Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a baby beardie who only eats every 3rd day or so. when he does eat he eats about 10 small crickets. His cage is warm enough and he seems healthy, but why won't he eat much???

How young is he? If he is young maybe them 10 crickets hold him for them 3 days. There is probably nothing to worry about.

he's just a few months old.. 3-4? if i try to feed him crickets more often he just runs away and starts to panic (runs into the walls and such...)

>>he's just a few months old.. 3-4? if i try to feed him crickets more often he just runs away and starts to panic (runs into the walls and such...)

on how you care for your dragon(s) if you think 10 may be ok for 3 days. Trust me on this, if you have a dragon it's either dieing or dead if you really think that is enough food for it.

Also, unless you have done extensive research and read things other than one book or are going by what one indidual is telling you please do not give advice to people with questions.

Email me if you would like to receive some good, healthy info on your little animal, which has no choice but to live the way you make it.

It's like you eating once every three days. Try it and that's how your dragons are feeling. Please let me know if you need some good info on caring for your dragons.
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Rob

Are you using UVB lighting??
What size crickets (you shouldn't feed anything larger than the space between the dragon eyes)
What are the surface temps at your basking spot, and cool side of the tank?
Are there more than one beardie in the tank?

From everything I've seen, baby beardies can eat as many as 60-70 crickets per day. 10 every three days is definitely an indicator that something's more than likely amiss, a general overview of your setup could help to understand the problem a lot.

Also, have you had fecals taken yet by a vet? Parasites can cause decreased appetite.

Hi
i agree with him you need to tel more about youre setup so people can give you sugestions.
i also think to cold!!!!
is his baskingtemp 110-105??
and cool side round the 80??
you use a digital tempreader with a extra probe?
byeeeeeeeee

http://www.run.to/b22

well i have a 20gallon-high tank. In a few months i plan to switch to a bigger one but for now he's little. I have a UV and Heat bulb about 1 inch from the top of his cage. I have a climbing thing for him that reaches almost the top of the cage. That gets about 100*. The bottom of the tank is kept around 70*, i know it's a little cool but i don't now how to get it warmer. anyway - no i haven't taken him to the vet b/c the closest one around here is 2 hours away, and i think that's kinda far. please help... let me know if you need more info. thanks!!!

Firstly, you need to get some kind of accurate thermometer to give exact to nearly exact(within ~1 degree) readings of the surface temps of your basking spot, and cool side. Either a thermometer with a digital probe, or a temperature gun.

DO NOT use those little dial thermometers you can get a pet stores, they are junk and horribly unreliable.

If you don't have enough heat, and it sounds like you probably don't, you either need to add another heat source, or lower your current one closer to the basking spot. You could just get a light clamp, and throw a basic 40 watt incandescent bulb in it, should do the trick, but double check the temps to be sure, and change the bulb wattage as necessary.

You need to take your beardie to a vet. It needs to have a fecal checked for internal parasites, this is a common precaution that all beardie owners must do every now and again, particularly if the beardie is new, or exhibiting strange eating behavior. It is quite possible that your beardie is sick, and will only get worse without medication.

If you look around at some of the postings on here, you can find a caresheet that explains in detail all of the basics you need to know regarding how to maintain your dragons health. I don't have a link to one off-hand so just ask around, or scan through the posts, someone posts a link to one on a semi-regular basis.

Some other important questions regarding your beardie's health...

What are you feeding your beardie? How often? How large? Is it dusted with calcium? What about vitamins? Mistings and baths?