Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my beardie Zeffer for a couple of weeks now. He's never been a hearty eater but in the last few days he's barely touched any food. Seems almost uninterested in crickets and won't touch vegetables at all. I've read on here where some beardies eat up to 40 crickets a day but the most Zeffer has eaten to my knowledge is maybe 15. He's really active and alert, but his appetite is starting to worry me. Any suggestions? comments?

Did you have a fecal done on him when you got him?

no I sure didn't....is that normal for new beardie owners?

Most the post from new owners when a beardie is not eating well after a few weeks they find out it has coccidia or worms. Coccidia is often found in bearded dragons in minimal amounts and pose no problem, but stress such as shipping, new enviroments and other changes such as separation from siblings and others can cause a overload of them to develop.

They are usually fairly inexpensive and can answer many questions that we can only second guess on a computer. But it is advised by most experience owners to make that your first priority after buying one, especially if it does not eat well.... our babies eat about 50-70 appropriate size crickets daily, plus about 1/4 cup salads and veggies and they are not overweight, but nice size in lenght.

Also make sure the temps are correct and he is heating up properly to digest 95-105 in basking area (we have some that like it warmer, but no less and around 80F in the cooler area

is there anything I could buy or do to cure the worms without a vet visit or would that be the best reccomendation?

that would be the only recommendation from me, someone else may have a different opinion.

If you have a family vet, they will usually do a fecal for $7- $20 without a visit

thanx, I'll give a couple of vets a call tomorrow.

Most young beardies eats a lot. When they get older they don't eat as many crickets anymore. My adult dragons eats about 3-5 crickets every other day.

Also, do as CheriS suggested - take a fecal sample to the vet. It is possible that he has parasites. It is always best to check that first.

Good luck!

he's 10 weeks old. I've only had him 2 1/2 weeks. Got him from a Reptile convention here in NC. I called a vet today but the closest one that treats reptiles is about 30 minutes away. He seemed to have more of an appetite today and he's drinking more water so maybe he was slightly impacted. I started pulling crickets apart to make them smaller and he seemed to be ok with that. I'm probably going to take a fecal sample to that vet in the next day or so.