Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My bearded dragon has not eaten anything for about 3 days. I've offered him his vegetables, fruits, and crickets but all he does is look the other way.

How old is he? How big is he? Length/weight? Where do you live?

3 inches without the tail and 7 inches with tail, about 5 months old, and really less than one pound. don't know for sure.

7" total? that is really small for a 5 month old dragon. However some dragons do grow at different rates so may not be too much a concern. However, not eating for 3 days is a sign something isn't right. To pinpoint what is going on, need a complete rundown on your husbandry and feeding habits. Things like his basking temperature, what are you measuring the temps with, if you have a UVB light and if so, what kind? How far above the basking area is it? WHat substrate is he on? When was his last bowel movement? Have you tested him for parasites? What do you feed him? How often and how much did he normally eat? Do you mist him regularly or give him baths to keep him hydrated? What do you feed the insects? How long have you had him? Does he have good fat stores behind his eyes? Is the base of his tail thick or quite skinny?

All this information will make it easier to determine why he isn't eating anymore. It will also make it easier to see what needs to be changed or improved upon. A picture of your dragon and cage if possible, would be helpful as well.
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PHLdyPayne

The temperature is usually around 80 degrees F. with an exo-terra 60w. The heating lamp is kept at about 8 or 9 inches above the basking area. Right now his substrate is a paper towel because we heard it is the best for bearded dragons. His last bowel movement was about 2 or 3 days ago. He does not have any parasites. I feed him crickets, endive, speghetti squash, romaine lettuce, ocasionally a few small pieces of strawberries, and ocasionally canteloupe. He used to 8 crickets a day and most of his fruits and vegetables. I give him a weekly bath for around 15 minutes and mist him about 4 times a day. I feed the crickets bearded dragon pellets. I have had him for about 5 months. I do not know what you mean by fat stores behind his eyes, but they look the pictures of other bearded dragons. The tail is medium thick.
I do not have a picture that can be posted because I don't own a digital camera. His cage is very basic with a basking rock in the center, a paper towel for substrate, one food bowl for fruits and vegetable, and one water bowl on the left side. I am concerned about his size because a friend's bearded dragon is younger and his about 12 inches.

What size tank is he in? He should be in at least a 20 Gallon Long(30 x 12 x 12High). The tank should be setup as follows. On one side should be his basking log or rock with the probe of a digital thermometer on it (off to the side of where he normally lays). The digital thermometer should read about 110. If it's a 20L tank this is usually accomplished by a 75 or 100 watt spot light. A rheostat (dimmer switch) would be helpful to regulate the temp. I used to slide a clamp lamp up and down the pole of a floor lamp to adjust temp. Then his food can be put on the other side where it is cool(so it doesn't dry out as fast) He also needs a supply of UVB lighting. You didn't mention it, but it's very important.

I think temp. and UVB is you problem! Dragon's must reach an internal temp. of 100 to digest their food.

But here's some other suggestions.

You should be feeding crickets twice a day both times dusted with calcium w/D3. No Phosphorus, No Vitamin A. One a week dust with a multi-vitamin.

At his size, he should be eating mostly greens. The best greens are Collard, Mustard, Turnip, escarole, dandelion, and endive. Collard Greens are the best by far and should be a staple in every Dragon's diet. Romaine although better than other lettuces has very little nutritional value and is a little high in Vitamin A.

At the moment because of his size he is in a 10 gallon because the breeder we got him from said that was the proper size. But I will definitely get a 20 gallon as soon as I can find one.

I checked the box to the heating light bulb or whatever it is called and it said UVA. Is this similar to a UVB light or are the UVB lights those long tube heating light bulbs? After reading your message I put in a spare 75 watt.

Thank you for your information about what foods to give him. He did eat about 4 crickets last night, but as far as I can tell still no luck with greens.

Tank: I have no idea what breeder would tell you that you only needed a 10 gallon tank. But, they did you a disservice. It is very dangerous for you to use that tank at his size. The problem is that reptiles being cold blooded need to thermoregulate in other words get warm and cool off using the variety of temperatures from the environment. A ten gallon tank will not allow that. If you make his basking spot about 110 (what it should be) there will not be an adequate cool area of the tank and your Dragon could be cooked. Pet stores sell 20 gal long tanks for about $45.

UVB: The spot light you are using provides UVA. But, Bearded Dragons need UVB too. It is absolutly imperitive that you supply UVB right away. This is in addition to your UVA light. Dragons need UVB in order to use calcium. Insufficient UVB causes metabolic bone disease. Most likely your dragon already has it. It is most likely the cause of his slow growth rate. Eventually, he will have tremors, and soft and broken bones. Even his jaw will become soft making it difficult for him to eat. I would recommend you get a Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 which is a flourescent bulb. These bulbs are about $30 at a pet store, you can buy the fixture cheaper at Walmart or a hardware store. I'd get a 24". Take the lens out of the fixture (if it has one) and then lay it accross the screen. If you do this right away and properly supplement with calcium (I would use Rep Cal with D3) you will most likely reverse the damage.

Greens: Young Dragons eat mostly live food. Keep putting the greens in there but don't be too stressed at this point if he barely touches them.

Thanks hopefully this weekend or tomorrow I can get to a pet store and get the proper supplies to reverse this.

He did eat some crickets last night and a couple today. He did have a bowel movement today.