Starved Beardie!

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AlixxLove

Member
Oh my gosh, guys! I'm going to cry. So, I got my first beardie and although I haven't fed him any live food yet, I do give him greens and food pellets. Lately, he hasn't been eating...like, at all. I just thought it was normal while he adjusted to the changes around him... But today I noticed how skinny and fragile he is! I really don't know what to do!! How do I get him eating and quick?? I really don't want him to die!</3
 

TipsyTraveler

Hatchling Member
I dont know... feed him?

If he is REALLY skinny feed him wax worms. they are fatty. then we he puts on weight feed him crickets or phoenix worms. dont feed him wax worms only for too long, he could become spoiled and only want them. they are not a staple they are a treat.

you also sound like you are new to reptiles/beardies. can you please give a rundown of your tank?
UVB light?
Basking light?
Size of tank?
Bedding?

a picture would be nice too.
 

Tracey13

Member
Hi
I have had beardies for less than a year and they are my first so I'm sure the more experienced people will all have good advice for you. But to share a similar story, when I first got them they were young and the pet store by me had crickets that were too large. So I bought can-o-crickets (I kid you not) which are basically dead crickets in their own juices(yum). Stubs refused to eat it and after a couple of days I brought him back to be seen by their vet. One of the guys working there put him in a tank, three in a few small LIVE crickets and what do you know, he ate them! Didn't I feel foolish. So try him on some small live prey before you panic. Good luck!

Tracey
 

AlixxLove

Member
Original Poster
Tracey13":54w3ss9f said:
Hi
I have had beardies for less than a year and they are my first so I'm sure the more experienced people will all have good advice for you. But to share a similar story, when I first got them they were young and the pet store by me had crickets that were too large. So I bought can-o-crickets (I kid you not) which are basically dead crickets in their own juices(yum). Stubs refused to eat it and after a couple of days I brought him back to be seen by their vet. One of the guys working there put him in a tank, three in a few small LIVE crickets and what do you know, he ate them! Didn't I feel foolish. So try him on some small live prey before you panic. Good luck!

Tracey

Thank you so much! Luckily, I found a PetSmart really close to my house and got him some meal worms and three crickets to see if he'd eat, and oh my gosh! He just ate it up! Thank you, this is my first beardie and I thought that he was going to be fine with just vegetables for a while... I guess I was wrong. I'm going to the store again tomorrow morning to stock up on some more live feed.
 

AlixxLove

Member
Original Poster
TipsyTraveler":wqp5cs4f said:
I dont know... feed him?

If he is REALLY skinny feed him wax worms. they are fatty. then we he puts on weight feed him crickets or phoenix worms. dont feed him wax worms only for too long, he could become spoiled and only want them. they are not a staple they are a treat.

you also sound like you are new to reptiles/beardies. can you please give a rundown of your tank?
UVB light?
Basking light?
Size of tank?
Bedding?

a picture would be nice too.

He wasn't super skinny, just reasonably so. And very weak. I was feeding him greens and food pellets, but when he stopped eating as much people would just tell me that it was normal since winter is close and they were going into brumation, so I didn't think much of it. He's a lot healthier now, though.

Here are some pictures:


His cage is only temporary. In about a week or two I'm getting an ExoTerra 36"18"18"


Those are the light bulbs that I use for his basking. They had run out of UVB bulbs, so they gave me the one that they were using. It was opened for two months, so I'll have to go and get a new one soon.
 

TipsyTraveler

Hatchling Member
Get rid of that bedding. Put in carpet, it's like 10-15$.
No colored bulbs. Even at night. They can see the color and it messes with their eyes. Get some live feeders, pellets cannot sustain that long nor as a staple.
Hydras him. The compact UVB bulbs will not work. Get a tube.
 

AlixxLove

Member
Original Poster
TipsyTraveler":87pozuo5 said:
Get rid of that bedding. Put in carpet, it's like 10-15$.
No colored bulbs. Even at night. They can see the color and it messes with their eyes. Get some live feeders, pellets cannot sustain that long nor as a staple.
Hydras him. The compact UVB bulbs will not work. Get a tube.

1) What's wrong with the bedding? It's the same bedding that they use at The Serpentarium.
2) I asked a reptile vet about the infrared light bulb and he said that it was just fine. I would not take my beardie home to it until he told me that it doesn't do any damage to them.
3) Is the "tube" that long light bulb that kinda looks like a stick? Because if it is, then that's the one that I have. I don't have just one light bulb, I have one of the long ones. (English is my second language, and I'm still learning all the different names for similar products :? )
 

TipsyTraveler

Hatchling Member
They are going to tell you anything that will get you to buy their products. bearded dragons are one of the few reptiles that can see red and blue light rays, it really annoys them and will cause them to not bask, you should not use these especially at night because it wakes them up and prevents them from sleeping, and these little poop machines with personalities need a lot of sleep. the UVB bulb is ok, assuming it is a 10.0 reptisun tube. the bedding can be swallowed and they can die from impaction from it. quite a few dragons die at the stores they gold them at from impaction because they fail to realize this.

moral of the "story": dont listen to ANY pet store. they only want your money, even if they are a close friend of yours that owns the store (i have had that problem).
 

Molson

Member
A young dragons diet is almost entirely live food, they don't eat many greens. You need to feed babies 2-3 times a day, as many crickets as they can eat in 15 minutes. They will start eating a ton. Get small crickets until he is big enough for the big ones, no larger than the space between his eyes.

You really need to put some time into doing some research if you want him to be happy and healthy, there is a lot to know, and babies require more care than adults. There are a lot of good guides online, and the answer to almost any question can be found using a simple google search.
 
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