My Beardie just wont eat!

[icejack]

Hi everyone i joined the forum to maybe get some more insight into a feeding problem i have with my beardie.

To give you a bit of background info, he is 4 years old now and up until early 2014 he was eating fine. He ate his greens and his crickets, meal worms and silk worms fine. Then he suddenly went off his greens. I kept on putting them out with added extras like strawberries etc but it didn't work. Soon after that he didn't eat crickets anymore and eventually meal worms or anything. So checked for impaction and nothing and had him de-wormed and still nothing. Worried about his eating i started force feeding him baby food as a last resort.

Eventually after a month he must of gotten sick of me shoving a syringe down his throat and he started eating again but only meal worms after i tried everything else. His food intake picked up but about 3 months ago it started again. It is Summer here at the moment so he shouldn't be wanting to hibernate. He gets water regularly but just wont eat anything. I want to try avoid force feeding him again if i can.

Cage dimensions are: 1metre long, 60cm wide, 80cm high.
He has a 100w basking lamp in as well as the UVB lamp which was replaced 6 months ago...both of them in fact. The inside temp is about 37 degrees.

He normally chills out on the floor of the cage during the day. Could there be a specific reason as to why he is not eating and i have also noticed he isn't shedding as much. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PatsyB]

Sorry you got such a stubborn boy there. Are you keeping a length/weight record on him? It's possible that at 4 years he just doesn't need to eat as much as he used to. My girl is 2 and she stopped eating her salad a long time ago and will eat a good amount of bugs maybe once a week. She always stays around the same weight range though. She also doesn't shed as much as she used to but I assume it's because she's at her max size.

 

[icejack]

Hi PatsyB, i actually haven't kept a record of that information. I suppose because its my first Beardie i worry and just want to make sure he is happy and healthy. He still drinks which is good and he is hydrated. Also have seen that in the last month he hasn't had a number 2 but i think this could be the result of him not eating correctly. Do they grow bigger over the years or do they reach their max size early in life like you mentioned mine could be?

 

[PatsyB]

I believe they grow to a certain size. If you look up how big a bearded dragon gets it usually says between 18"and 24". You could try a bit of olive oil to get him to poop. Usually a drop on an apple or mixed with a spoon of apple sauce does the trick. Since he's not eating though maybe drip it on the tip of his nose (don't get it in his nostrils) and hopefully he will lick it off. Or you can put it in his water.