Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We purchased a baby from a well-known pet store 1 1/2 months ago. He ate a few crickets the first day or so and then stopped. Since then he hasn't eaten on his own. I waited about 3 days and he didn't eat. I started forcing 4-5 crickets to him daily and am now giving him the Repti-Aid concoction thru a syringe daily because he shows no interest in getting his own food. I did wait a few days in between and didn't force him to see if he would eat on his own and he didn't so I got scared he would get weak and die and started forcing him to eat again. He is active during the day and doesn't look sickly but he's not really growing either. I don't want to have to force him to eat forever but don't know how long I should let him go without eating on his own. After a couple of days without food he starts looking thin and drawn. He is 6" long. The crickets I offer him are 1/4" pinheads so I don't think they're too large. I also put veggies in the cage. He has a heat lamp and I just recently got the UVB light. Could the lack of the UVB be his problem? How can I turn him on to getting his own food? Thanks

have you had a fecal done? i wouldnt force feed him, this really can add to his stress and cause other problems all on its own. go to a petstore and get some baby parrot formula, then get some pedialyte and mix the two along with some water, offer him this via feeding syringe, this should get him started and he should take it willingly, just drop it onto his snout, make the mixture more on the watery side, he should lap it up. get a fecal into the vet to rule out parasites, double check your temps 105-115 basking surface temp and 80-85 ambient cool side temp. make sure you enclosure is nice and bright also. keep him on papertowels and his enclsoure nice and clean. let us know what you find out.. hope this helps some...

>>We purchased a baby from a well-known pet store 1 1/2 months ago. He ate a few crickets the first day or so and then stopped. Since then he hasn't eaten on his own. I waited about 3 days and he didn't eat. I started forcing 4-5 crickets to him daily and am now giving him the Repti-Aid concoction thru a syringe daily because he shows no interest in getting his own food. I did wait a few days in between and didn't force him to see if he would eat on his own and he didn't so I got scared he would get weak and die and started forcing him to eat again. He is active during the day and doesn't look sickly but he's not really growing either. I don't want to have to force him to eat forever but don't know how long I should let him go without eating on his own. After a couple of days without food he starts looking thin and drawn. He is 6" long. The crickets I offer him are 1/4" pinheads so I don't think they're too large. I also put veggies in the cage. He has a heat lamp and I just recently got the UVB light. Could the lack of the UVB be his problem? How can I turn him on to getting his own food? Thanks
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reiko
photos

how old is your beardie? when i first got mine home he ate a couple crickets the first day and then didn't eat for about 3 or 4 days. he seemed normal and very active, but just wouldn't eat. eventually he did start eating and i just figured he was stressed from the move to a new home.

the other thing i did and was probably a big thing to was raise the basking temp from 95-100 to just over 110

The baby is most likely 8-10 weeks old. I have had him 6 weeks and I'm assuming he was a few weeks old when I purchased him. I am going to kick the temp up a bit to see if that helps. I had it hovering at 105 degrees on one end of the cage. The baby does drink fluid that I offer to him on a daily basis so I don't think he is dehydrated. Also the Repti-Aid has a watery base mixed with small grainy substances as food. I am going to take the sand out of his cage and put down paper towels and see if that helps also. He does poop regularly also. His cage is in an enclosed area so he's not getting a lot of outside stimulus or stress. How long should I let him go if he doesn't eat on his own after the improvements? Thanks again.

Yes, lack of UVB can cause loss of appetite, but more then likely it's the lack of bright light and proper heat that is causing your problems at this early age.

Young dragons need very hot temps to stimulate proper feeding activity as well as bright light. Make the cage as brightly lit as possible with any type of light that you can for now and make sure you have a basking spot of at least 115 degrees to help get him active and alert.

Also make sure the cage size is not excessively large.. and you may want to tape paper to the sides of the cage if it's a glass tank for now to make him feel more secure.

goodluck

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

I agree with checking the temps. When it started to get cold up here in Wisconsin, my enclosure temps changed and my little guys stopped eating. They seem to start slowing their eating if basking temp drops below 105f.
We have one that has not ate a cricket in 4 weeks unless I hold it in front of his nose. He has grown to like chicken babyfood dusted with calcium and refuses to catch crickets. He is growing though. He has grown a 1/2" in the last 3 weeks.
Another thought is if your beardie is dehydrated he may stop eating also. Mist him at least twice a day. Watch to make sure he is pooing.

Sky