Stopped eating after being sick, can only syringe feed

mactac

Member
Beardie name(s)
Gary, Nari
I posted this earlier in another forum, but came up short and we are desperate for any information at all that can help.. Things are getting a lot more urgent (the longer this goes on, the tougher it's going to be), and I'm hoping that I can find some people who have experience with this to chime in:

One of our juvenile (about 3 months old) bearded dragon got very sick with a respiratory infection and stopped eating. She lost so much weight that the vet was all but assuming that she would not make it. On the advice of the vet, we started syringe feeding her. After a round of antibiotics, she seems to be much more healthy.

Before all of this, she was a really good eater. But now after 4 weeks of syringe feeding, it's like she has forgotten how to hunt/eat without the syringe. She seems completely uninterested in food, even if we do not feed her for a few days. She does exhibit hunger, and sometimes opens and closes her mouth just a little bit, but will not eat unless force fed.

Her tank is set up well, 105 in the basking spot, a good T5 UV light, she still drinks water in the bath. In fact, she seems strangely thirsty much of the time, but I can't imagine she is dehydrated because of the water she gets from the food we give her.

We have tried a variety of her favorite foods, and we even try to sneak small crickets or soldier fly larvae in her mouth when the syringe is in there just to get her to remember what eating live food is like, but to no avail. The most she ever does is lick food that we put in front of her, but never tries to bite it. When she is really hungry, she will even open and close her mouth a tiny bit , expecting food to just show up.

We di get a fecal test a couple of weeks ago, and it turned up a small amount of coccidia, and we treated her for that, hoping that would solve her eating issue, but it did not.

We have tried going for a few days without food, just to see if the hunger will make her eat, but nothing. We have tried a ton of different foods.

Right now her staple via the syringe is dried juvenile food made from soldier fly larvae, mixed with repti-boost, water and calcium powder.

Is there a good procedure/strategy to gradually get a beardie eating on its own again? I feel like the longer this goes on, the harder it's going to be to the point where this might be a lifelong thing soon.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I posted this earlier in another forum, but came up short and we are desperate for any information at all that can help.. Things are getting a lot more urgent (the longer this goes on, the tougher it's going to be), and I'm hoping that I can find some people who have experience with this to chime in:

One of our juvenile (about 3 months old) bearded dragon got very sick with a respiratory infection and stopped eating. She lost so much weight that the vet was all but assuming that she would not make it. On the advice of the vet, we started syringe feeding her. After a round of antibiotics, she seems to be much more healthy.

Before all of this, she was a really good eater. But now after 4 weeks of syringe feeding, it's like she has forgotten how to hunt/eat without the syringe. She seems completely uninterested in food, even if we do not feed her for a few days. She does exhibit hunger, and sometimes opens and closes her mouth just a little bit, but will not eat unless force fed.

Her tank is set up well, 105 in the basking spot, a good T5 UV light, she still drinks water in the bath. In fact, she seems strangely thirsty much of the time, but I can't imagine she is dehydrated because of the water she gets from the food we give her.

We have tried a variety of her favorite foods, and we even try to sneak small crickets or soldier fly larvae in her mouth when the syringe is in there just to get her to remember what eating live food is like, but to no avail. The most she ever does is lick food that we put in front of her, but never tries to bite it. When she is really hungry, she will even open and close her mouth a tiny bit , expecting food to just show up.

We di get a fecal test a couple of weeks ago, and it turned up a small amount of coccidia, and we treated her for that, hoping that would solve her eating issue, but it did not.

We have tried going for a few days without food, just to see if the hunger will make her eat, but nothing. We have tried a ton of different foods.

Right now her staple via the syringe is dried juvenile food made from soldier fly larvae, mixed with repti-boost, water and calcium powder.

Is there a good procedure/strategy to gradually get a beardie eating on its own again? I feel like the longer this goes on, the harder it's going to be to the point where this might be a lifelong thing soon.
I remember your post --- I am going to get some help on this for other ideas
@AHBD
@Drache613
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

So sorry you are having trouble getting your girl back
to health, as well as some answers.
Did you post pictures of her & her setup in your other
thread?
Which brand of T5 tube bulb UVB are you using & what
is the distance of the light to her?
What are the various supplements that you use for her?
It can take weeks or longer for them to begin to recover
after medication rounds. Have you started her on any
probiotics?
You can also try getting some bee pollen to help with
the appetite & immune system. Also, blackstrap molasses
can be used for help with appetite also. Just a few drops
mixed in with food or water, a few times per week.

Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie
 

mactac

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gary, Nari
Hello,

So sorry you are having trouble getting your girl back
to health, as well as some answers.
Did you post pictures of her & her setup in your other
thread?
Which brand of T5 tube bulb UVB are you using & what
is the distance of the light to her?
What are the various supplements that you use for her?
It can take weeks or longer for them to begin to recover
after medication rounds. Have you started her on any
probiotics?
You can also try getting some bee pollen to help with
the appetite & immune system. Also, blackstrap molasses
can be used for help with appetite also. Just a few drops
mixed in with food or water, a few times per week.

Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

Hi Tracie - thanks so much for your reply :)

The bulb is an Arcadia 12% 24W bulb, it's pretty close (8 inches or so), but going through the screen top.

We are feeding her:

Exo-terra Dragon grub juvenile: Exo Terra Dragon Grub Insect Pellets for Juvenile Bearded Dragons

Fluker's repta-boost (mixed about 50/50 with the dragon grub) Boost & appetite stimulant: https://www.amazon.ca/Fluker-Labs-Insectivore-Carnivore-Supplement/dp/B000634CL4

Fluker's liquid vitamin: https://www.chewy.com/flukers-liquid-vitamin-reptile/dp/126163 (about a drop a day)

Fluker's Repta Calcium with Vitamin D3 (a bit mixed in with her food)

We syringe feed her twice a day, usually about 2ml each time.

Before we feed her, we always offer her live food - usually soldier fly larvae or small superworms. We can trick her into eating these, but she won't eat them on her own.

We actually just got some bee pollen yesterday, and will try to mix some of that in with her food (maybe 10% mix?)

We will try the molasses too.

It has been about 4 weeks or so now since her antibiotic was done. Her parasite meds only about a week.

She has not eaten on her own in about a month and a half now that I look at the dates. We got her when she was likely about 4 weeks old, and I think she was already sick with the RI when we got her. So, we had her about a week before all of this started happening. So much stress on the little girl.

Here are some pictures of her setup, we are using paper towel until we get things sorted out and stable. This fixture on the right is a ceramic heater for night time, the one on the left is the basking light - 150W.
She spends all of her time up top in the hammock, almost as if she's always trying to get more heat/UV, but we have experimented with more of both, and it just seemed like it was getting into dangerous territory.

side.jpg






top.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hi Tracie - thanks so much for your reply :)

The bulb is an Arcadia 12% 24W bulb, it's pretty close (8 inches or so), but going through the screen top.

We are feeding her:

Exo-terra Dragon grub juvenile: Exo Terra Dragon Grub Insect Pellets for Juvenile Bearded Dragons

Fluker's repta-boost (mixed about 50/50 with the dragon grub) Boost & appetite stimulant: https://www.amazon.ca/Fluker-Labs-Insectivore-Carnivore-Supplement/dp/B000634CL4

Fluker's liquid vitamin: https://www.chewy.com/flukers-liquid-vitamin-reptile/dp/126163 (about a drop a day)

Fluker's Repta Calcium with Vitamin D3 (a bit mixed in with her food)

We syringe feed her twice a day, usually about 2ml each time.

Before we feed her, we always offer her live food - usually soldier fly larvae or small superworms. We can trick her into eating these, but she won't eat them on her own.

We actually just got some bee pollen yesterday, and will try to mix some of that in with her food (maybe 10% mix?)

We will try the molasses too.

It has been about 4 weeks or so now since her antibiotic was done. Her parasite meds only about a week.

She has not eaten on her own in about a month and a half now that I look at the dates. We got her when she was likely about 4 weeks old, and I think she was already sick with the RI when we got her. So, we had her about a week before all of this started happening. So much stress on the little girl.

Here are some pictures of her setup, we are using paper towel until we get things sorted out and stable. This fixture on the right is a ceramic heater for night time, the one on the left is the basking light - 150W.
She spends all of her time up top in the hammock, almost as if she's always trying to get more heat/UV, but we have experimented with more of both, and it just seemed like it was getting into dangerous territory.

View attachment 77767





View attachment 77768
I would stop w/ the pellets and start w/ fresh salads - this could be a good reason shes dehydrated -
Nutrition Content ignore the kale info its outdated
use the BSFL and small super worms and drop on the salads to lure her there - see if that will work - you can also get some dubia roaches and do the same thing www.dubiaroaches.com -- are you placing the probe on the hammock to get the temps- it needs to sit where she sits for basking
 

mactac

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gary, Nari
I would stop w/ the pellets and start w/ fresh salads - this could be a good reason shes dehydrated -
Nutrition Content ignore the kale info its outdated
use the BSFL and small super worms and drop on the salads to lure her there - see if that will work - you can also get some dubia roaches and do the same thing www.dubiaroaches.com -- are you placing the probe on the hammock to get the temps- it needs to sit where she sits for basking

Thanks for the reply and ideas!

The pellets are being soaked in water to make a slurry with the repta-boost and other supplements, so there is plenty of water she is getting. She is not eating dry pellets. I'm not quite getting why she seems to want so much water.

We do offer her a good salad every day, but she is not interested. Adding BSFL or anything else to the salad I don't think will work because she is not interested in those either. We cannot even get her to eat even when sticking it right up to her mouth at the moment, so the idea of luring her is a bit of a non-starter for the moment. I expect that might be the next step if we can somehow manage to get her hand feeding.

We can't get Dubia roaches (not legal for feeders in Canada)

The probe is on the hammock right in the basking spot, and we are also spot checking with a temp gun.
 
Last edited:

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Thanks for the reply and ideas!

The pellets are being soaked in water to make a slurry with the repta-boost and other supplements, so there is plenty of water she is getting. She is not eating dry pellets. I'm not quite getting why she seems to want so much water.

We do offer her a good salad every day, but she is not interested. Adding BSFL or anything else to the salad I don't think will work because she is not interested in those either. We cannot even get her to eat even when sticking it right up to her mouth at the moment, so the idea of luring her is a bit of a non-starter for the moment. I expect that might be the next step if we can somehow manage to get her hand feeding.

We can't get Dubia roaches (not legal for feeders in Canada)

The probe is on the hammock right in the basking spot, and we are also spot checking with a temp gun.
Probe only please temp guns are inaccurate off of hammocks - they cannot read off of it-- ok so no dubias see if you can entice her w / some silk worms-- Home - The Worm Lady
I am stumped as to why shes not eating --- could still be the effects of the meds but for her NOT to be eating at all is not good --- so lets try this please unobstruct the UVB so shes getting full strength of the bulb --- this could be a factor - you want the distance directly above her basking decor piece 12-15 inches then watch and see what she does
 

mactac

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gary, Nari
Probe only please temp guns are inaccurate off of hammocks - they cannot read off of it-- ok so no dubias see if you can entice her w / some silk worms-- Home - The Worm Lady
I am stumped as to why shes not eating --- could still be the effects of the meds but for her NOT to be eating at all is not good --- so lets try this please unobstruct the UVB so shes getting full strength of the bulb --- this could be a factor - you want the distance directly above her basking decor piece 12-15 inches then watch and see what she does

I use the probe, but I also use the temp gun because her little plastic log varies a lot in temperature and can get way up there sometimes since it's plastic. I've seen it up at 130 degrees or so. So I keep the temp gun for spot checking. I do understand that it's really tough to get a good reading from the hammock.

We have tried silk worms. (actually neither of our beardies care for silk worms!).

I can move the UV into inside her enclosure, however the heat will then not be enough because we will need to lower her basking spot quite drastically. Any advice on that? The heat fixture is too big to put in her enclosure.

If we trick her into eating a worm or BSFL, she actually does enjoy it. It's just that she won't actively try to take it - it's really strange. If she bites a superworm and (gross warning....) then I rub the open/bit side of the work against her lips, she will lick it. She has just completely lost her hunting/eating reflex. And like I said, I'm worried that the longer this goes on, the harder it's going to be to solve.

The one thing that I've been wondering about is if she is ill with something else and not really exhibiting symptoms that we've taken notice of. If she is sick, she might not be eating for that reason.

Unfortunately, the vet here does not have any ideas. We had to specifically request a fecal test, which seemed rather obvious to do.

Thanks!
 

mactac

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gary, Nari
SORRY! I just took a better look at the bulb - it's a 14% UVB bulb, not 12%. I t was in a 12% box (!).

Should this matter? Can too much UVB going to cause this?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
SORRY! I just took a better look at the bulb - it's a 14% UVB bulb, not 12%. I t was in a 12% box (!).

Should this matter? Can too much UVB going to cause this?
Yes ---- you need a tank of 24" for a 14% bulb --- I would swap the bulb out for a 12% and try what I posted above--- is she basking under that UVB and for how long?
 

mactac

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gary, Nari
Yes ---- you need a tank of 24" for a 14% bulb --- I would swap the bulb out for a 12% and try what I posted above--- is she basking under that UVB and for how long?
She basks the entire day, and even tries to reach up as high as she can, even propping herself up on the wire to the probe. It's like she always wants to be closer to the heat/uv - she'll climb to within 3-4 inches of the UV sometimes, and we move her when she does. I've always been reluctant to move the UV below the mesh because it seems like she's getting too much as it is!

But the heat is good, and I have measured the UV with a UV meter, and it's WAY more than our other beardie has, and the other one is doing great.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
She basks the entire day, and even tries to reach up as high as she can, even propping herself up on the wire to the probe. It's like she always wants to be closer to the heat/uv - she'll climb to within 3-4 inches of the UV sometimes, and we move her when she does. I've always been reluctant to move the UV below the mesh because it seems like she's getting too much as it is!

But the heat is good, and I have measured the UV with a UV meter, and it's WAY more than our other beardie has, and the other one is doing great.
That is odd --- that 14% bulb is very strong- and for her to be getting 3-4 inches thats a lot - what is your meter reading for UV? I wouldnt put the UVB in the tank I would remove the screen so its sitting on top but nothing in between - but I would not do that w/ the 14% bulb - only a 12% bulb - I did use the 14% bulbs at one time w/ it in the tank but my tank is a 24" and I had it strapped to the top w/ the basking decor piece 17-18 inches under it - ok so w / the other dragon getting less UV and is doing great I would get it set up like his then and see what she does --
 

SkittlesK

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Kamo
All of this sounds pretty normal. (Besides the Coccidia infection).
Does her throat click/make popping sounds.?
excess saliva at all?
excess mucous in the mouth.?
A 'puffier' appearance to the beard at all.?

That's an RTI.

Entice W/ Superworms.
Don't syringe feed too much if she does have an RTI.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
No need to get rid of the 14 % bulb, even if there was any concern of too much uvb you'd just lower the hammock a bit. There's plenty of areas that are out of the full range of the bulb.
 

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