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New baby bearded dragon not eating much

Selena Walters

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
22
greetings everyone,
I just bought a baby beardie at petsmart last Friday and I can’t get him to eat much. I have a CHE set up as well as the duo uvb and heat lights, a ramp, a huge hide cave, paper towels for substrate, thermometer and hydrometer in it’s 40 gallon tank. I offer it veggies in the morning before work which it won’t touch and I give him live feed crickets, Dubia roaches and wax worms when I get home. When I first brought him home it was constantly waving, mouth opening with tongue out like it was smiling at me and seemed to be adjusting well. It lets me hold it and actually fell asleep in my hair yesterday. But it is not eating as much as I would like, it will only eat like 3-4 crickets, one worm and a roach if I’m lucky at a time, Is That normal? All it’s temps and humidity is fine, am I doing something wrong that’s making it not eat?
 

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JumpinJellyfish

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
319
If your UVB bulb is a coil you may want to consider a tube UVB (reptisun, arcadia), but the baby could also be going through relocation stress. Are you able to track the weight?
 

Selena Walters

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
22
The lighting is the duo combo you get from petsmart or the reptile show, his last temperature check this morning was like 109-113F. How can I track his weight when he’s so little? And what is considered the normal amount of live food a baby bearded dragon should it?his humidity was 40% this morning so I don’t think his husbandry is wrong
 

JumpinJellyfish

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
319
You can use a gram scale (flat kitchen food scale that allows you to show grams instead of ounces). When mine was tiny I put the scale on a hard surface, put a critter carrier (you can use any container to set them in) on that, pushed the tare button to zero out, then put him in the box to weigh.
I wasn't criticizing your husbandry at all - I just know sometimes we get bad advice from the sellers, even at reptile shows, unfortunately. The compact type uvb bulbs aren't the best option for beardies.
Food amount is tricky, but most common recommendation tends to be give them what they'll eat in about a 15 minute stretch, and make sure the size of the food items (crickets, roaches) is not longer/wider than the space between the dragon's eyes. Soft food like hornworms can be bigger than that, but not huge. Hopefully your baby is just adjusting to its new environment, and its appetite will pick up soon. :0)
 

Selena Walters

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
22
I just worry about him. I’d like to think he’s adjusting well. He lets me hold him and even sleeps in my hair. Yesterday he ate four Dubia roaches and like three wax worms so I’m hoping that is a sign his appetite is picking up.
Here is a picture of his tank.
 

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JumpinJellyfish

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
319
I like those front opening doors - I don't have that and wish I did. Maybe when we upsize. I still highly recommend the tube UVB, and maybe a thicker climbing branch later (no rush). I'm glad to hear the baby's appetite may be improving! :0)
 

Selena Walters

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
22
I have a 40 gallon tank that I have to slide the top off and I don’t like it either. Which lighting would you recommend? His temps get between 109-113 on the hot side and 80 on the cool side. He loves his ramp and I do have a climbing tree he could use but the tank is too small. He still barely wants to touch his veggies though.
 

JumpinJellyfish

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
319
Your temps sound perfect. I wouldn't worry too much about the veggies - babies need mostly the live bugs, juveniles need about 50/50% of bugs and greens/veggies. Adults should eat mostly produce and about 20% bugs. Just keep offering the salads. I hated the slide top, too - I bought one with a hinge across. It's open in the picture. I have the basking lamp on an arm that swivels so I can open the top. There's another arm but it's not long enough for where I want the che. That's in the wire cage fixture. My uvb is on top on the back half, with the mesh cut away under it. The bulb is in a 36" fixture which won't fit inside the tank. You could use a shorter one though. The fixture is grom zoo med. :0)
 

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Selena Walters

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
22
Ikr I bought the 40 gallon tank on sale at the reptile show and found how much of an inconvenience it was having to slide it open and constantly having to relocate the lights etc.
so I went to petsmart before I got Bee my dragon and I love the open front doors, makes things so much easier. His appetite is constantly fluctuating and it drives me crazy. One minute he eats 3-5 roaches and two worms and then the next day like half that. I think it’s because he’s about to start shedding. I offer the veggies before I leave for work and then live food when I get home from work. This is my first bearded dragon and it’s a baby so I’m constantly worrying about it. The Nile Monitor I had always ate a lot so I think I got used to that lol.
 

Shani

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
greetings everyone,
I just bought a baby beardie at petsmart last Friday and I can’t get him to eat much. I have a CHE set up as well as the duo uvb and heat lights, a ramp, a huge hide cave, paper towels for substrate, thermometer and hydrometer in it’s 40 gallon tank. I offer it veggies in the morning before work which it won’t touch and I give him live feed crickets, Dubia roaches and wax worms when I get home. When I first brought him home it was constantly waving, mouth opening with tongue out like it was smiling at me and seemed to be adjusting well. It lets me hold it and actually fell asleep in my hair yesterday. But it is not eating as much as I would like, it will only eat like 3-4 crickets, one worm and a roach if I’m lucky at a time, Is That normal? All it’s temps and humidity is fine, am I doing something wrong that’s making it not eat?
Our beardie marble didn’t wanna eat at all so we force fed him for a while now he eats like crazy, he was just stressed with the move etc sounds like your one is eating ok for now. . . He will eventually eat veggies too just be patient and keep offering veggies but as long as he is eating no worries also just make sure he poops if he doesn’t this might make him not want to eat too much.
 

Galapoodle

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
26
Location
Vancouver, BC, Canada
I totally feel ya on the worry end, I still worry over nothing sometimes and my girl is almost 4! Course we see the vet every 6 months because she was sick as a juvie. Overall, it seems you have things under control. I agree with the tube light suggestion. I use the Arcadia T5 HO 12% mounted above the screen, supposedly the uvb lasts twice as long as the reptisun. I don't keep water in with mine anymore because the humidity was too high and caused an RI which cost a lot of time and money to fix (not to mention the worry!). My vet says we are to keep it around 30% because of her past illness. Most dragons don't drink standing water anyway and derive their hydration from food, that being said, it's totally your call and since he's new I wouldn't change anything in the enclosure until he get acclimatised. Just make sure the water isn't so deep he could drown, beardies are so smart and so dumb all at once. Good luck too! You're entering a whole new world of bearded dragon love and it's awesome!!:)
 
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