PLEASE HELP BABY BEARDIE BARELY EATING

[rae531]

Hi I just got my new baby bearded dragon last friday and today is saturday so its been barely over a week. At first he would eat a few crickets and I thought it was just relocation stress but now I'm getting really worried because I think hes too skinny and I hear about other peoples dragons eating 50+ crickets in one feeding.When I was feeding the crickets he wouldnt even come down to hunt and I would have to hold it in front of his face for him to eat it. I ordered him some phoenix worms and he ate about 10-15 of those in one sitting which is the best hes ever done. On Friday I put out some phoenix worms and he didnt touch any for the whole day. Today he had about 2 phoenix worms and I got some wax worms to help fatten him a bit and he only ate 2. I know wax worms should only be used as a treat anyway but I heard it can be good for putting some weight on beardies. I offered some crickets today and he ate about 3 and that was it. I'm starting to panic because I really dont want him to die so I'm calling the vet tomorrow morning and I will ask about getting a fecal test done to rule out parasites. He basks pretty much all day but today it took him longer than usual to go over on the hot side. I bathe him once a day ( not sure if that will help in any way).I'm hoping to stop by reptiles n reefs to pick up some dubia roaches and see if he will eat those. Please help me figure out what could be wrong Any help is appreciated

basking temps: 105-110 (they fluctuate a bit)
cool side: around 75
uvb light is tube T8 10.0 reptisun bulb and is mounted inside tank and I'm also using a calcium supplement to dust the crickets.

 

[tizmegz]

He is probably still getting used to his new home and a bit scared to hunt if he is unsure of his surroundings that being said I had the same problem with mine he ate for the first few days 10 or so crickets then it slowly declined to about four every other day then less I tried everything in the end I brought some dubia roaches online and he probably eats like 10+ a day 50+ sounds a lot but it depends on the size also of the food it's meant to be no bigger than the space between there eyes my roaches are probably the biggest he can have so maybe that's why he only eats like 10 I really recommend them they sound gross but now I prefer them to crickets and they are better nutritionally I would never go back also can't remember what substrate u have but if u have sand I would also get rid of that that can block up there insides stop them pooing and eating and even kill them

 

[tizmegz]

Ok just saw that u have repti carpet nice one which I didn't spend on sand to then have to change it after I learnt I would highly recommend the roaches tho and maybe some wax worms to fatten him up but don't give them too often

 

[Wizzardluvvr]

Congratulations on your new arrival. My bearded is almost 9. What i have learned over time is if you do everything right you wont worry and if youre worring its cause something needs to change. I also have an iguana and those guys are picky compared to beardeds. It helped to have him though because i learned more about reptile care in general. So here are a few tips and tricks from the desk of dorothy. Im no dr. And no expert but no diseases in my babies yet!
Lighting: megaray mercury vapor bulb-provides basking heat and uvb- no more than 12 inches away from beardies basking spot. Ceramic heat emmiter puts out no light only heat- use for night time heat because any light in general will disturb their sleep. Like eyes open glaring at you till you turn the light off disturbed. Get a timed power outlet for each lamp (day/night) propper day night cycle-at home improvment stores.
Vitamins- rep cal herptivite(multi v.) And rep cal w/ vit d3
Feeding-baby=80/20 so some greens and mostly dusted protiens. In order to be sure offer a fresh bowl of greens exery day including but not limited to- mustard collard fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary or dandelions from a non poisoned yard and rose petals as well as squashes and bellp. And cactus pads, the ones humans eat. The bearded will give themself their 20 percent from the bowl. Dont forget mango papaya strawberry(tasty dessert). keep up dusting your crickets that will be good. Also hand feeding is good to grow a big beefy bearded cause they tend to eat a lot when you keep feeding them by hand.
As they get older it switches to 20/80 so get them used to their greens.
Hygene-dont have to bath every day its too much humidity but 1 time a week works good for keeping a clean cage they will always poop just expect it. Keep a bowl of water in there at all times. No sand just no. Carpet fine cause you can throw it in the washer if it gets stained (after you take the crusties off)
Shedding will discolor your baby and make them look super sick but its just a shed thats a good time to bath and pet the bearded gently. Mine loves it when i gently pet the areas where shes shedding she will lean into me like a cat or dog would.
Company- you are the best company. provide supervised house play outside of the cage but be prepared to calm down when it runs somewhere you forget to beardie prep. With time supervised visits to the market and pet store can happen too. The more people that get to learn about reptiles the less scared they will be so be a good parent and raise an ambassador for bearded dragons not a jyrk lol. For times that your beardie is not being entertained have music going or tv or put next to a window with a view it keeps em from going loco.
Side notes: beardeds need sooooooooooo much uvb! Those florescent lights even the best of them are like saying you want the bearded to live in the shade. You want to get a mercury vapor bulb that really spot suns an area or 50 percent of the cage. I have a 4 foot long cage about so i have the 275 watt mega ray but for your cage i suggest 160 watt. But remember no more than 1 foot away from basking spot. Also you dont need to buy the fancy protiens just make sure you dust, he probably is having trouble making room for more cause the uvb light that you have is not giving enough uvb to make it digest and poop. Sometimes if you feel lile gut loading your baby you can feed them an un oiled un seasoned egg cooked on low so the tefelon/aluminum/iron/ceramic doesnt put carcenogens into the beardeds food. Also remove crickets every night they are carnivorous and can eat your beardies eyes out or munch on their butts scary right? And dont force off shed unless its stuck after 2 weeks. Tell me how i did do you think anything needs to change?

 

[rae531]

He is probably still getting used to his new home and a bit scared to hunt if he is unsure of his surroundings that being said I had the same problem with mine he ate for the first few days 10 or so crickets then it slowly declined to about four every other day then less I tried everything in the end I brought some dubia roaches online and he probably eats like 10+ a day 50+ sounds a lot but it depends on the size also of the food it's meant to be no bigger than the space between there eyes my roaches are probably the biggest he can have so maybe that's why he only eats like 10 I really recommend them they sound gross but now I prefer them to crickets and they are better nutritionally I would never go back also can't remember what substrate u have but if u have sand I would also get rid of that that can block up there insides stop them pooing and eating and even kill them

Thank you!!! I will go pick up some Dubia roaches today hopefully because I want to get them soon rather than waiting a few days. I just offered him a few wax worms and his pjoeneix worms but still hasn't touched anything. Does he look too skinny to you?? I'm going to call the vet today to make sure he's healthy and all.

 

[rae531]

Congratulations on your new arrival. My bearded is almost 9. What i have learned over time is if you do everything right you wont worry and if youre worring its cause something needs to change. I also have an iguana and those guys are picky compared to beardeds. It helped to have him though because i learned more about reptile care in general. So here are a few tips and tricks from the desk of dorothy. Im no dr. And no expert but no diseases in my babies yet!
Lighting: megaray mercury vapor bulb-provides basking heat and uvb- no more than 12 inches away from beardies basking spot. Ceramic heat emmiter puts out no light only heat- use for night time heat because any light in general will disturb their sleep. Like eyes open glaring at you till you turn the light off disturbed. Get a timed power outlet for each lamp (day/night) propper day night cycle-at home improvment stores.
Vitamins- rep cal herptivite(multi v.) And rep cal w/ vit d3
Feeding-baby=80/20 so some greens and mostly dusted protiens. In order to be sure offer a fresh bowl of greens exery day including but not limited to- mustard collard fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary or dandelions from a non poisoned yard and rose petals as well as squashes and bellp. And cactus pads, the ones humans eat. The bearded will give themself their 20 percent from the bowl. Dont forget mango papaya strawberry(tasty dessert). keep up dusting your crickets that will be good. Also hand feeding is good to grow a big beefy bearded cause they tend to eat a lot when you keep feeding them by hand.
As they get older it switches to 20/80 so get them used to their greens.
Hygene-dont have to bath every day its too much humidity but 1 time a week works good for keeping a clean cage they will always poop just expect it. Keep a bowl of water in there at all times. No sand just no. Carpet fine cause you can throw it in the washer if it gets stained (after you take the crusties off)
Shedding will discolor your baby and make them look super sick but its just a shed thats a good time to bath and pet the bearded gently. Mine loves it when i gently pet the areas where shes shedding she will lean into me like a cat or dog would.
Company- you are the best company. provide supervised house play outside of the cage but be prepared to calm down when it runs somewhere you forget to beardie prep. With time supervised visits to the market and pet store can happen too. The more people that get to learn about reptiles the less scared they will be so be a good parent and raise an ambassador for bearded dragons not a jyrk lol. For times that your beardie is not being entertained have music going or tv or put next to a window with a view it keeps em from going loco.
Side notes: beardeds need sooooooooooo much uvb! Those florescent lights even the best of them are like saying you want the bearded to live in the shade. You want to get a mercury vapor bulb that really spot suns an area or 50 percent of the cage. I have a 4 foot long cage about so i have the 275 watt mega ray but for your cage i suggest 160 watt. But remember no more than 1 foot away from basking spot. Also you dont need to buy the fancy protiens just make sure you dust, he probably is having trouble making room for more cause the uvb light that you have is not giving enough uvb to make it digest and poop. Sometimes if you feel lile gut loading your baby you can feed them an un oiled un seasoned egg cooked on low so the tefelon/aluminum/iron/ceramic doesnt put carcenogens into the beardeds food. Also remove crickets every night they are carnivorous and can eat your beardies eyes out or munch on their butts scary right? And dont force off shed unless its stuck after 2 weeks. Tell me how i did do you think anything needs to change?

Thanks for the response! I thought my uvb was fine because it was the tube kind and I mounted it inside so no rays are being blocked by the screen and it is a 10.0 maybe not I guess? I heard those compact uvbs can cause eye problems in beardie so I went ahead with the tube bulb! For the basking light it's a 90 watt halogen bulb and it produces a good amount of heat but I'm always willing to try out something new for the best possible life for him. Thanks for the advice about a bath I'll soak him once a week then! I offered him a few wax worms and his Phoenix worms but he hasn't touched them yet. He's up in his basking spot right now and he gets pretty close to the uvb. Do you think he looks too skinny? I'm hoping to pick up some Dubia roaches today from this reptile store

 

[tizmegz]

If he doesn't go for the roaches then a last resort that I took was to mash some food up add a bit of calcium powder and just put it on his mouth/ nose he mite lick it off looks a bit skinny to me but I think mine was worse before he ate properly try the roaches and wax worms mine loves those two-three times a day bound to eat sooner or later can't hurt to get a vet check but I would probably persist a bit longer 1st maybe give it another week vets are exspensive a good idea might be to weigh him just to make sure he is not loosing too much what's his poo like?

 

[tizmegz]

This is mine on 13th march

and this is her today 9th april

 

[rae531]

If he doesn't go for the roaches then a last resort that I took was to mash some food up add a bit of calcium powder and just put it on his mouth/ nose he mite lick it off looks a bit skinny to me but I think mine was worse before he ate properly try the roaches and wax worms mine loves those two-three times a day bound to eat sooner or later can't hurt to get a vet check but I would probably persist a bit longer 1st maybe give it another week vets are exspensive a good idea might be to weigh him just to make sure he is not loosing too much what's his poo like?

He won't even touch the wax worms and I picked him up and put him by the feeding dish and he looked at it and went back up to bask. His poop the first day I got him was a bit runny but it was all in one piece and the next few days it got less runny and it was still all in one piece but I believe it was Friday or Thursday it had like little air bubbles in it idk if that means anything but it looked wet

 

[tizmegz]

Mine doesn't like to eat out of the bowl, can he definitely see them sometimes I use feeding tongs to wave it in front of him and then put it on the floor so he can see it moving and normally eats it also there is normally a bit of water that comes out with the poo but if it's really runny mite be parasites I've only had this guy and my parents had an older one before that she also didn't like crickets so my experience is a bit limited I am surprised he is not eating wax worms tho still it's just over a week since u got him maybe wait it out a bit also if he has shed or is shedding sometimes they can go off their food

 

[rae531]

Mine doesn't like to eat out of the bowl, can he definitely see them sometimes I use feeding tongs to wave it in front of him and then put it on the floor so he can see it moving and normally eats it also there is normally a bit of water that comes out with the poo but if it's really runny mite be parasites I've only had this guy and my parents had an older one before that she also didn't like crickets so my experience is a bit limited I am surprised he is not eating wax worms tho still it's just over a week since u got him maybe wait it out a bit also if he has shed or is shedding sometimes they can go off their food

I started waving around the worms and put it down but he just ignored them. I'm hoping this all passes soon because I love him so much already and I'm seeing all these stories about their beardie dying and I hope that's not the case. My mom is going to call a vet soon when she gets home and hopefully I can get a fecal test done to rule out parasites. I just hope he eats soon it's really starting to worry me

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, it's only been a very short time that you've owned him so he's still settling in. He looks good in his picture, too. Sometimes when you feed them waxworms they get a bit spoiled, and they get very full because of the fat content so stop feeding those o him and let him get hungry enough for the better feeder insects.

Your uvb bulb is fine since it's mounted inside, as long as you have a bright basking bulb + the temp. gets to about 105 on the hot side, 78-82 on the cool side. You might just drip water on his nose for a drink rather than soaking him , unless he actually likes the soaks because that can be stressful.

If you DO see a vet, be sure they are experienced with b.dragons....if not keep looking. An inexperienced vet can do more harm than good. But he's probably just settling in, he's not in bad shape like the sickly ones that dies here recently.

 

[rae531]

Hi there, it's only been a very short time that you've owned him so he's still settling in. He looks good in his picture, too. Sometimes when you feed them waxworms they get a bit spoiled, and they get very full because of the fat content so stop feeding those o him and let him get hungry enough for the better feeder insects.

Your uvb bulb is fine since it's mounted inside, as long as you have a bright basking bulb + the temp. gets to about 105 on the hot side, 78-82 on the cool side. You might just drip water on his nose for a drink rather than soaking him , unless he actually likes the soaks because that can be stressful.

If you DO see a vet, be sure they are experienced with b.dragons....if not keep looking. An inexperienced vet can do more harm than good. But he's probably just settling in, he's not in bad shape like the sickly ones that dies here recently.

Thank you so much that puts me at ease. I actually just got off the phone with an exotic vet and they have treated bearded dragons before so I'm going in Thursday morning just to be safe. He just came down from his basking spot all by himself and he looked into his food dish and then left. Ill hold off on the wax worms I was just worried about him becoming too skinny. I hope its just relocation stress. Thank you!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is likely just a relocation stress affecting him, it is extremely common for the youngsters to go through it.
The Reptisun 10 is fine, plus it's mounted on the inside of the tank. The only recommendation on the UVB tube that I have is to try & get it directed more downward & overhead. Is it mounted on the back wall, correct? The main problem with mounting it like that is that the UVB refracts out & away from them instead of directly downward onto them. So they don't always get very good quality exposure that way, plus it puts strain on the eyes having the glare right to the side of them.
If possible try to get it mounted directly overhead instead.
I would give another week or so to let his system balance out. If they do a fecal, I wouldn't medicate quite yet because stress elevates their levels when they are rehomed.

Tracie

 

[rae531]

Hello,

It is likely just a relocation stress affecting him, it is extremely common for the youngsters to go through it.
The Reptisun 10 is fine, plus it's mounted on the inside of the tank. The only recommendation on the UVB tube that I have is to try & get it directed more downward & overhead. Is it mounted on the back wall, correct? The main problem with mounting it like that is that the UVB refracts out & away from them instead of directly downward onto them. So they don't always get very good quality exposure that way, plus it puts strain on the eyes having the glare right to the side of them.
If possible try to get it mounted directly overhead instead.
I would give another week or so to let his system balance out. If they do a fecal, I wouldn't medicate quite yet because stress elevates their levels when they are rehomed.

Tracie

I was thinking I should change the way its mounted too. Do you have any recommendations on how to do that safely? I'm using hooks right now but I wouldn't be able to use them the other way and I tried Velcro when I tried to mount it more downward and it didn't seem to work. Do you know any other ways I could mount it better? I'm willing to try anything for this little guy