new baby will not eat

[staylor]

I have a baby only a couple of months old. His body is only about the size if my thumb from tip to wrist. He is tiny. I got him two days ago and he ate 6 crickets that night but has not eaten since. I am offering him greens and also putting a couple of crickets in there for a couple of hours at a time 3 times a day everyday. I do not want to leave the crickets in there longer because they walk all over him and poop on his stuff. I have one side of his cage at about 102 during the day and 90 at night and his cooler side just over 80 all the time. His humidity level is about 45. He has his UV light for the day and his night light. He is getting 14 hours of "day" and 10 hours of "night". He has pooped the day I got him and yesterday but not today so far, but with no food in 2 days that does not surprise me. Am I missing something or should I just give him more time to settle in before I really start to worry? Should we not hold him until he settles more? I only want what is best for him. He is my first but I did months of research to make sure I knew how to care properly. Thank you for your help

 

[crypticdragons]

Are the feeders appropriate for him size wize? And what are you feeding him?

They can take a few hours to a few weeks to full acclimate to their new home. Limit handling to only the neccessary (such as soaking him for hydration).

 

[staylor]

The crickets are about the space between his eyes or a little smaller. I am feeding him collared and mustard greens with a tiny bit of shredded carrot. Yesterday I put some finely chopped raspberry in there too hoping the sweet smell would entice him to eat. I never read anything on soaking him for hydration. I have been spraying him a few times a day. I am a stay at home mom so I am staying on top of spraying him. Can you please tell me more about soaking? What is too long when it comes to him not eating? could he be picking at his greens and I just don't know?

 

[staylor]

As I was typing my other response he jumped down from his stick and was trying to eat the crickets in the cricket cage next to his tank. I dropped a few in there and he is eating them up very quickly. I feel so much better.

 

[crypticdragons]

Many reptiles (bearded dragons included) absorb water through the coaca (vent). Soaking is used to hydrate them by way of this absorption. You "soak" them in water deep enough to cover their vent and not go above their elbows. Should be luke warm (like the temp you would use for a baby bath). Soak for 15 to 20 minutes 2-3 times a week.

 

[staylor]

Thank you. I will be sure to make this part of his routine.

 

[renich]

You may want to consider increasing your hot side temp. The basking spot for babies (under 1 year) should be between 105 snf 110F.

That is great that he ate some crickets. Feedinghim 2-3 times a day is great. You'll want to make sure you start with the salad about 30 minutes after lights are on. Offer the crickets 2-3 times a day. Drop in a few and keep doing it for a 10 - 15 minute interval. Dragons will eat their fill in that timeframe. I wouldn't leave them in for hours. When he is older and feels secure in his new home, leaving behind 1 or 2 crickets isn't that big of a deal. Right now, having a couple hop around may be adding to his relocation stress.

Also, a night light is not needed. Just like you and me, beardies need dark to get a good night's rest. If your temps drop below 65F, you can add a ceramic heat emitter.

 

[staylor]

I offer his greens when I get up but he has yet to eat them. I wait about an hour after that, this is about the time my daughter gets up, and give him the crickets then. She likes to watch him eat them, I put a chair for her about 5 feet from the tank and let her sit there to watch him eat as long as she is still and quiet. So far this has only worked once since until a little while ago he would not eat. I think he is coming around because not only did he eat but he licked the water off his head I sprayed on his head. He is also walking around his cage more. Do you know any tricks for getting him to eat his greens or will this too come in time? Thank you for the link. That is one of the sites I used when doing my homework on Beardeds.

 

[renich]

Glad to see he is coming around. Most babies do not eat their salad. It should still be offered daily because after they reach 1 year of age, it will be their daily food source. You can play around with the salad to see what your beardie likes. Some tricks to try are to cut up your veggies, put them in a mound, and layer the greens on top. Some dragons like their veggies more than the greens and will eat some greens while getting to the veggies.

Favorite veggies have been known to be butternut squash, snow peas, bell peppers (any color), and squash. You can mix up the collard with parsley, mustard greens, carrot tops, to name a few. Variety is key when it comes to these guys.

 

[staylor]

I have been giving him a Collard Mustard green mix with a some shredded carrot on top. My daughter has eaten his other foods but I can't get mad, Slider has her eating healthier. The guy I got him from said he ate collard greens but so far I have not seen it. I will keep offering it to him. I am also going to be starting a garden on my deck in the next couple of weeks now that it is warming up so he will always have fresh organic foods with nothing wasted because he just can't eat it all. He has gone back on his hunger strike today but he did poop yesterday and today so everything seems to be in working order.

 

[renich]

That's good. It sounds like relo stress. It can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Once he is comfortable in his new home and realizes that you are not a predator, he'll come around.

 

[staylor]

I was looking at Slyder a little closer today and noticed he was a little dehydrated and remembering what I just learned here about the soaking, I soaked him then put him back under his light to warm up. I dropped some crickets in and he chased them down and ate very quickly. I am feeling better today about him. I think it was stress and dehydration. Thank you for the advise to soak him.

 

[renich]

Soaking is great. I like to see babies under 6 months of age getting daily soaks. Just 15-20 minutes per day.

You can also get a spray bottle and mist your dragon. Bernie used to lick the water off his logs and stuff.

 

[staylor]

I spray him 3 times a day. He has licked the water dripping from his head a couple of times but most time he runs away from it. He did drink some of his soaking water too.