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Beardiefreak26

Beardiefreak26

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I have a 3 month old male bearded dragon when i got him he was 5 and 1/4 inches. I have had him for 5 weeks and he has stopped eating and is verrrry skinny. He is now 5 and 3/4 inches and stopped eating. he was being fed mealworms wax worms and pin head crix along with some mixed mustard and collard greens he is in a 10 gallon aquarium with repti carpet and the temps are 80 on the cool side 95 on the hot side and 100 for basking and has a uvb light PLEASE HELP MY BEARDIE
 
The best advice anyone can give you is take him to a vet ASAP! Those symptoms can be anything from MBD, to impaction or an infection or worms. From the sound of it you dont have time to waste on guessing what the problem is. Can definitely tell you for a dragon his age he's way behind growth wise. i have a 2 month old bearie that 6 1/2 inches, and 11 grams, and he is small for his age.
 
Mealworms and tiny dragons are a recipe for disaster. They simply cannot digest all that chitin and it leads to impaction. I recommend the vet asap!!

In the meantime, try soaking the little one in a warm shallow bath for 5-10 minutes several times a day. If it is impaction, you might be able to help him pass the blockage.
 
I would say take him to a vet. If he is impacted you should be able to feel it, soaking in warm water may help, many reptiles will deficate in warm water. Put him on good greens, green leaf or red leaf and try less crickets at a time but larger, my dragons are 4 weeks old and are starting to eat 1/4 inch crickets now along with phoenix worms. My male beardie Duke will sometimes not eat unless I put crickets in a little at a time, otherwise he runs around like a maniac for about an hour before he starts eating the crickets. You mentioned lighting but nothing about dusting or anything. Stress can put him of eating as well, are you handling him often before or after eating? What is the lighting like? One problem I have seen is that the UV light is not strong enough for the lizard. One such case was a customer was using a 75 watt red heat bulb and a small UV light. The red bulb almost completely blocked out the light from the UV so it was "dark" all the time. This was a while ago so I can't recall everything completely. Anyways, I recommended that they switch to a ceramic with a thermostat so that the beardie could get the full UV spectrum. A few times at the pet store i worked at I had to assist feed a few beardies and snakes. However, this should only be done by an experienced breeder and only as a last resort if directed by a vet as this can cause a lot of stress on your beardie and might do more harm then good! Let us know what else about the set up that may help us help you and if your beardie is doing better.
 
This may sound awful, but I have seen the mealworms chew out of the sides of baby beardies. I have a little one and he is really hard to get to eat, but he hasnt dropped any weight yet. Try the soaking and maybe even get his mouth open and set a piece of lettuce in his mouth, maybe he will just start to chew. Plus, I have noticed that oranges and reds seem to make them want to eat, maybe try some carrot or sweet potato :) Good Luck and keep us informed...
 
i soaked him and he drank a lot and he ate after word. Now he is doing fine and he did deficate in the water after he drank. And after he pooped i took him out of that water and put him in clean water
 
Beardiefreak26 said:
i soaked him and he drank a lot and he ate after word. Now he is doing fine and he did deficate in the water after he drank. And after he pooped i took him out of that water and put him in clean water
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How often does this dragon get food and water? Does it eat it greens?

But even after all that if the dragon is 5 3/4 inches at three months its VERY under sized and under weight.That is the size of a 3-4 week old baby. Either it was a weaker dragon or your over sized food has made it hard to grow properly. I wouldnt give it meal worms any more. and just stay with crickets and greens if he's eating them.
 
Beardiefreak26 said:
i am about to order some small phoenix worms and the mealies that were small and newly shed and soft for his digestion.
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It's your beardie, but why would you continue with worms when several people suggested to stay away from them? Seems to do more harm than good, then why put the beardie through that again?
 
wyldwurm said:
It's your beardie, but why would you continue with worms when several people suggested to stay away from them? Seems to do more harm than good, then why put the beardie through that again?
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Dont worry about it. What do we know. :shrug01:

may explain why his beardie is not yet 6 inches at, 3 months was it???
 
The phoenix worms i agree with but the mealworms again.. I can see what you guys mean.. For his plan to work he would have to sit there and make sure they just shed so he can feed them out.. after everything that has happened I don't think that is going to happen. After all, it's not like some people trying to help are breeders and work with many bearded dragons at a time. Atleast the phoenix worms won't crawl all over the dragon and try to eat it if the dragon doesn't eat them.
 
Then listen to what everyone is telling you. I am a breeder and I worked for a professional breeder and many people on here are breeders. It's not like we are talking out of our a$$es. Feeding and growth problems we know about and have dealt with. If anything order wax and butterworms along with your phoenix worms. Stay away from the meal worms and super worms. You were already told to avoid them as a good thing for your stunted beardie.

You also haven't told us how often you feed it and how often it drinks. That is sort of IMPORTANT for us to help you. You also need to incorporate greens into the diet. Greens should be available everyday, fresh. Sometimes I have to refill the green bowl for my beardies. Avoid regular lettuce and some recommend avoiding romaine because it is in the same category as lettuce, just water no nutritional value.

What I have done if a beardie isn't eating, short of assist and force feeding, is to buy wax worms, cut them in half, and gently wipe the guts across the beardie's mouth. It usually starts to lap up the moisture before actually eating it. After a while it starts to eat on it's own again. After then feed generously and feed often. Always keep greens in with your beardie so he can eat when he feels like it instead of waiting for the next feeding.
 
Phoenix worms are okay, but NO MEALWORMS! There is no way to order freshly shed mealworms as they tend to shed out randomly and their shells harden within hours. Your tiny baby needs to be on tiny crickets and finely chopped greens.

Could you post a picture of your setup? I kind of worry about a proper temperature gradient being achieved in a ten gallon tank. Do you have both UV light and a basking spot of 105-110 degrees?
 
ok guy gosh i have stopped the meallies since the first time i was told to and he gets finely chopped green beans and mustard greens. he is also having pheonix worms everyday with 1 or 2 wax worms a week and the temps are 103 degrees for basking 90 away from basking and a reptiglo 10.0 uv bulb over the entire cage. He is also drinking every day from a little medicine dropper.
 
ok guy gosh i have stopped the meallies since the first time i was told to and he gets finely chopped green beans and mustard greens. he is also having pheonix worms everyday with 1 or 2 wax worms a week and the temps are 103 degrees for basking 90 away from basking and a reptiglo 10.0 uv bulb over the entire cage. He is also drinking every day from a little medicine dropper.
Click to expand...
guys sorry
 
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