Questionable apetite?

[BrownEyes87]

Im very concerned over my little Brians even littler appetite. I have only witnessed him eat about 2 crickets in the last day and a half...He is a few weeks old? Is this normal? I am a first time beardie owner and everything worries me.

Please help!

 

[vickson420]

moved to ealth for better exposure

 

[BrownEyes87]

moved to ealth for better exposure

Thank you!

 

[vickson420]

Im very concerned over my little Brians even littler appetite. I have only witnessed him eat about 2 crickets in the last day and a half...He is a few weeks old? Is this normal? I am a first time beardie owner and everything worries me.

Please help!

Hi
Yes he should be eating much much more.How long have you had your beardie? Can you describe his set up?
Lighting(please be exact)?
Temperatures(again exact where and with what are you taking them)
UVB?
Substrate?
Size and type of enclosure?
How big is he? Other then eating how is he?What size are the crix your feeding?How often does he poop?

 

[BrownEyes87]

Im very concerned over my little Brians even littler appetite. I have only witnessed him eat about 2 crickets in the last day and a half...He is a few weeks old? Is this normal? I am a first time beardie owner and everything worries me.

Please help!

Hi
Yes he should be eating much much more.How long have you had your beardie? Can you describe his set up?
Lighting(please be exact)?
Temperatures(again exact where and with what are you taking them)
UVB?
Substrate?
Size and type of enclosure?
How big is he? Other then eating how is he?What size are the crix your feeding?How often does he poop?

I have a uva uvb light of 20 watts - 50 desert (whatever that means) And another smaller one with a slight blue tint.

A 40 gallon tank...a nice rock, some tree branches for him to climb...a water dish...mulch for softness...a pretty spacious tank for a little guy.

ive only scooped up one little bit of poop so far...
The crickets look to be adult sized...(i have them dusted with vitamin)

as for the temp - i cannot b sure because i do not have a monitor.
I am worried and at a loss.

He is otherwise a happy health looking beardie...Basks up on the branches...is very alert and holds head up...walks around...But his apetite worries me greatly.

Here he is
http://i33.tinypic.com/2aew0g2.jpg

 

[BrownEyes87]

I brought Brian home yesterday around 830pm...I tried feeding him but when he didnt seem too interested i just assumed he was full from being with his breeder all day. I didnt think anything wrong with it. So i took the crickets out and tried again today around 6pm and he only ate one.

 

[vickson420]

I have a uva uvb light of 20 watts - 50 desert (whatever that means) And another smaller one with a slight blue tint.
Ok if you can return this please do so.These are pretty bad bulbs.You should try to us a linear flourescent called the reptisun 10.0 or reptisun 5.0
A 40 gallon tank...a nice rock, some tree branches for him to climb...a water dish...mulch for softness...a pretty spacious tank for a little guy.
Ok mulch is a problem.It holds humidity and can cause serious impaction which may be a problem here.Babies and Juvies should be on solid substrate.I recommend you switch out to papertowels,repticarpet,ceramic tile or non adhesive shelf liner.
ive only scooped up one little bit of poop so far...
The crickets look to be adult sized...(i have them dusted with vitamin)
Ok pleas dont use anymore of these.The crix should be no bigger then the space between is eyes.A baby his age should be eatin 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch crix again serious impaction issue as well as they can scare them.
as for the temp - i cannot b sure because i do not have a monitor.
Big problem.Temps have to be monitored.They need a basking surface of 95f-110f in order to digest food or again they will become impacted and if its too hot they get deydrated.
I am worried and at a loss.

He is otherwise a happy health looking beardie...Basks up on the branches...is very alert and holds head up...walks around...But his apetite worries me greatly.

I recommend you get a digital probe thermometer asap and get those temps right.Remember 95-110 for the basking SURFACE and 75-80F on the cool end.Also I think he may be impacted.A baby is age should poop multiple times a day.Give him a nice warm soak for about 20 minutes in warm water and gently massage the abdomen to see if he poops and baths should be done 2-3xper week anyway.Also as I said get rid of the substrate and if possible switch out the uvb.There is a great impaction article under the care sheets and article link I do recommend you read it and also please keep me posted and feel free to ask anything.

 

[BrownEyes87]

Ok will do, thank you very much!!!
I will remove the mulch right away, as soon as i finish this msg!

I am at a complete loss...the breeder himself arranged me this enclosure...why would he have made such poor choices? I am so angry.

I am going out first thing in the morn to buy decent bulbs, i am so furious!!
I put my trust in this "expert" - i am so angry.

Good god. Shame on him.

How about if i chop the crickets into small peices, is that alright for now until i get small baby ones?

(which will be tomorrow morn)

 

[vickson420]

I actually would hold off on feeding solids until you see if you can get him to poop anyway.It may just be the temps being off and he cant digest so he isnt eating but you dont want to give an impacted animal more solids.If he doesnt poop soon let me know and I will give you some more info you could try.I know alot of breedrs/pet stores give out crappy info.They are kind of stuck in the past.Great that you are getting the new uvb bulb,make sure to get a linear bulb and no coils or compacts.Also do not go for the reptiglo 10.0 its not great or any zilla desert series bulbs.Try to stick with either the reptiSUN 10.0.or 5.0.You could also go with a MVB bulb because your tank is big enough.An MVB bulb is a mercury vapor bulb.They look like floodlights.They emit both heat and uvb from one bulb and are great for beardies.The best kinds are the Megaray,TRex Active Heat or the Powersun.They also last a full year as opposed to the 6 months regular uvb bulbs last.The only downside is there is a minimum distance with these bulbs.The 100 watt requires a 12 inch space between the beardie and the bulb(what I suggest you use for your size)so you may have to rearrange things in the tank a bit.They are the bulbs I use and I love them.

 

[BrownEyes87]

Thank you thank you thank you. Ill be on it first thing in the morn.

I am going to wake him up and give him a nice soak as instructed and massage.
So given the enormous size cricket he injusted, is it safe to say he is well - full - and not hungry as of yet?

I cannot wait till morn. I am so panicked...Do you think he will hold on another night before getting adequate lighting?

 

[vickson420]

Thank you thank you thank you. Ill be on it first thing in the morn.

I am going to wake him up and give him a nice soak as instructed and massage.
So given the enormous size cricket he injusted, is it safe to say he is well - full - and not hungry as of yet?

I cannot wait till morn. I am so panicked...Do you think he will hold on another night before getting adequate lighting?

Yes he will be fine without it tonight.The most important thing right now is to get the temps settled.I wouldnt wake him if he is sleeping.He will be ok for the moment.Just give him a bath in the morning.A few tips on feeding,you must wait at least an hour in the morning before feeding and you have to have the lights on for at least an hour after feeding.Do no leave crix in the tank with him.They will bite,and annoy him.What most do is put them on a feeding cycle.Feed as many crix as he can eat in 15 minutes then remove them and this should be done 3xper day.Also during one feeding a day 5xper week the crix should be dusted with Repcal w/d3 phosphorous free(calcium) and the other 2 days the crix should be dusted with herptivite(multivit) once daily.Be sure to check out the care sheet links just in case I left anything out,its late and I am a little groggy :wink:

 

[BrownEyes87]

Thank you so very much.
Im so angry ive given myself the worst headache...I just feel so tricked and humiliated.

 

[Zemanski]

this happens to a lot of us
I had no stat, I put sand in.... everything I could do wrong, I did it

All on advice I'd been given by people who should know better

but

you have found a good site with the right advice and it's not too late to put things right

 

[vickson420]

Thank you so very much.
Im so angry ive given myself the worst headache...I just feel so tricked and humiliated.

Dont feel bad this happens to may unfortunately.How is your beardie doing today?

 

[BrownEyes87]

Much better, Vickson!! Thank you!!
I went out and got a good exo terra thermometer and everything- even small baby crickets and i got rid of the mulch.

Brian hasent touched any crickets today, but he has had some lettuce.
And the even better news - HE POOPED. And quite a respectable amount too, given the enormous cricket he managed to eat. (i was starting to fear he might have developed a blockage from that huge cricket)

Im much more relaxed and optimistic about Brians future and health.
He'll be just fine with me i think.

His basking temp right now is @ 110 DF.