Still Won't Feed Himself/At My Wit's End

[Spoony]

Hey all! It's been like, a million years but I'm back again with what's probably a reoccuring question. Zero has never fed himself and he still won't and I'm at my wit's end. I've been through a bit of depression these past few months and I must admit I've neglected his daily feedings and I haven't been keeping up on his baths or veggies, and for that I am in deep regret. Now I'm going to take steps to get him back on track. I'm going to get pedialyte, I'm going to make him pretty salads and I'm going to feed him more often, but here's the hard part: I'd love it if he just fed himself.

Ever since he was small he's never hunted, chased, or showed any interest in any food whatsoever be it alive or veggies and I just don't get it. I've tried tough love by leaving buggies in his viv for days on end and they all die because he doesn't touch a single one. He'll stare at them, walk through them, but that's it. No attempt to eat. The most he's done with his salads is drag them across his viv. I'm at my wit's end here and have no idea how to entice him to feed himself.

I'm hoping getting his hydration back on track will help bring his energy up, but other than that I don't know what to do. Any expert opinions on how to get him to feed himself??

Thank you in advance.

 

[Elmontare]

Well i wouldnt say this is an expert opinion but my dragon has never refused a superworm salad before. I would mix a bowl of fresh mustard and collard greens and add about 6 supers. Place your dragon in front of the bowl (if she cant see it) and try to get her used to doing it herself.

 

[Spoony]

Thank you, I will try that

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, I'm sorry to hear that Zero isn't eating on his own. I'm also sorry to hear about your depression.....so common in these crazy times we live in ! What condition is Zero in, can you post a full body shot of him ? What exactly have you fed him, was it by syringe ?

 

[Jacqqui]

Hi,
is there anything in his setup that could be causing him not to eat? what is he living in, the temps, the lighting, etc? How old is he?
If all of that is correct I would say trying hornworms because they are brightly colored and once they try one they are hooked!! They also are nutritious and have a lot of moisture. They are soft and easy to chew.

Have you had him to the vet to see if he has worms/parasites or anything else going on? I would recommend that if everything else hasn't worker, and only if you have a vet that knows about beardies.

Yea the depression doesn't help. Do you have it warm enough in the house? If your depression was the type that had you "hybernating" a bit of brightening up may help you and him. I don't know what the weather is like where you are but f its warm enough you and him being out in the sun would be a great help.

Jacqui

 

[Spoony]

I don't have any full body shots at the moment since I'm at work, but when I do feed him I feed him large Superworms. He's a little over a year old, haven't measured him recently but I'd wager he's about 14 inches, maybe more. Haven't weighed him recently either.

His temps are between 90-100 basking (room temp affects this as well), about 80-90 warm side and 70-80 cool side. In order to avoid room temps fluctuating I place a fan in the window which helps keep temps on the low side. He spends a lot of his time sleeping on the floor of the viv, so maybe his temps are too warm? Or not warm enough? Before you ask, his substrate is natural slate tile. His lighting are house bulbs (usually halogen) at 60W.

I need to find him a new vet, the last one knew little to nothing about beardies, it's just hard since beardies are "exotic". I may have to just go back to that semi-incompetent vet.

As for his condition, he looks healthy, if not a little underweight and possibly slightly dehydrated (I'm buying Pedialyte tonight) just usally lazy and sleepy.

 

[Spoony]

I'm purchasing pedialyte tonight as well as a 3cc needleless syringe. Can I bathe him in the pedialyte or should I syringe "feed" him? Could I added his calcium and/or vitamin powder to it?

I've got a vet appointment for him on Wednesday so that should hopefully get some answers as it's been awhile since I took him to a vet. Hopefully it's just dehydration and not parasites or anything worse. I'm wondering if I should treat Zero as a rescue and slowly reintroduce solid food into his diet.. he doesn't touch his veggies unless I basically force-feed them to him.

 

[AHBD]

If he is normal weight, or even a little thin he will be fine eating whatever you have given him in the past, like superworms. If he's dehydrated, just dribble water on his snout while he's being soaked. You can also offer low sugar baby food like squash and add a bit of extra water. Some time in the sun might perk him up as well.

 

[Spoony]

Thank you, if the sun returns this afternoon I'll take him out, it's a little overcast at the moment. I will also give him a bath and drip feed him pedialyte. I'm fairly certain he's underweight for his age so that's why I'm a little worried. Hopefully I'll also get a bowel movement out of him.