Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I talked with fellow herpers about this and appreciate their responses, but just thought id ask you folks. As you may know I have two baby beardies. One has three legs, and is a bit bigger than the other one. The three leg has a voracious appetite and is active. The little guy i havent seen eat lately. I saw him try to bite a phxworm yesterday but didnt get it in his mouth on the first try so he gave up. I have since put the little guy in his own 10gal, and have appropriate heat scales in both cages. I was thinking maybe some constipation or indigestion. I don't know, he seems just more tired because he hasnt eaten in awhile. Have any of you experienced something similar? What did you do? Since the bigger of the beardies in keeping more than one tends to dominant the little one, I separated them, but havent seen an improvement. Basking area is nice and hot, and hes drinking water out of a dripper and his water bowl.

There is not enough information in your post to give an intelligent opinion. At very minimum length and weight would allow me to visualize him. A phxworm is a Phoenix worm? A 10 gal. is too small in my opinion for any size dragon.

If he hasn't eaten anything in 24 hours this is an emergency!

My off the cuff opinion is that he was either overheated or is impacted.

They were Medium size phx worms, but I try to feed him the smallest. A 10 gallon is plenty for a 3inch beardie, having too big a size of tank is a problem. I really doubt it is an emergency, yet its getting there. seriously one phx worm is almost as big as his gut, as in he's Very small, and wouldnt eat as voraciously as others yet. He has good basking temps, and a cool off area. As well as a food dish and a water dish. I got jumpstart today, and mix it with water, as well as put it straight on his mouth. I have seen him gulp down the water mix like he does water. Only time will tell. Any other ideas, concrete ones?

>> A 10 gallon is plenty for a 3inch beardie, having too big a size of tank is a problem.

A 10 gal. can physically accomodate the size of a baby but the problem is providing a correct temperature gradient in such a small space.
Providing both a 100F spot and something in the high 70'S over a span of just 20 inches is the issue.
Dr. Roger Klingenberg mentions overheating, in a 10 gal. specifically, as a common cause of death in baby beardeds in the the Bearded Dragon Manual

I have that book, and he mentions overheating when the dragon gets big enough that it cant escape the heat. This guy is 3inches long, he can and does escape the heat.

if the entire cage is the same temperature it doesn't matter if the dragon is 10" or 1", he can't get out of the heat. The point is 10 gal tanks are not easy to provide a proper heat gradient from one end to another. To have a basking temperature of 105-115F which is ideal for a baby dragon, and to have a cool end around 85F ambient, is very difficult in a 14" space (or whatever the length of a 10 gal tank is these days).

The dragon will try to get to the coolest end by instinct, by either going into a hide or burrowing under something.

As your dragon is not thriving, barely eating and drinking alot, it sounds like he is not getting proper temperatures in that tank, even if he's so small.

3" from nose to tail tip is very small, even for a straight out of the egg baby, Most bearded dragon hatchlings are closer to 4" long. These are delicate babies, and should be in appropriate cages with a temp gradient. They should also get small prey items, 1/8" of an inch crickets or small phoenix worms, at least till they get some more size on them, then quarter inch crickets should be ok. Feed 3-4 times a day and it doesn't hurt to have some finely chopped greens available, even if they won' eat them at this young age. Also keep in mind that newly hatched dragons thrive on their yolk for up to a week after hatching, tough 3-4 days is normal before they look for other sources of food.
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PHLdyPayne

Ya at a herp show on september 29th I got him, at that time they said he was 4wks old, Its been almost 5weeks since then, and hasnt grown very much. I always heard that a 10gal is fine for babies. Because on the flip a too big tank is bad as well because they normally stay around the heat, and wouldnt be able to find the food.

That's a myth.

My hatchlings this year were housed in plastic bins about the size of a ten gallon but shorter for only about 2 weeks. I then moved them in groups of 3 into 4' x 2' terarriums and they all found their food and did well.

Most of my babies are over 200 grams and 16" now at just 3 months old.

A really big tank can be troublesome for small dragons but a mid sized tank is perfectly fine for a baby dragon to grow in for their first 4-6 months. A 20 to 35 gal long tank is perfect.

Putting food in easy sight and reach of the dragon ensures they find it. Stress from activity outside the cage can give issues, but this can be easily dealt with by covering three sides of the cage (back, sides)
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PHLdyPayne

I realize that, but bdlver, Just because yours are doing fine in those conditions, doesnt mean that mine arent because im not following it. The problems the little beardie has are not related to the size of the cage, at worst he would be overheated. Hes not, if anything, he needs warmer temperatures. and the other guy I got at the show, who is in the exact same size cage is doing great, It is not a cage size problem. cage sizes do not make the beardie not want to eat, or have respiratory infections.

Its too late, he's gone, he passed early last night. RIP Jr.

I'm very sorry for your loss