Help- Bearded Dragon will not eat…

[Ann Zimmer]

Our bearded dragon (Myo) is about a year old. She ate very well until July. In late July, she started slowing down and some days she would not eat at all. I figured this was normal as she was not going though her earlier growth spurts. She continued to slow her eating and was losing weight. We took her to the vet in September and they said it was a calcium deficiency. We gave the lizard a food and calcium supplement for a couple of weeks. She look much better, but she still did not eat. We took her to the vet again and they wormed her.
Well, it has been two weeks from the worming and she is hardily eating.
Her basking temp is 110F and her cool down area is 82F. It is a big cage and she can even go cooler if she wants.
I feed her 4 different types of greens, chopped bell pepper, sometimes I will mix in with fruit as well.
She has Dr Fosters bearded dragon food, live meal worms and wax worms.
In the past, she only ate live insects and greens. I stopped giving her super worms on advice of our vet. The Dr. Fosters is new and I do not think she is interested. In fact, nothing interest her and she is still not eating.
Does anyone have any suggestions, advice or help!! Thanks, Ann

 

[Lemonpie]

I know it can make lizards lazy but starting with handfeeding might be helpful. I got my little guy to eat his veggies that way and now he eats them on his own! Perhaps trying a different feeder insect might help also. Some beardies are just picky. Dubia roaches have a lot of protein and their oval shape and wiggly legs really entice my beardie. Hornworms are his favorite treat and are not a staple feeder but the green coloration and juicy inside may encourage your beardie to at least try them. I introduce any new fruit, veggie, or insect through handfeeding first and it has worked really well. Hope this helps!

 

[gilliesexotics]

Hi there,

Have you tried crickets or roaches?

What type of uvb do you have? How old is the bulb? What is the distance from the dragon to the bulb? This is important factor in calcium absorption...

What type of supplements and frequency of the supplements used before the strike?

Worming, what parasite/'s did they treat?

Dragons typically do slow there eating habits down a notch but it is not good if they are losing weight. Did the vet inject calcium or did they give it to her orally? Where on the body did they inject? Did they do any blood work to confirm calcium def?

I second your vets recommendation on not offering super or meal worms. You can read all the analysis out here on the net but they amount to beans. I have learned from my own trials and tribulation with these little devils in disguise to only feed as a treat. I dont believe in the impaction problems people claim but they will cause hunger strikes if the insect is not gut loaded correctly. As a staple, if they are fed off directly from the bran they are shipped in or kept in. It is a matter of time when this will happen. I dont have any documents or studies that have been done but i can tell you that i have gone through severe hunger strikes over supers with different species of lizards, not just bearded dragons.

If this hunger strike is indeed from the supers. You have to give the dragon tough love in a sense. Be sure to keep her hydrated while the animal is recovering. What im about to say next many might disagree with but i have found from my own experiences with supers. Hold out for 5-7 days. Dont offer any live bugs, only salad and baths. When you do offer insects make it crickets or roaches. Be sure to gut load them the best you can. Dusting with plain phos free calcium.