juvenile bearded dragon not eating

[Mungi's Buddha]

I definitely understand your frustration. Anyone who has dealt with exotics for any length of time has certainly felt the same at one time or another. However I think your assessment on bearded dragons is incorrect. In fact bearded dragons are one of the easiest and most rewarding reptiles to keep in captivity. That is one reason they are also consistently at the to of the list of most popular reptiles kept as pets.
Their requirements to enable them to thrive in captivity are relatively simple and easy compared to many other species but at the same time those requirements are specific and must be met and maintained to get them to do so.
Have you gotten the setup changes discussed made to his enclosure finished? Are his temps and his gradient correct and accurately measured. Has it been over 10 days since he has been in a properly setup enclosure and been allowed to properly acclimate to that environment? Are there any other factors that you can see that might be contributing to stressing him at the moment? Have you noticed any significant weight loss in him?
If you have everything set up correctly and he's been given proper time to acclimate and there are no other things that could be causing the little one to stress then perhaps the next step would be to take him in to a qualified reptile vet, and hopefully one that has beardie specific experience, for a check up to see if you are dealing with something else like an unseen injury or parasite outbreak or the like.
It is a possibility that one of those could be the issue. As I think has been mentioned stress and improper environment can cause the parasites that their immune system would normally keep in check to go out of control and cause them to get ill. Stress is perhaps the number one cause of illness in all reptiles and usually the largest reason for them to not thrive and you also have to remember that this lil creature has been through a whole lot in his short life so far. Some handle it better than other.
I will also add that looking back over the years at all of the creatures I currently or have kept and baring any unknown injury or genetic issues, it has more times than not been errors on my part in either not fully understanding the creatures needs or fulfilling those needs accurately when dealing with a creature that is not thriving.
I want to make clear that I am not trying to flame you here and as stated I understand your frustrations better than you could know. For instance I also keep several species of tarantulas. Most are excellent and eager eaters but I have one particular species that I have had now for several months that I have never seen eat nor that I have seen any interest on its part in doing so, however as frustrating as that is I know her enclosure set up is absolutely correct and I am also aware that that particular species is notorious for fasting even for a year so I have to be patient. Another probably better example would be our particularly non-social iguana, Razor who for the first 6-7 months we had him refused to really eat and definitely not in my presence and would not grow. I was forced to watch and wonder and worry until a simple enclosure change and adjustment in location of his enclosure literally overnight made the difference. Now Razor is one of the most voracious eaters I have and has calmed down as well as has more than doubled in size in the last couple of months.
Our beardie, Mungi, last year became ill with a coccidia outbreak that was masked by it happening at the same time as his normal brumation time so when he went off food period and refused to bask and just slept all day I wasn't concerned. In a short period I started noticing very rapid weight loss and realized he was in trouble. He went very quickly from a strong 500 gram dragon to a very ill 189 gram dragon. To his credit and eventhough it was a long process, once we realized what the issue was and started fixing it Mungi not only fully recovered but is stronger than ever.
These dragons along with having relatively simple albiet specific requirements are also amazingly resilient creatures and therefore I don't think I am alone in the opinion that they are deservedly known and popular for being one of the easiest and best choices choices for a reptile pet.
I trully do hope that your dragon starts feeling better soon and will say on behalf of this community that we are all pulling for him and are here to help any way we can.
Enjoy!

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Didn't eat again. No boxes from petmountain yet so no changes to his enclosure except that I removed his water bowl since the humidity seemed a tiny bit high.

I lifted up his repti-carpet a couple times to get the cricket and dubia to move around, misted him a couple times, and offered him the eyedropper with water. He looks briefly interested when I hold the eyedropper down there but then takes a sip of water and turns away. Would he have been fed something previously via eyedropper do you think?

Currently he still has the dual-bulb thing they sold me at Petsmart with the UV CFL bulb in one socket and a 50w basking lamp in the other. I'm leaving the enclosure screen open a few inches so the bulbs can shine in without anything in the way. He spends most of his time on top of his half-log beneath the basking light. His brief periods of activity seem to be spent nosing at the glass and trying to get out.

I picked up some cricket food since I'm obviously going to need to keep the crickets and dubias around longer. I read about "gut load" recipes on the 'net but they seem moderately complex and sound like they make enough for about a century. So just got some Fluker's high-calcium cricket diet and also some Fluker's "cricket quencher." I've been tossing beet greens and cut up grapes in to the cricket carrier thing every day and cleaning the cricket cage once a week.

Again, he totally ignores the cricket and the dubia when they walk right past him. I recall 1st time here I tried searching for "won't eat" but the search function says those words are too short. But now I see a lot of posts from folks apparently with eating issues so at least I don't feel totally alone.

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully the petmountain stuff will come tomorrow.

Oh, and on the poopie front, no more big poopies which isn't surprising since there's been nothing going in. He had a small poop yesterday that was kind of a lighter creamy brown. If there were a parasite issue, any evidence in the appearance of the poops?

Reading here sounded like squash baby food might be OK. Bought some, put it in the eyedropper. He looks interested in the eyedropper but took on taste of the squash and jumped away like he'd been bit.

Caught and held a wiggling cricket up to his mouth. Wouldn't open.

Small white poop today.

Dennis

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Just an observation... while you may not have seen him eating anything the fact that yesterday you found where he had poop even if small means that sometime in the last 36 hours or so he has in fact eaten.
That's a good sign
And as far as being able to tell if your dragon has a parasitic problem just by looking at it there are indicators sometimes such as strong odor or different consistency but those are not 100% accurate nor can you tell which parasite or how bad the problem is.
You can call a vet and ask them to do a fecal float test which will tell you what is going on for sure if that is what it is.

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Thanks for the continued advice. Nothing from PetMountain yet. Might have eaten a little of the salad, can't be sure. Another smallish light brown poop. Put him in the bathtub for 30 minutes to soak but no other handling. He seemed a bit more at ease in the tub this time. Still ignoring the cricket and dubia.

Dennis

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Just ordered some Reptaid.

Made him a really nice salad this morning. Romaine, beet greens, carrots, bearded dragon food pellets, a wax worm, apple bites, and some cheese chunks, no idea if those are OK or not but there was some in the fridge.

Dennis

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I'm a big advocate for the Reptaid. You will need to know your dragon's weight in grams before you can get the dose right. You can find a nice gram scale at Walmart for around 20 bucks if you don't already have one. Just look in the Kitchen section. The one I use weekly with Mungi we bought there and it has a great glass platform on it which makes it easy to sit your dragon on and easy to clean afterward.
The dosages are very small. I have found the best way to do it is to draw the dosage amount into the syringe and then draw in about half the syringe with fruit flavored Pedialyte. Your dragon will like the Pedialyte and that way you make sure all of the dose gets in him.
Once you open the bottle of Reptaid be sure to keep it in the refrigerator and it will be good for a year.
Really good stuff and as I have posted before it's one product I firmly believe every dragon keeper should have on hand always
And yes if he is pooping then he is eating..maybe not much but he is so that should ease your mind at least a little.
The Reptaid will among other benefits help stimulate his appetite.
Enjoy!

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Can I give him straight Pedialyte while I wait for the Reptaid to arrive? Looks like that's a Walgreens thing. Got a notice already that the Reptaid shipped.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

He really doesn't need the Pedialyte if you are giving him his soaks. The reason I use the Pedialyte when dosing with Reptaid is that the dosages are so small that its hard to get all of it out of the syringe so by drawing in a bit of pedialyte with the dosage it gives the dosage more volume. If you are want to give him a little pedialyte on its own I would mix it with water 50/50. Also yes you can use Walgreens brand. Its the same stuff just packaged for that store and usually cheaper that the name brand.

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Offered some Pedialyte 1:1 with water. Smacked his lips a little and fled, wouldn't take anymore. Hope things go better once the Reptaid comes. Gave him another soak. He puffed way up and when I took him out he went right back to normal size. I'm attaching pictures of the setup. Still no lights or thermometers from PetMountain. Fresh crickets, ignores them. One of the pictures shows his little poopies. Yes, I'm reduced to this.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Denni

 

[Dennis Cronin]

I should also mention he's apparently been shedding a little skin from his tail so that's what some of the debris on the carpet is.

Dennis

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Shedding would be another possible thing contributing to his lack of appetite. Very common.

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Stuff finally came from PetMountain and got the Reptaid. Thermometers say the basking area is only 92 and the cool side is 82. Installed the new light and put the tree back in there and he's climbing right up by the light on the tree. What should I try to bump the temp up on the basking log? Distance is a huge factor in radiated heat so I guess I could put the log up on something. A higher wattage bulb would raise the whole enclosure temp probably more than I want, right? Turned his nose up as the mixture of Pedialyte and Reptaid. My wife said she saw him nibbling some lettuce. Fresh crickets, still ignoring those.

Pics below. Btw, didn't do your glue gun thing as I'm expecting I'll need to move the light when I open up the full cage. Is the 18" 15w bulb going to be enough for a full 40 gallon tank? Thanks again.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Glad your stuff came in! You need to attach that probe on one of the thermometers up where he is basking. The fact that he is going up there means he is trying to get up closer to get the heat he needs.
Attach it directly to that spot using a twist tie or something similar. Don't use metal wire because it may get too hot and burn him. I use zip ties.
Anyway once you get it placed right the basking spot temp for him needs to be 110 degrees F during the day. That is what baby and juvi dragons require.
As to him turning his nose up on the Reptaid/pedialyte. You may have to hold him and get him to open his mouth like you do when administering oral meds.
If you are unfamiliar with how to do this there are vids on YouTube or preferably your vet can show you how it is done safely. Do Not Use A Needle On The Syringe.
Another option that you have if he starts eating is to actually inject the Reptaid dose into a roach or cricket before feeding it.
I really believe that your biggest problem has been improper setup and temps though and once you get those right his appetite will return.
Enjoy!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

The 18" UV is plenty for the 40 gallon Breeder tank and what I use currently with our Mungi's 40.
With it and the basking light on one end will allow your dragon to get out of the UV when he wants.
Just so you know...you could go ahead and remove the partition you have and give your dragon full access to the entire tank. Many people do that with perfect success. That would allow you to go ahead and get the set up exactly right.
If you do that just remember to keep his furnishings simple and basic for the time being. It may look a little bare for awhile but it is best for him and you can "dress" things up when he gets a bit older.
Enjoy!

 

[Dennis Cronin]

I balanced the temp probe up in the tree. After a bit he looked at it and attacked it, sending it to the floor. The time it was up there it was still not reading very hot, only 93-94 or so. A 50w with no intervening screen should be able to provide the necessary spot warmth, right? I seem to recall reading that Mungi has a 50w suspended several inches above the enclosure, right?

 

[Dennis Cronin]

OK, I reread your post and you use a 75w halogen and an infrared. So I'll bump my halogen up a bit and I'll open up the cage to full width.

 

[Dennis Cronin]

He's hanging out in his tree up nearer to the lights. I put him on the basking spot after trying to get him to take some Reptaid drops and he climbed back up in the tree after a bit. So he is trying to get warmer. Flash update: he had another poop. Heh. Can't believe I'm reducing to posting about the critter's poops!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

OK, I reread your post and you use a 75w halogen and an infrared. So I'll bump my halogen up a bit and I'll open up the cage to full width.

No I do not use an infrared light at all. As far as I am concerned infrared lights serve no other purpose in a bearded dragon's enclosure than to stress and irritate them.
I use 1(one) 75 watt indoor halogen flood light for the basking light and that light is suspended approximately 8 inches above the screen. That setup in a 40 gallon breeder tank produces a consistent 105-106 degree basking spot temp. Our dragon is an adult and that is what he requires.
If I lowered the same bulb down an inch or two closer to the screen the basking spot temp would easily raise to the 110 degrees F that your juvi dragon needs.
Unless you keep your home very chilly then in a 40 gallon breeder tank set up you shouldn't need anything but a 50-75 watt indoor halogen bulb to get the proper temp you need.
As far as the poop thing it is a good sign that he is eating something and it is also very common for new owners to become poop conscience when that is sometimes the only sign they see that the creature is okay

 

[Dennis Cronin]

No chance to run out and buy an infrared bulb yet. Had another 50w mini-flood which I put in there. Brought temp up to 107 at top of tree. Also re-opened other side of cage and moved other temp probe over there. 83. Dragon was gaping and moving around so I moved him to the cool side to show him he could do that. A little later he'd climbed back up in his tree though. I moved the lights over a bit so they aren't so direct on the tree and now temp probe says 103. Since it's radiated heat he's feeling not sure the temp probe is giving me the full scoop. Don't you suppose the dragon can actually feel more heat than the white temp probe picks up?

 

[Dennis Cronin]

Our house is 80-82 in the summer, 76 or so during the brutal Arizona winters.