Very Small Dragon, Won`t eat, No Appetite - Worrying

[idlehands]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice? I`m becoming very worried about my newest dragon that I purchased around 6 weeks ago.

He was 10 months old when I first received him, but only 12 inches long. He`s very small but not thin. He`s alert and active but has not interest in food at all. I was hoping his appetite would increase over time but it hasn`t. I offer him crickets,locusts and recently morio worms. He will only eat one or two a day max. And never touches veg.

I have a female dragon who is younger than him (but eat likes a horse) who was a similar size not long ago but now absolutely dwarfs him. I`m worried if he doesn`t start eating soon he`ll never grow to adult size.

His setup is fine I believe : He`s on his own in a 4 foot viv with a brand new megaray, paper substrate, digital thermometer, food dusted with calcium and nutrobal, 114 hotspot - 80 cool end.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Neromom39]

I might be wrong on this, so I hope another experienced poster may comment as well but 114 may be a little warm for a 10 month old dragon. Our 9 month old won't tolerate greater than 107 and even our 6 month old won't go near her basking spot if it gets higher than that (we also use the MegaRays, by the way) Are you bathing him? He may be dehydrated.

 

[idlehands]

Hi,

Cheers for replying

114 is the heat were the very pinpoint of light is, actually most of the basking spot is around 105 - 110. He does spend all of his day on the basking rock, I imagine if it was to hot there he would spend more time at the cool side? Yes I do bath him.

 

[idlehands]

He`s had nothing at all too eat for the last 2 days, which is worrying me. So earlier I tried gently force feeding him locusts which he took reluctantly. I have tried giving him some "avripo-plus", but am stumped at what to do next? Or what could be wrong? I`m concerned that maybe he`s got some sort of growth defect, considering how small he was when I received him.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Are they housed alone currently?
Can you post a picture of him? Perhaps he is a different hybrid such as a Rankins possibly? That would tell us alot, they usually only get 10-12 inches in length. How much does he weigh?
What type of UVB was he exposed to previously before you got him?
Are you providing calcium 4-5 times per week, & do you know whether or not he got calcium previously before you got him?
I would double check the temps, as 114 is a bit high. Where does he normally bask?
You could try to get some bee pollen & brewer's yeast to help with his appetite. What are his stools like right now, are they runny & smelly? What do the urates look like, are they hard or soft, white or off colored?


Tracie

 

[idlehands]

Hi,

Thanks for replying. And thanks alot for the help you gave me with the dragon that was rolling over if you can remember, she is doing great now!

Yes he is housed alone, I don`t think he is a rankins unless I have been conned. Not sure on weight.
Don`t really now anything about before he came to me, I can`t imagine his food was being dusted. I am dusting his food with calcium and sometimes nutrobal but as he`s barley eating he wont be getting much.

Normally I use 100w Megarays, but was only able to get hold of a 120w which is a little on the hot side. I have a 100w Powersun that should be arriving at some point in the mail, also I have a unused Repti-Glo 5.0 which maybe I could use temporally until the Powersun arrives to get better temps? I was also thinking of relocating him to a slightly smaller viv i have an empty (3ft), maybe the space he has is a bit overwhelming? Also I could raise him higher from the ground to make him feel more secure, he`s on a coffee table at the moment (waist height).

Some Phoenix Worms arrived in the post today which my other dragons all loved, but he just turned his nose up to them.

I`m especially worried as I was planning on using him for breeding in the future, he was quite expensive.

(They are normally much smaller than this one)

 

[KayJay93]

Are you sure he's definitely 10 months old?
He looks the same and is the same size as my 4 month old...

I can't really help you much... But i hope he starts eating soon!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He does not appear to be a rankins just based on that picture. He is just a little smaller than he should be, but, overall, he looks good. I think he most likely has a calcium & possibly other nutritional deficiency that should be able to be fixed fairly easily.
Good you have a Powersun on the way, that is a pretty good light. If you can, maybe try to get some liquid calcium as he would absorb that more efficiently than powdered calcium. The nutrabol is fine so you can use that 1-2 times per week.
I would move him to a little smaller tank if you feel he is overwhelmed. Are you feeding him in a smaller feeding bin or tank so he doesn't have to go far to get his food? Too bad he did not like the phoenix worms. Maybe he will eat them when he starts feeling better.
The Reptiglo 5 has just a little UVB but you could actually use that & then keep it in there to add extra brightness to the tank along with the Powersun MVB.
What are his temps running right now?
The tank is large enough so once you get it a little brighter, it will look fine.
You are welcome! I am glad to hear that your female dragon with calcium problems is doing much better now! That is great.
Keep me posted on him. He is bound to get better with you helping him now.

Tracie