Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I REALLY NEED HELP. I purchased a bearded dragon a few days ago after reading up on and researching them. the owner said the small juvenile beardie i bought was one of her most lively ones and also social and nice. Now i researched dragons alot and im sure i set up his tank right with the right lighting sand etc.my tanks a 35 gallon. i figure since hes a juvy itll give me some time to shop for a bigger tank. anyway all he does for the past few days is sit in his tank under this little rock house structure.hes cold to the touch. he wont eat any fruit or veggies i give him. he wont bask under the uvb light. the most ive seen him move is when i take him out he slowly moves around the room a bit then after about 5 min stops. i try handling him as much as i can so he gets used to me and i also give him baths and spray him. He hasnt ate for 4 days even though ive given the variety of food as suggested. could he be ill? is it just taking him to warm up to me? please reply!
Oh and by the way to my distaste the owner named him fluffy.
tell me if im wrong but i read its good to handle beardies lots so they get used to u. he wont even chase crickets. i dust his crickets could he maybe not like the dust.

oh ya could he maybe miss his old home and the other beardies he lived with.

He sounds stressed out from being moved into a new home. This is fairly normal for dragons to do. What are the temps in his cage (basking spot, cool side)? If he's not warm enough that can also cause him to be inactive and not want to eat. I would stop handling him for a few days and let him adjust to his new surroundings. Then gradually start holding him. If it doesn't stress him out too much try giving him a warm bath to encourage him to poo and drink. If he hasn't eaten in a few days he will be dehydrated and small beardies dehydrate faster than adults because they don't have the fat base built up in their tails yet. So dehydration would be my main concern. If he doesn't eat soon I would consider taking him to the vet. Parasites could also be an issue.

Good luck with Fluffy. And remember to give him time to adjust to his new home and owner. He'll eventually come around.

Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

well thanks for the advice normal cage temps are 27C or 80f in the left side of the tank. In his basking spot they are 34c or 93f. he has a little hut where it is cool inside about 23C or 73f. he stays in there and sleeps most of the day. any advice on bearded dragon delicacies so i could get him to eat a bit. the lady who owned him previously (also the lady who named him fluffy) said he liked romaine lettuce and rasberries but he wont eat em. i feed him live crickets. would feeding him dead ones help? oh how do i get him to drink from his water dish. he wont. thanks again

it could be temps are too low. i think you need a basking spot of about 100-105 that is one spot in the cage that is that temp. i got one high spot in the cage that is 105 and the ground there is 90 and the other sidde of the cage is 85. just a thought
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0.1 Albino Cal. King (Fokker)
1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn (trouble)
0.1 Creamsicle Corn (Spot)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Bob & Margret)
1.1 Dogs(George and Ladybird) they are rescues.
1.0 Betta
0.1 Wife
0.1 Kid

i think that ur temps are a little low....the low end should be around 80-83 and the basking spot should have a spot that hits 105 (mine hits 107-110 and spike regulates himself)....also beardies won't really eat dead crixs, so keep using live ones but make sure there small enough (general rule is food shouldn't be larger then the distance between the eyes of the dragon)...and one last thing, beardies don't really drink out of water dishes. they are deset animals and anre not used to haveing standing water so they can't really see it. they really get there water through misting and soaks.......

i would definitely stop handeling him untill he gets used to his new environment,the stress of handeling can cause them to act sickly....

also i would try and get a fecal done to make sure that he dosen't have parasites....and if he dosen't improve soon a vet visit may be in order.

i wish u luck, keep us posted

glenn
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............................................................
1.0 Beardies (Spike)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes
1.0 Chineese Rat Snake (Chino)
2.3 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0 Eastern Chain King (Spot)
1.0 King Rat Snake
1.0 Tarantula

RIP Rusty(BD)....u were my favorite little girl

I keep my basking temps around 100 - 105 and the cool end stays around 80 - 85. Increasing the temps may help.

Most beardies won't drink from a source of water like a water dish. Try misting him and sometimes they will lick the water off the side of the glass or you can get an eye dropper and drip water on the tip of his nose to see if he'll drink. If he's thirsty he may just start licking it up. You can also try adding some Pedialyte to the water to give it some flavor and the electrolytes will help with dehydration. Most of my beardies prefer the flavored Pedialyte over just plain old water. The added flavor can sometimes stimulate them to drink.

This is a photo of me giving liquids to Lizzy with a needless syringe. Lizzy can be pretty stubborn when it comes to drinking. I have to mist him with water before dripping Pedialyte onto his nose. Otherwise he won't drink.

A dehydrated beardie will quickly become weak and not eat. Getting him hydrated should be your first concern. Then I'd get a fecal to the vet. As long as you're getting liquids into him he can go days without eating. (I'm assuming he's a juvenile and not a baby dragon.)

If he licks up the Pedialyte you can try some yogurt with acidophilus (container has to say that it has "active cultures" in it, like the Yoplait brand.) The acidophilus will help to put beneficial bacteria in his gut that should help with his appetite. Just put the yogurt into the eye dropper or get a needless syringe to give him the yogurt. My beardies love the low fat strawberry Yoplait yogurt. Yummy.

Good luck and let us know how he does.

~Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

To this day I still can't get my beardies to drink from syringes, especially Ocho. I drip it on his nose and he shakes it off. I have to gently pry his lips open and squeeze it in there and it ticks him off.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

FYI, I don't know how long you wait for your beardie to lap up the water on his nose but when I first started doing this I would have to stand there and wait a good 5-10 minutes before my dragon figured out there was water on his nose. After doing this several times he finally started licking up the water.

Both my beardies used to drink copious amounts of water but now neither will take it but maybe once a week.
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Rob Talkington

stop handling him for another week or so, he may just need to get used to his cage.

okay guys thanx for the help. im gonna start a new thread to tell you how he is doing