New baby wont eat

[Hooded_beardie]

I got a baby beardie on the 2nd. He's in a 40 gallon tank and the temp on the cool side is 74 and in the basking side where the temp gauge is on the wall and reads right around 100. If we put it on the basking rock it reads 110. Humidity usually is between 25-30%. He is fairly active and moves around the tank, but spends most of his time basking. He ate alright the first few nights. He had crickets. The most he ate was 9 in a day, size small. He ate a few leaves of salad at first, but I haven't seen him eat any since. Yesterday I got him to eat two roaches, and today I couldn't get him to eat anything. He seems like he is interested and watches them, but makes no move to eat any. I've tried everything I can think of and I'm really worried he isn't getting the right amount of calcium (or protien for that matter). I read about liquid calcium but I couldn't find any. I also read about putting the powered in baby food and giving it to him that way. I really want him to eat on his own. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong or why he wont eat? Or suggestions on what I can do to help him? He seems like he's scared and maybe it's stress? I want to feed the baby so he grows well!

 

[mxw0rld]

Has the baby pooped? When was the last time he pooped?

Something I do is put my beardie in a plastic container, like the ones you put paper in and get at the dollar store, when I feed him. That way he can see the dubia's and I put one in at a time till he eats it.

Baby beardies are stubborn when it comes to greens. My beardie didn't eat greens until he was almost 4 months old! And he still doesn't eat a lot of them.

The slurries are a last resort and you would need baby food, Pedialyte, bee pollen, and probiotics mashed into a liquid consistency.

When is the last time he has eaten??

 

[Hooded_beardie]

He pooped earlier today. It looked normal (from what I've seen of dragon poo).

He hates the other container. He freaked out and just tried to climb and jump out of it when I tried to feed him in it.

As far as I can tell, he hasn't eaten anything since yesterday. He had two small/medium dubia roaches. He always has veggies available during the day, he just hasn't touched them.

 

[mxw0rld]

When you put him in the other container did you put the other container in his enclosure? That's what I do. If that doesn't work then what you can do is take everything out of his enclosure so he doesn't feel threatened and can see every inch of his enclosure and know that no other beardie is hiding out to get him.
Make sure he has something to bask on and something to cool off on but other than that you can take everything out.

I too keep greens in the enclosure all day. That is a great idea! One day he will decide to try them. Just keep doing what you are doing with the greens.

How does he drink water?

Do you bath him and how often?

 

[Hooded_beardie]

The first time it was outside the habitat. He didn't like that one bit. Next I moved to a small sandwich container with lower sides. I figured the roaches can't climb out because of the smooth sides, and he can move in and out to get at them. He doesn't though. He sees them, watches them, might show a little interest from time to time, but over all doesn't go after them. It's not till I put one out in front of him that I can get him to attack if he is in the mood. There is a water bowl in the habitat on the cool side, but I'm not sure if he drinks from it or not. I've never seen him do so. He licks things around the habitat though. We were giving him baths twice a week, but I thought it might be stressing him out so we haven't this week.

 

[mxw0rld]

Beardies do not recognize standing water as water to drink. A lot of beardies will drink the bath water and that's okay as long as there's no poop in it. Lol

A lot of us will spray the beardie, which you should be doing at least 1-2 times a day anyways and they will lick the water off their face. What I personally do is take a dropper, like a baby medicine dropper and drip water onto Wally's lips and he will drink that way.

Baths are great exercise for them. Go ahead and give him the bath especially since you have not seen him drink.

Beardies lick everything to see where they are. That's how they recognize things.

My Wally who will be 17 weeks tomorrow only eats the dubia's one at a time if I drop them down right in front of him. He is the laziest hunter I have ever seen!!

What kind of substrate do you have?

 

[Hdrydr31]

I got a baby beardie on the 2nd. He's in a 40 gallon tank and the temp on the cool side is 74 and in the basking side where the temp gauge is on the wall and reads right around 100. If we put it on the basking rock it reads 110. Humidity usually is between 25-30%. He is fairly active and moves around the tank, but spends most of his time basking. He ate alright the first few nights. He had crickets. The most he ate was 9 in a day, size small. He ate a few leaves of salad at first, but I haven't seen him eat any since. Yesterday I got him to eat two roaches, and today I couldn't get him to eat anything. He seems like he is interested and watches them, but makes no move to eat any. I've tried everything I can think of and I'm really worried he isn't getting the right amount of calcium (or protien for that matter). I read about liquid calcium but I couldn't find any. I also read about putting the powered in baby food and giving it to him that way. I really want him to eat on his own. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong or why he wont eat? Or suggestions on what I can do to help him? He seems like he's scared and maybe it's stress? I want to feed the baby so he grows well!

Welcome to the forum!! and welcome to beardies!!!

Ok so don't stress out, they won't starve themselves. It is not uncommon for them to take some time to get adjusted to his/her new home and owners.. I would recommend getting a thermometer that is like a probe you can place right where he/she basks.. those stick on the wall meters are not very accurate and only measure that little area.. check out the links below several of our comments for new comers and you will see what I'm talking about...
Some babies eat greens right away but most don't but keep offering greens/veggies throughout the day...What I found is neither of mine would eat in a separate container so I got clear glass dishes from petco they are high enough that the dubia/supers can't get out of.. when I did feed crickets I took off their back legs so they couldn't jump out.. It may just be that he/she isn't that hungry if they are acting normal.. Feeding slurries of baby food I don't think at this point is needed if he/she is eating something and is pooping.. You could add some bee pollen to the dusting of bugs or on the salad as that is a good natural appetite stimulant, has packed full of vit and minerals and adds some sweetness that can get the pickiest of eaters to eat.

What are your UVB lights? are they tube style or coil style? you can cover 3 sides of his tank to make him/her feel more secure..Do you have some hides for him/her?
Hope some of this helps. don't stress out yet he/she will get going soon

 

[Hooded_beardie]

Substrate is Repti Carpet.

We have two UVB lights. There is a reptisun 10 on the side with the basking lamp and a reptisun 5 on the cool side. We thought it was a little too dark in there with only the one, so we added the 5. We have a wrap around three sides of the tank so he can't see out of it. Hides on both ends. Mostly he sits on his basking rock at various levels throughout the day.

We did a lot of research before getting him. I'm just worried because I see these videos of them eating 60+ crickets a feeding being posted on youtube and I worry about the baby.

Also, I refer to the baby as a he, but I really don't know yet. I couldn't tell! It's just easier since out of all the humans/critters in my house, I'm the only female...

 

[mxw0rld]

60+ crickets is way TOO many! My Wally eats about about 7 at a time. I do know when I got Wally he did go a few days without eating because they go thru relocation stress.

Do you hold him or pick him up a lot?

 

[Hooded_beardie]

We were trying to interact with him for about 5 min 1-2 times a day but since he hasn't been eating well we have stopped. I figured it might help him settle in. I don't want to add to the stress. I'm sure going from the tiny pet store tank to the 40 gallon is quite a shock for him. Glad to see a more normal number. We had been discussing if a lower number was more likely and maybe he's not so bad off. He doesn't seem to be thinner, and he's still going to the bathroom and moving about. This makes me feel much better about him.

 

[mxw0rld]

As long as he is going to the bathroom then he's got food in him to pass. I do know that babies do better in smaller tanks. Bigger ones can be overwhelming and if you just recently moved him then it's most likely relocation stress.

I would still pet him, hold him in the tank and talk with him but maybe hold off on taking him out of the tank until he starts eating.

If you could get pictures of his tank, of him and a current poop that will help us help you and your little guy.

They won't starve their selves. I'm sorry if you answered this before but besides crickets and dubia's are you feeding anything else? Besides the greens.

 

[Maddie]

60+ crickets is way TOO many! My Wally eats about about 7 at a time. I do know when I got Wally he did go a few days without eating because they go thru relocation stress.

Do you hold him or pick him up a lot?

Only 7 crickets?? When our girl was eating crickets she ate about 100 a day!


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[Maddie]

I got a baby beardie on the 2nd. He's in a 40 gallon tank and the temp on the cool side is 74 and in the basking side where the temp gauge is on the wall and reads right around 100. If we put it on the basking rock it reads 110. Humidity usually is between 25-30%. He is fairly active and moves around the tank, but spends most of his time basking. He ate alright the first few nights. He had crickets. The most he ate was 9 in a day, size small. He ate a few leaves of salad at first, but I haven't seen him eat any since. Yesterday I got him to eat two roaches, and today I couldn't get him to eat anything. He seems like he is interested and watches them, but makes no move to eat any. I've tried everything I can think of and I'm really worried he isn't getting the right amount of calcium (or protien for that matter). I read about liquid calcium but I couldn't find any. I also read about putting the powered in baby food and giving it to him that way. I really want him to eat on his own. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong or why he wont eat? Or suggestions on what I can do to help him? He seems like he's scared and maybe it's stress? I want to feed the baby so he grows well!

How old is your baby?


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[Hooded_beardie]

As long as he is going to the bathroom then he's got food in him to pass. I do know that babies do better in smaller tanks. Bigger ones can be overwhelming and if you just recently moved him then it's most likely relocation stress.

I would still pet him, hold him in the tank and talk with him but maybe hold off on taking him out of the tank until he starts eating.

If you could get pictures of his tank, of him and a current poop that will help us help you and your little guy.

They won't starve their selves. I'm sorry if you answered this before but besides crickets and dubia's are you feeding anything else? Besides the greens.

here are pics of his home. We did add a 5.0 reptisun on the other side (the cool side) because it was dark and we wanted him to get UVB anywhere in the cage. Outside of crickets and roaches, I did try him on some baby food one night and we picked up some pellets for bearded dragons. They're really small and I'm not sure he will eat them, but since that is what the pet store had in his cage, I figured we would give it whirl. Not sure on his age, maybe someone can give a guess based off the pictures here.

 

[Maddie]

View attachment 15270 View attachment 15271 View attachment 15272

here are pics of his home. We did add a 5.0 reptisun on the other side (the cool side) because it was dark and we wanted him to get UVB anywhere in the cage. Outside of crickets and roaches, I did try him on some baby food one night and we picked up some pellets for bearded dragons. They're really small and I'm not sure he will eat them, but since that is what the pet store had in his cage, I figured we would give it whirl. Not sure on his age, maybe someone can give a guess based off the pictures here.

First, congrats on the beautiful baby! Now the UVB bulb you have, is it a tube or spiral? You want to stick to the tubes the spiral can actually be harmful. And go for 10.0 instead of 5.0. I personally wouldn't recommend offering pellets since they can cause impaction. And by the pictures he/she looks to be around 2 months old or so.


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[mxw0rld]

The pellets are not good for beardies. They will dehydrate him. He is small and young. So he definitely will not eat 30!

Stay away from the baby food. That has to be mixed with all the other stuff I mentioned before and it's used as a last resort!! People use that when they have not eaten for a month.

As long as he is eating on his own and pooping on his own. There is no need for syringe feeding.

Do you have a temp gun? Sometimes his temps can be off by 1 degree and that will make them not want to eat. Silly things. Lol

If I were you, when you can afford it, I would go get a temp gun and a scale that weighs in grams.

You said you moved him into the bigger size 40 gallon tank, right? How long ago? Are you using the same watt bulb that was in the smaller tank? You could need to get a higher watt bulb. Bigger tank needs more heat.

Did he stop this not eating after you moved him or before??

 

[mxw0rld]

It is hard to tell the age by a picture. If you could weigh him and measure him then we could give you a better estimate on his age.

Btw his home looks beautiful! Nice job!! I would live in it and I know Wally would move in right away! He's already packing his dubia's! Lol

 

[Hooded_beardie]

is the main one and then we have the 5.0 on the cool side.

 

[Hooded_beardie]

The pellets are not good for beardies. They will dehydrate him. He is small and young. So he definitely will not eat 30!

Do you have a temp gun? Sometimes his temps can be off by 1 degree and that will make them not want to eat. Silly things. Lol

If I were you, when you can afford it, I would go get a temp gun and a scale that weighs in grams.

You said you moved him into the bigger size 40 gallon tank, right? How long ago? Are you using the same watt bulb that was in the smaller tank? You could need to get a higher watt bulb. Bigger tank needs more heat.

Did he stop this not eating after you moved him or before??

Temp gun and scale are the next things on my list to get for him. The smaller tank was at the pet store, so I'm not sure what they were using lighting wise, but I did note their temp gauges said 80 degrees and higher humidity. That would have been on the 2nd. And he ate well for the first three or four days and got really picky. His basking light is a 150 watt light. And for night we have a heat emitter because we have a fan on in the room (right now he gets the main spot in the house in the master bedroom, spoiled little guy).

 

[Maddie]

View attachment 15273 is the main one and then we have the 5.0 on the cool side.

Okay I would definitely invest in the reptisun 10.0 tube as soon as possible.


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