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Dragon wont eat ??

rammstein892003 Jan 06, 2008 10:40 PM

I have two dragons 1 is 12 inches and the other is 10inches but the body size on them is totally different one is huge compared to the other one how can i get the other one to eat more. He has this twitching thing going on and nobody can figure out whats wrong with him. He did have a parasite but the vet said it wouldnt cause his twitching and i treated him for it but with the twitching he has a very hard time catching his crickets and when i set up a sperate area for him to eat he will try to get them but fails and then gives up after awhile any ideas??? how much should a dragon weight if its 12 inch and 10 inch?

Replies (5)

kinyonga Jan 06, 2008 11:54 PM

The twitching could be due to MBD. You need a vet to tell you for sure.

Can you tell me about your set-up? What brand and type (compact or linear/tube? of UVB light do you use? Is there glass or plastic over it? Do they get any direct sunlight?
Temperature in the basking area?
What do you feed to your dragons? To the insects that you feed to the dragons? What supplements (brands, etc.) to you use? How often do you use each?

rammstein892003 Jan 07, 2008 10:04 AM

The vet said he didnt think it was from MBD he has never seen the twitching like my dragon has at such a young age

the set up I have is he's in a 30 gallon long tank the basking temp is about 115 they do not get direct sunlight until the summer here because it is just to cold where i live. there is a metal screen on top and i use a repti sun 7.0. I feed them the dusted crickets and collard greens and other greens. The crickets get flukers feed, cricket drink potateo apple and various veggies. i use the rep cal - herptivite and the calcuim with vit. D3 ohisohorus free 3 times aweek

kinyonga Jan 07, 2008 09:12 PM

You said..."The vet said he didnt think it was from MBD he has never seen the twitching like my dragon has at such a young age"...hopefully the vet is right! If it is simply a lack of calcium then a little extra shouldn't hurt your dragon though.

You said..."I feed them the dusted crickets and collard greens and other greens"...I have always fed mine various insects and a wide variety of greens (dandelion, collards, kale, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and a wide variety of veggies (carrot, squash, sweet potato, sweet red peppers, zucchini, etc.) and some fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.)....the wider the variety the better!

Appropriate basking temperature allows the dragon to digest the food properly...your temperature is in the proper range! What bulb do you use for a basking light?

UVB allows the dragon to produce vitamin D3 which allows him to use the calcium in his diet. Your bulb should be good and you are giving him phos.-free calcium!

I have always kept my dragons indoors so they only get UVB from the tube light on their cage...so I dust with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month. I use a Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.

I use the herptivite twice a month on the insects too. It has a beta carotene source of vitamin A so it won't build up in the system like preformed vitamin A can.

Phosphorous, calcium, D3 and vitamin A all play parts in bone health (and other important things in the system too)...so keeping them in balance is important. You need to look at the things you feed your dragon and what you feed to your insects too. I don't know what fluker's feed and cricket drink have in them in the way of those 4 things...so you will have to look for yourself. (I'd be interested in knowing.)

D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it. D3 from the UVB should be okay as long as the dragon can move away from the light if it wants to...although some of the compact and tube lights have been causing problems (photo kerato conjuctivitus) with various reptiles.

Excess preformed vitamin A can also build up in the system and prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD. (As I said...beta carotene sources of vitamin A are fine.

Not enough calcium will weaken the bones as will too much phosphorous. Most insects we have as feeders have poor ratios of calcium to phosphorous which is why we dust at almost every feeding with a phos.-free calcium powder.

Certain greens and veggies contain high amounts of oxalates which will bind the calcium (spinach,for one) and should be avoided or used infrequently.

Hope this helps you!

BDlvr Jan 08, 2008 04:01 AM

I'd use the calcium w/D3 every live meal for babies, juveniles, and mature females except for one a week where I'd use a multivitamin.

BDlvr Jan 07, 2008 04:09 AM

I agree with the last reply. But, another suggestion would be to change him to a food source that would be easier for him to catch. I just took in a paralyzed dragon and feed her Silkworms as her main staple. She eats 16 small ones a day. The people that had her before me said she would eat about 3 crickets a day. Even 3 silkworms would be a lot more food than 3 crickets, the only way she can catch a cricket is by pure dumb luck.

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