My daughter has a juvenile beardie that we've had for about four weeks. A little over a week ago JJ stopped eating. No creckets, no mealworms, and its never been a big veggie eater. After a few days its calcium dropped and dropped and we of course had trouble and ended up at the vet. So were now syringe feeding and opens his mouth like a little bird anytime he sees the syringe, and he's having loose stools I'm guessing from the liquid diet and zero bugs or veggies. I will bring him back to the vet, but thought I would ask if anyone has suggestions on getting this little guy to eat because I don't want to be syring feeding this little guy forever.
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Feeding issues in juvenile beardie
- Thread starter JLL
- Start date
mamaof2dragons
Juvenile Dragon
- Messages
- 207
first off, what are you feeding him now? baby food? if so use organic and choose the first foods baby food, there's no added sugars or fillers in those ones.
next how are your temps? and did the vet do a fecal smear for parasites?
next how are your temps? and did the vet do a fecal smear for parasites?
Temps are 109 in the spot with the UV this morning (sorry its my daughters and im not home and hubby is giving temps) 78 on cool side 80 gallon tank. He gapes from the heat and is very active and kickes the salad and veggies worms all over, and will kick the crickets off his "rock" but wont eat them.
He is excited to get out and runs around and loves baths and water.
It is cream powerdy stuff from the vet and we sprinkle calcuim/D. The lazy lizard turns its nose up to its dish of water with a few drops of apple juice but will happily take from a syringe.
I wasn't able to collect one because he wasnt eating and wasn't really going. I had been spraying him with water, he' weird and likes it and sticks his tongue out. I will be bringing him back in and definately bringing a stool sample in.
I'm nervous I'm going to have a high maintenance lizard on my hands. Its my daughters pet and I'm not up for MBD or lizard seizures but also don't want $100 weekly vet bills.
My son has one that is 3 months older, and zero issues.
He is excited to get out and runs around and loves baths and water.
It is cream powerdy stuff from the vet and we sprinkle calcuim/D. The lazy lizard turns its nose up to its dish of water with a few drops of apple juice but will happily take from a syringe.
I wasn't able to collect one because he wasnt eating and wasn't really going. I had been spraying him with water, he' weird and likes it and sticks his tongue out. I will be bringing him back in and definately bringing a stool sample in.
I'm nervous I'm going to have a high maintenance lizard on my hands. Its my daughters pet and I'm not up for MBD or lizard seizures but also don't want $100 weekly vet bills.
My son has one that is 3 months older, and zero issues.
I made an appointment but your post got me think thinking. He did have a regular bowel movement so I think its the powdery water mixture. I have organic fruit/veggie pouches that are all beardie approved foods and a ton of meal worms and crickets. Out come the pill crusher and in go the bugs. I made a lovely bug/fruit/veggie paste with repti vite and calcium/d to freeze in 1cc cubes to feed (warmed of course to not shock him) until the vet sees him - herp vet is 40mi away and I'm in grad school, and he's active so I was told not urgent so it costs less - and hopefully he will get a taste for the bugs and veg again. I will continue to put a salad with worms in every morning and offer live dusted crickets at least 2-3 times daily and hopefully he will start to eat on his own.
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- cleveland ohio
Mine done this too. Go buy some hornworms & try that, I have a good feeling he will eat them
make sure you do not give him more liquid then he should have.that can make him sick too, did you take him to a reptile vet? I still syringe feed mine once in a while becasue she is a very picky eater & doesnt eat her greens or veggies.
I feed her dubia roaches, cricketts,wax worms,hornworms. The veggies, greens & fruits that she will not eat I feed to the roaches & crickets to guttload them.
apple juice isnt to good of a idea to give him. how many syringe ml`s do you feed him at a time? did the vet give you carnivore care food? also I would take all of the live running bugs out of the cage. not a good idea to have them stay in there. do you have a photo of your cage setup? what is the humidity level
Mine done this too. Go buy some hornworms & try that, I have a good feeling he will eat them
that can make him sick too, did you take him to a reptile vet? I still syringe feed mine once in a while becasue she is a very picky eater & doesnt eat her greens or veggies.
I feed her dubia roaches, cricketts,wax worms,hornworms. The veggies, greens & fruits that she will not eat I feed to the roaches & crickets to guttload them.
apple juice isnt to good of a idea to give him. how many syringe ml`s do you feed him at a time? did the vet give you carnivore care food? also I would take all of the live running bugs out of the cage. not a good idea to have them stay in there. do you have a photo of your cage setup? what is the humidity level
He corrected himself! Way too many vet bills and zero answers though! His humidity is in the desert range but has popped up a little when it had rained at night. He has a coil heater all the time and a badking light plus uvb and its around 105. He's in my daughters room so I'll have to get a picture later.
The little brat just refuses to eat any bugs dusted with calcium/d. We offer him a dropper of water with a dusting of it a couple times a week and the vet said its fine plus a dusting on the salad that he wont eat. Never more then 1/2 to 1cc in a syringe and he can drink what ever he wants in his bath. Just trying to ward off any more issues.
We also have the powdered supplement from the vet that is 1/2 to 1cc but in reality he's messy and a bunch runs down his face so who knows how much really went in his tummy.
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- cleveland ohio
You do not always have to dust the bugs & salads, to much can harm him. maybe he is dehydrated? mine did the same thing, & has became a very picky eater, Are you talking about the repta coil bulbs? all coil bulb have bad reviews & I personally do not like them, does your beardie seem blonde at all? does it have any sores on his face /nose. babies are messy too when you feed them baby food. just take yuour finger & wipe it downwards off his beard. maybe return the beardie if he is to much of a hassle not worth him suffering ( if he is ) especially if you do not have time or patience for extra helpings. do you have a scale, kitchen digital scales are awesome, maybe every week you can weigh him & see if he is losing or gaining. do you keep him at a coolor temp at night time? If you have cricketts running in his cage freely, he might be eating them & you just not know it. the horn worms will work. they are cheaper on ebay. & you have free shipping. what state are you in? Is your daughter very young? night time makes a difference too for him to digest his food properly, minus the calcium/vitamin dusting & skip a day or two on trying to feed him. you wont hurt him, also how often do you bath him? do you keep a water bowl in the tank? I took my beardie to a regular vet & he told me it was a male & it was a female, he told me not to feed it crickets, & to feed him dairy & lettuce. this is when I was a newbie to beardies. I will NEVER trust a regular vet with any pet other then a dag or cat. id like to see a picture so when you can do post it. also what is on the bottom of your cage?