Help New Beardie won't eat

[Rdnadbor]

Looking for some help with my new bearded. He/she is about 7 inches long probably between 6-8 weeks I am guessing. I got him 4 days ago from PetSmart for my 10 year old children. He appears healthy, alert, clear eyes. HE has not pooped as of yet though. I did try baths but no results thus far. He has only eaten a few small cut leaves of collard greens and 1 quarter inch cricket. Does not seem interested in going after food. Seems to spend most time perched on log/stick near basking area which with temp gun is between 100-110F. remainder of enclosure is about 80-85. Is it that he could be in stress from the move, any ideas?? Should I switch foods, try some superworms or roaches rather then crickets? What do you guys think. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your new addition to the family.
Most likely your little one is still getting settled into his/her new environment, giving some more time to adjust things should be just fine. At this young age it is really a bit to young to tell for sure if it's male or female this will be easier to see once 5-7 months old. As a baby and young juvie's they will eat 80% bugs (crickets, dubia roaches, superworms, silkworms, waxworms, hornworms, butterworms) with a few of those being for treats due to fat content. 20% salads of greens/veggies/fruits. Then once older this will switch 80% greens 20% bugs however every dragon is a bit different in how much of each they will eat. Make sure you give s/he a cool side that gets in the low to mid 70's as they thermoregulate themselves. Did petsmart have them on sand or repti carpet? if on sand it's possible that it has some in it's system it can cause impaction and eye irritation. Making sure you have good UVB lights for digestion is also important. Are you giving him/her Calcium, multi vits?
Hope that helps!

 

[Rdnadbor]

Thank you for the info!! Much appreciated. Petsmart did have him on repticarpet no sand. I am putting calcium on crickets but as mentioned he has bot touched more then one tgus far. I do also sprinkle on his greens but bot eating much of that either yet. My enclosure is 79-83 on the cool side during the day and entire enclosure goes down to 68 at night with che on a thermostat to keep it around there. I do have a multivit as well that i have bot used yet do to the low or no food intake. I do have a 22 inch 5.0 uvb bulb near basking area but no uvb in the basking light itself that is a natural flood should that be ok?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thank you for the info!! Much appreciated. Petsmart did have him on repticarpet no sand. I am putting calcium on crickets but as mentioned he has bot touched more then one tgus far. I do also sprinkle on his greens but bot eating much of that either yet. My enclosure is 79-83 on the cool side during the day and entire enclosure goes down to 68 at night with che on a thermostat to keep it around there. I do have a multivit as well that i have bot used yet do to the low or no food intake. I do have a 22 inch 5.0 uvb bulb near basking area but no uvb in the basking light itself that is a natural flood should that be ok?

Your very welcome! Yea on the no sand It sounds like your doing well for your little one. In general the UVB light should take up 2/3rds of the enclosure so you should be just fine. What I've noticed and learned very quickly is my Izzy is a bit particular about feeding time... The only way she would eat in the beginning was by tongs under her basking light..She would NOT eat if in a separate container. She prefers her salad in a low rimmed white bowl. Now I can put her bugs (Dubia's and supers, the occ treat of butterworms and waxworms) in a clear 21/2" high glass bowl dusted with calcium daily, multi gets put on 2x week, I put some of her salad mixings in with the bugs 1 for them to munch on 2 she'll see the greens moving and that peaks her interest even more. Then once she's eaten a good part I put her into a warm bath to do her business, dry off then back under the basking to digest.

Think you just need to be patient and keep offering and doing trials of different things.. S/he will eat when hungry.

 

[Rdnadbor]

Thanks again I will try your recommendations and let u know how things go!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Good luck on finding the right combo that your little one likes, sometimes it's a timing thing too if not warm enough they are not interested in food...I know also that some folks dragons on here change their minds freq on what they want sometimes it's a brightly colored veggie 1 week and not the next funny little creatures they can be.. Dubia's are a great option (if legal in your state) their digestive track is very long so what they eat stays in them longer so good bug to gut load so it goes into your dragon, crickets GI track is short, so dubia's are great food staple 1=5 crickets.
Mostly I think your little one is just stressed and needs the time to settle. Also having 3 sides of the enclosure covered with a background helps them feel safe.
Good luck keep us posted..

 

[Rdnadbor]

Thank you I will try the Dubia's. I do have him in an Ecoterra 40 gallon breeder with foam fake rock back wall and then put dessert cling on background on the 2 short sides. I have noticed he likes to hang out on a branch I have placed under the basking spot and clinging and climbing on the foam wall. I did try to bump up the temp a bit to keep it 83-85 on the cool side to see if this helps activity. Would you recommend taking him out to feed in a smaller enclosure on crickets or just keep him in the main home and place a few in to see if he chases at some point? I will send a pic of my enclosure later today.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thank you I will try the Dubia's. I do have him in an Ecoterra 40 gallon breeder with foam fake rock back wall and then put dessert cling on background on the 2 short sides. I have noticed he likes to hang out on a branch I have placed under the basking spot and clinging and climbing on the foam wall. I did try to bump up the temp a bit to keep it 83-85 on the cool side to see if this helps activity. Would you recommend taking him out to feed in a smaller enclosure on crickets or just keep him in the main home and place a few in to see if he chases at some point? I will send a pic of my enclosure later today.

I would be careful on warming the cool side as they really do need a cool down area as that mimics their natural environment..If he's cold he will go to warm up, as they do thermoregulate themselves to what temp they need to be..
Each dragon is different as where they like to be to eat just try different things to see what s/he likes.. Mine will NOT eat in another container she freaks out if they crawl onto her..lol

 

[Hdrydr31]

Oh also when they are small their hunting skills are not the best as they are still learning so sometimes they have a hard time catching them.. lol
get the smaller sized dubia's. Although they are edible at all stages if too big they can bite off more than what they can fit into their mouths lol

 

[Rdnadbor]

Gottcha. What temp would u keep the cool side? I have a che on a thermostat to help w night heat and have it set to kick on if less then 82 during the day. Less then 68 at night

 

[Hdrydr31]

nighttime temps should be 70-75
here is a pretty good site to look at as temps will vary depending on age..
http://www.beardeddragoncare101.com/proper-temperatures-bearded-dragon/

 

[Rdnadbor]

What would you recommend you put the Dubia's or superworms in, should I just keep them in a really small glass bowl? will they get out?

 

[Hdrydr31]

What would you recommend you put the Dubia's or superworms in, should I just keep them in a really small glass bowl? will they get out?

This is what I use for the bug bowl I bought it from Petco http://www.petco.com/product/122845...x?CoreCat=MM_DogSupplies_BowlsFeedersWaterers
It works really well the roaches can't get out even the adults as long as I cut their back legs off (I know that sounds mean and sad..but the adults are long and with those back legs they are able to get out and hide before she gets to them) the supers can't get out either.. As long as the greens don't bunch up along the sides to give them a ladder they stay in.

 

[Rdnadbor]

Here is a pic of my enclosure 40 gallon breeder. And thoughts. I have water bowl in there right now as the humidity in the winter is quite low in wisconsin i have a jar lid w greens near the back wall so he can see it when perched.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Here is a pic of my enclosure 40 gallon breeder. And thoughts. I have water bowl in there right now as the humidity in the winter is quite low in wisconsin i have a jar lid w greens near the back wall so he can see it when perched.

I'm in WI as well!! Awe such a little one good enclosure mine is in a 55g I'll take a new pic and post..

 

[Hdrydr31]

Ok here is Izzy and her enclosure

 

[PatsyB]

Woo hoo.....love seeing more people from the midwest here! Usually everyone is in Arizona or Florida etc.

I have the same tank you have, one word of advise be careful with the background the feeders like to hide behind it. Also, on the top back there are two slots on each side where you can feed wires into the tank. Close them and put some tape over them to seal them off. Feeders will crawl up the background or up your wires and get out of through the holes!

You also need to be able to measure the temp on the basking spot at all times. Either a digital probe thermometer attached to the spot or a temp gun would be perfect.

 

[Rdnadbor]

I will seal that up I did notice they found their way back there. The wood I have seems to be uneven in temp cause the temp gun will read anywhere from 98-117 just a cm away. But he does seem to come up and down the stick when he needs to. Also he ate 3 crickets today and had a Bowl movement so maybe we are making some sort of progress

 

[Rdnadbor]

Ok here is Izzy and her enclosure

Where in Wisconsin are you?

 

[PatsyB]

I will seal that up I did notice they found their way back there. The wood I have seems to be uneven in temp cause the temp gun will read anywhere from 98-117 just a cm away. But he does seem to come up and down the stick when he needs to. Also he ate 3 crickets today and had a Bowl movement so maybe we are making some sort of progress

The temp on the stick will fluctuate depending on what is right under the light...so things seem pretty good.