Potentially dehydrated beardie with an attitude.

[Cupquakez]

Hello again, everyone. Quick question for you all today.
I rescued a juvenile bearded dragon about 9 months ago. He had behavioural issues from the start, but has gotten a lot better since bringing him home. The only thing I've yet to conquer is his extreme distaste for baths, which concerns me. Up until now his appetite has been great. He gets a variety of live feeders (crickets, hornworms on occasion, other worms) and a big bowl of greens on a daily basis (collards, dandelion, mustard), but recently he's only shown interest in worms. No salad, no crickets, nothing. I've also noticed that he hasn't shed in quite some time (yet is still maintaining his weight) and isn't quite as active. He's also not pooping regularly. Today, after maybe 4-5 days of not going, I noticed his urates weren't the stark white that they usually are. It was mostly a very pale orange with a hint of white along the top, which leads me to believe he could be dehydrated. The quick solution would be to give him a bath, but I cannot for the life of me keep him in the tub for longer than 5 minutes before he beards up and goes absolutely psychotic. The end result last time were scratches all over my body and the extreme fear that he was going to stress himself out more than I'd like him to. My question is, does anyone have any tips on how I can get him to enjoy bath time for longer than those 5 mins? Are there any vegetables I can give him that contain enough water to invigorate him? I've tried the eye dropper trick and he wasn't having it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Id like to nip the issue before it becomes an emergency. Thank you!

** would also like to ask if hornworms can help with the hydration process. Despite not really wanting food, he still goes crazy for them when offered.

Setup : 40 gallon, 105F basking, 80F cool. Reptisun 10 UVB. Carpet and slate substrate.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....as long as he's eating he'll get some hydration, but I would hold off on his faves and make him wait for the salads. You can offer greens while they are wet so he gets extra hydration. You can also drip water on his snout with an eyedropper or even a spray bottle for extra water. Spray [ or drip ] then wait a few seconds and repeat. It usually works.

No need to give him constant baths if he doesn't drink during the soaking as beardies really only get hydration orally.

 

[Cupquakez]

Hi there....as long as he's eating he'll get some hydration, but I would hold off on his faves and make him wait for the salads. You can offer greens while they are wet so he gets extra hydration. You can also drip water on his snout with an eyedropper or even a spray bottle for extra water. Spray [ or drip ] then wait a few seconds and repeat. It usually works.

No need to give him constant baths if he doesn't drink during the soaking as beardies really only get hydration orally.

I'm having a difficult time getting him to eat the crickets and salads. The only things he's shown interest in are the hornworms and super worms, though I don't want to feed him the supers due to the hard exterior and the difficulty he may be having digesting. I'll continue with the eye dropper in the morning to see if he's more likely to take from it then, and as always will give the greens another shot. I just don't want this to reach a critical point where it becomes irreversible

 

[AHBD]

Don't worry, it's normal for the to at times not have a large white urate. And he is not going to get sick, he'll eat when he needs food. And yes, hornworms provide a good amount of hydration but they are pricey. It does no harm to show tough love and make him wait until he's hungry enough for greens though. He will not get irreversible dehydration.