only heat.

And I agree that you should be giving him a warm soak to his armpits at least 20 minutes daily. Put him in something he can't jump out of and don't walk away in case he flips himself.
Let us know what is happening
Good luck
Patsy

 

[CEHSTJ]

Thanks for letting me know what type of bulb to buy. My husband called me while at the pet store and they were trying to get him to buy the ReptiGlo 10 and I told him that was not the right one, it was suppose to be ReptiSun 10. We will get one tomorrow, reading more I think we should get the mercury vapour bulb. He also came home with wax worms and after some coaxing Smaug ate one right up. I know they are "addictive" to the dragon, but we need to get it to eat something. I am concerned that it still has not had a bowel movement. I wonder how long it can go on for? We cleaned it's home and put fresh paper towel in. It should be easy to see it's waste with the white background. I will get baby food tomorrow - things were quite hectic here trying to celebrate my son's birthday and have the boys attend their hockey practice. We also put one of those scenic liners (not sure what they are really called) around three sides of his smaller terrarium. I read that it may be a bit insecure seeing all of that space.

The only time Smaug seems to wake up is when I mist it with warm water. I do this until it stops opening it's mouth to drink the water. Smaug is so cute when it turns it's head and seems to be thinking. I hope that we are doing the right things for this little guy. One more question - is it normal behaviour for bearded dragons to lower their respiration rate so it is almost undetectable? Sometimes I am not too sure if the baby is alive. I almost have the same feeling when we brought our first son home. It was a scary feeling - being responsible for something so helpless and tiny. I'll keep updating Smaug progress! Thank you for replying!

:lol:

 

[CEHSTJ]

YAY! Smaug finally had a "poo"! My boys came running into my room this morning and they were excited! Who knew that "poo" could be so exciting? I cleaned out Smaug's home this morning and then offered it fresh greens (dandelion greens and kale). I then placed it into a separate container (tupperware) and placed two wax worms and one tiny cricket in with it. It watched the bugs for a bit, but didn't try to eat them. After ten minutes I took the bugs out and then gave Smaug a warm bath. It gets so relaxed in the bath that unless it's head is resting on the side of the tupperware lid (it is just the right depth), I have to hold it's head above the water. Smaug had about a twenty minute bath as I held the basking light at a safe distance away from it. It is now basking on it's rock. I will try to feed Smaug once again at lunch time. I hope that all of the people that are having difficulty with their dragons find a positive resolution.

 

[LJean]

That is great that he finally poo'd! You could leave a few of those waxworms in his salad dish. I don't think they will crawl out (depending on what you are using). That way he can eat them when he is ready. Were you looking at him when you fed him earlier?

 

[Freeie]

Hello. Glad your little guy pooped for you One of the new babys I got last week she gets stage fright if anyone is near when she eats so i just use a potted plant drainer those clear plastic ones and place her food in it so nothing can excape.(shes also disabled so she cant chase anything down) I leave it in her viv where she comfy and walk away so i can still view her from afar. She eats some crickets and then jumps out but i leave it in her viv and a few mins later she hops back in and finishes them off.

 

[CEHSTJ]

Well, we have changed the lighting and now have a Mega-Ray mercury vapour UVB lamp. I purchased the smallest crickets I could get and have raised the rocks up a level to ensure correct basking temperature. Smaug still has not eaten since two days ago, but has had another bowel movement today. I did see it's siblings at the pet store today. Four of them are healthy and active, but the fifth is falling over on it's side and seems listless. Our dragon is not showing similar symptoms. When I turned on the light after about two minutes it woke up and walked around a bit. It will drink water from a dropper and I tried giving it baby food (mixed vegetables) with a syringe - no interest. Patience I am told. I covered all four sides now with the background paper so it might feel more secure. We will see with time.

 

[zebraflavencs]

You may also wish to look at this site, it has great foods for a dragon to grow up healthy and happy.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Janie.

 

[CEHSTJ]

Hi all. Well, our baby beardie died today. This morning when I picked Smaug up to place it in a separate feeding container it had a seizure and fell over on it's side. About two hours after that, on our way back to the pet store where we purchased him - he died. Poor little guy. When we got to the pet store there was a sibling that was also dead in the terrarium there. There was one healthy one (so far) that they did allow us to exchange for at no cost to us. We told our son that his pet was probably going to die and he was heart broken. Today was his birthday party and he wanted to cancel it so Smaug could "die in peace". When he was at hockey practice (with Grandma there to watch him), my husband and I drove back to the pet store (30 minutes away) to see if there was anything we could do. We decided not to tell our son that Smaug died, he will have to deal with death soon enough I am sure. He knows that we went to the pet store and when we came home his dragon seemed better. I know this may not be the right thing to do, but it wasn't the right time to let him know the truth. So, we now have another Smaug who appears to be ok. It had a good "poop" and ate a silkworm earlier today. It has not eaten since,but I am not too concerned. The pet store apologised about the lizard saying that a student they have working for them had fed the babies crickets whick were too large for it. The manager thinks that is also what happened to the other baby. I hope that is all it was and there is not a genetic defect or some illness. Time will tell. This new lizards is alert and even stands differently. I am hopeful that all will be ok. The terrarium set up is perfected now and we have plenty of different foods for it to eat. I will post what happens to the new "Smaug".

 

[Freeie]

Im so sorry for your loss of your little guy. I hope things go better with the new little one.

 

[dna14]

That's so sad but I think you did the right thing. I hope Smaug does well. Our Twitch is our 8-year old son's pet too, and we hope she feels better soon...

 

[CEHSTJ]

All seems well with Smaug. The little guy is alert, curious and somewhat active during the day. It ate two silkworms and one cricket today with one good "poop" to follow. I think it will eat more once it gets adjusted. Wow! I am surprised how many people have difficulty with their baby bearded dragons. I don't mind all of the care involved and am truly grateful for this site where others are available for advice, through their own experiences or research. I hope that with our current set up that this baby will thrive and we will not have too many problems with this new dragon. I feel that if nothing else, we made the first "Smaug" as comfortable as possible in it's last days. We hopefully, have now, perfected it's home with a smaller 20 gal home to be used until it gets bigger with a mesh, metal screened lid. Using paper towel as substrate, placing rocks in for basking, a shallow water bowl - changed daily, fresh greens available daily, a branch for climbing and plants to have a shady, cooler area it should be better. We now have a Mega-Ray Mercury vapour bulb over the basking area and use a digital thermometer to keep the basking area at close to 100 degrees F and around 75 degrees F in the cooler area. I use a medicine dropper to provide water on it's snout to drink and bathe the baby every other day (one bath so far). I also use a separate feeding container and dust the insects with calcium powder before feeding. We gut-load the crickets and ensure they are well fed and hydrated. We only hold the baby roght now when we move it to the feeding container or back to it's home. Smaug climbs onto our hand after we leave it still in the tank for about a minute and seems ok when we pick it up slowly. I am glad we have this little guy and hope to have it around for a nice long lifetime. Thank you all for replying and also to those that have had similar concerns. I have learned a lot in such a short time. I wish you all happy beardies and a great upcoming work week. Take care!