Serious Help Needed. Not Eating/Not Growing. Stressed Baby.

[wfdenham]

Hey all,

This will be my third update on a baby bearded dragon I bought in june.

Quick Links:
First Post: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=210240
This posts contains information on his setup (which has remained exactly the same.) His setup is exactly what you'd expect from anyone able to read a quick article on proper habitat for a beardie. Don't believe there is anything wrong with the way his habitat currently is.
Second post: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=211316
Posted this looking for answers, not much help received.



Ok so let's get into the problem. I currently have a baby bearded dragon that was born on 5/28/14. He is Hypo-Trans, 7.75" Long, 19 Grams.
He has not grown since the second post. (same weight and length)
He is eating around 5-20 pheonix worms a day.

At this point I'll be honest. I'm almost completely loosing hope in this dragon. I've tried handling him for about 30 mins a day since the first post. He is still skidish of me. He will not eat. He will not dive for food. The only thing I can think of to do at this point is to force feed him.

He has been fecal checked. No disease/parasites

I am looking for any help. Really I am hoping someone else has gone through something similar to this with promising results.

Here is some ideas that I have (some feedback would be great):
1.) Move his habitat into another room. Maybe my kitchen that way he is in constant view of people and noise.
2.) Take all food away from him except for when I feed him in a feeding bin. May encourage him to eat at proper times or else he'll go hungry. (Hard love here I know)
3.) Literally force feed him with a baby syringe
4.) Increase his basking temps to 115.
5.) Try processed dry food for beardies and leave it in there (not really high on this option)

Guys I need help. There has got to be at least one expert on this site that knows what to do here.

 

[wfdenham]

Here are some photo's so you guys can get a good idea of his size. Keep in mind he is over 4 months old at this point.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....he's a cute little guy ! I think that one problem may be that the UVB is too close .....if you lay the basking log on it's side he might feel better because the light won't be practically on the same level as his eyes. Those UVB bulbs are good up to 20: away ! It would probably even be better on top of the screen. At any rate, don't force feed him...you will greatly increase his stress. He may also just be a slow growing dragon. I don't remember if you sais that you've tried dubia for him, or just crickets + Phoenix worms ?

 

[wfdenham]

Great idea. I always thought that light was too close yet people kept insisting I move him actually closer to it.

Okay I'll try that now.

I've tried feeding crickets dubia and worms.

He has no care for dubia whatsoever. And I hate getting those out of a tank. I usually leave worms in the bowl and eventually he will try to eat them.

Would be great if I could get him to eat dubia because I have a dubia colony.

 

[AHBD]

Yes, see if that makes a difference.

 

[wfdenham]

He's sleeping now but I turned it. I'll post a picture tomorrow and any updates I see on his feeding habits.

The lights looks to be about 10-12" away now. I do have an above screen fixture for this bulb but I want to see how this works out first.

I'm thinking the light at eye level could be the real problem and not so much the distance. The light could be causing his stress and reduced eating.

Like I said I'll update with a post tomorrow morning. I appreciate the idea thank you.

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome....hopefully there'll be some improvement.

 

[wfdenham]

Ok here is the promised pictures:

He gets stressed easily so I'll wait until he is basking comfortably to try and feed him.

 

[AHBD]

The pics aren't showing up for some reason.

 

[wfdenham]

You can right click on the "broken" pic and open the link.

Not sure why this happens, happened last night too and they just eventually showed up.

 

[wfdenham]

So far no luck with feeding. I've put 23 worms in his bowl he hasn't dived for them yet today.

Not sure if this stress will take time or there is something else I can do. What do you think?

 

[AHBD]

It could be stress related, it could be lights, and it could be just that he's one of those that just doesn't eat or grow well....sometimes that happens. Is the food bowl easily visible ? Have you tried putting a few worms on the floor of the tank ? Even if it were that he's not a good eater, they can suddenly pick up their appetite at some point and start doing better and go through a growth spurt. Something else you might try.....take a dubia roach, get a pair of tweezers and squeeze the roach until the guts come out the back, then rub it slowly + lightly on his snout. I know it sounds gross,but that may work to spark his appetite.

 

[wfdenham]

Just tried the roach trick. He got so mad he snapped at the dead roach and ate it. Didn't look like it made him hungry just angry haha, i couldn't really tell. He went and hid after that.

I actually have tilted the bowl more using an extra piece of tile so he has a real good view of all the worms in it. I very tried putting them on the flpor he doesn't care where they are at really.

I've tried a feeding bin with him but I've never had any luck with that.

 

[AHBD]

Well, one may lead to another...try it again and see how many he'll eat. Funny thing is , sometimes they will eat 5-6 in a row. You might even try it while holding him.