Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im back with more problems unfortunately. I believe I solved my heating and UVB issues but I still cant get my bearded dragon to eat. Its 97 to 100 in the basking area high 80s on the warm side of the tank and mid to high 70s on the cool side. The UVB light is doing the trick. I fixed these problems but he just wont eat. Ill have had him for a week coming tomorrow (friday) and he still refuses to eat. Im trying to get him to eat crickets but he seems afraid of them. I tried to hand feed him some apple and managed him to eat a piece when I put water on his nose and he went to lick it off. I know that the young BDs dont usually eat fruit at that age but the hope was that he would like it and I could get apple juice all over the cricket and he would go after them. He just wont eat and its been bothering me all week. I was told that bds can take up to 2 weeks to get used to new surroundings so I hope its just this but it still bothers me none the less. Anyways any help would be much appreciated.

Hi, I have had great luck with reluctant eaters by feeding them baby food. Take chicken and veggies baby food (add a drop or two of an appetite enhanser found at most pet stores)a pinch of calcium power w/ D3 and add water. You want to be able to use an eye droper and place a drop at a time on his nose. Try not to put it on his nostrels. Do this two or three times a day until he is eating crickets on his own........ You need to start misting and feeding baby food ASAP like now. If you don't have or can't find some of the above do the baby food and water and find the rest later.

Worse than him not eating is dehydration. You need to fine mist him 2 or 3 times a day due to the fact many hatchlings and Juvies do not drink from a bowl.

Good luck,

Scott @ Awesome Dragons

the baby food and fluids.

If he will not eat the baby food by placing it on the top of the nose, you can slightly lower the back side lip (not jaw) and place a drop there, they will usually start licking from that (do not force the mouth open)

You can also give him water diluted gatorade or pedialyte, also PetSmart carries a product called Acidolphiliz that is good bacteria that can stimulate their eating too.

Some babies do stress the first week not eat, thats fine, but if it continues beyond that you need to take some steps to start getting fluids and food into him. You might also want to have a fecal done on him to rule out parasites or worms. Sometimes with the stress of a change, they can overgrow in a little one and compromize their health and appetite.
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www.reptilerooms.com

Im not worried about him being dehydrated. I mist him atleast twice a day. Thanks for the advice.

Misting doesn't always do the trick. They do NOT absorb water through their skin. If you were thirsty, would you want a mist? Drip water/Gatorade/pedialyte on his nose with a dropper, and try the baby food.
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TheClassyLizard

Yes, this is important and I am having the same problem as the OP. The breeder I bought my juvi from said to mist, but it wasn't until I called him a week later about my problems that he explained that the deal was to mist them until it was running down their nose and he was licking it. Problem is that he didn't always respond. I am having very good success with a mixture of Gerber's baby chicken, pedialyte and calcium/d3 powder. I have gotten some Gerber's carrot to mix in with the chicken but haven't tried that yet. I couldn't see enough benefit in the peas or greenbeans to consider those. Every few days he will eat a couple of crickets or small molted mealworms, but he won't on a daily basis, but he loves to lick the babyfood off the tip of the syringe. I start out putting a dab on the tip of his nose, when he licks that off, I can start squeezing it slowly out of the syringe and he'll lick it off. I am also trying to get him to soak in a mix of pedialyte and tap water at least once a day. He is more likely to stay in it if it is tepid or slightly warm to the touch, I do this because I've heard that they might absorb water through their vent and he also will occasionally take a drink. I'm still concerned about about his reluctence to eat bugs, but I'm not worried about him starving to death.
I'll probably try to get a fecal done next week.

fortunately I read about dripping the water onto it's snout. I mist my guy twice a day and also drip the water on to his snout twice a day atleast.

He doesnt seem terribly pleased with me about the whole thing but atleast he was licking it off his snout. Thanks.

My question now is - whats a normal amount of crickets that a young BD will eat in 1 sitting? Mr D ate 4 before he stopped.

Super!! I just read through this thread. At least he is starting to eat on his own now, even if it is only a few it's a start. He most likely is just stressed a bit about being in a new surrounding, and this can cause them to go off food for a bit. 4 is not a whole lot. Dragons that are settled in, and are not stressed and eating can eat quite a bit. I have young dragons that eat on average I would say 15-30 a sitting. I never really counted but they eat quite a bit of appropriate sized prey. No bigger then the space between the eyes is very important rule. I would continue to supplement his eating with the mixture for a bit just to make sure he is getting the proper calcium and vitamins, and staying hydrated. Supplementing his crickets with a powder supplement is important for proper growth, and health. Make sure his basking temp is hot enough to digest the food he is eating, and metabolize the nutrients in it. The proper temps will also help him stay regular with going poop too, and many times adjusting the temps is all you need to get a dragon back on track with eating. 4 crickets is not a lot but it is a start. Many start slow and once they decide to eat the number will increase pretty fast. I hope this is the case with your little guy. Good Luck.
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I noticed that you said the basking area was 97-100 degrees. Just my opinion but you might try to raise the temp in the basking area up to 105-115 degrees. Good Luck Sharon

We take juvenille beardie pellets, vitamin B, calcium, water and some pedialyte and mix it until smooth. We then use a syringe and slowly feed it by mouth. Like the others said you need to get something in him ASAP!!!

Lenae
www.pnwreptilerescue.com

I was letting him soak in some warm water just bit ago while I got his enclosure on to a different stand and when I went to put him back in the tank I noticed that he taken a really large bowl movement in the water. Now I don't know what they normally look like this but this one was almost aslong as his body and the end that looked like it came out first was real thin and white, then as it got bigger it went from yellow to brown. I don't know what that means. Maybe its normal. I also noticed that some of the food I had left in a dish for him is now gone so thats a good thing.