baby beardie help..

[ravan]

hi all, we have a little baby beardie, about one, no more than two months old.

we've only had her a couple of weeks, and she seems completely disinterested in food.
the most i've seen her eat in one sitting is two crickets.
we try feeding her every day, with moving crickets, dead crickets, half dead crickets, and she doesn't seem interested. I've tried putting her in her food bowl, waving them in front of her with tongs, rubbed them along her chin, down her back, across her foot to try and get a reaction, but nothing. she just sits there with her eyes closed.
its starting to become very worrying, because shes obviously not getting enough nutrients, and is becoming skinny

so what can we do? she seems to be pooing as normal, and will move from her basking lamp and heat rock to various positions in the tank, but once she finds a spot, she'll just sit there for hours, then move to a different spot, and stays there for ages.

i've read that feeding applesauce from an eyedropper can be used, just to make sure they're hydrated enough, so will probably do this tomorrow. and what about force feeding? can anybody give us hints on how this can be done?

 

[Kirby]

she looks VERY young? how young?

what is her uv? what are her temps? what do you measure them with?

do you mist?

please turn off the heat rock, they not only get TOO hot in the first place, but their heating element breaks easily, so they keep heating to rediculous temperatures. third degree burns are common, considering they cant sense heat from below..


force feeding such a small individual is hard. you need to find yourself a small needless syring from the chemist.

PM me for some more help.

try leaving some small crickets in the enclosure. not too many, just a few.

 

[Rocky]

Hmm, what are the temps like in the enclosure?

 

[Sturdy]

The Uv is a Repti sun 10. an she can get with in 6 inchs of it.

the temp in there will get to 32' from that rock which is a reptipets

shes a inland btw.

cage temp will be around 28' to 27'

 

[Emzie]

is that her now? she's tiny i have 3 5 or 6 week old and they look much bigger then that.

 

[dixilizards]

Sorry to say but that beardy does not look 4-8 weeks old.

Running food up and around its body is likely to scare it, try incresing the temperature to closer to 36-40 at the basking site using a globe or ceramic fitting and like KIrby said remove the heat rock.

Mist constantly through out the day and even soak it for a few minutes a few times a day.

Take kirby's advice and leave 2-3 crickets in the enclosure, it's possible the beardy maybe a timid eater.

And if all else fails see the person/s you got it from and speak to them.

 

[ravan]

thanks for the advice.
everytime i fill up her water bowl (every couple of days), she goes in for a soak.. & i will try and mist during the day.
she almost always has at least 1 or 2 crickets left in her bowl for her every day.
we'll be going to see the person we got her off of this afternoon

 

[Bearded_Lady]

Good Luck with her Ravan! I hope she gets better. Let us know what the breeder says!

 

[Tatelina]

Sorry to say but that beardy does not look 4-8 weeks old.

Running food up and around its body is likely to scare it, try incresing the temperature to closer to 36-40 at the basking site using a globe or ceramic fitting and like KIrby said remove the heat rock.

Mist constantly through out the day and even soak it for a few minutes a few times a day.

Take kirby's advice and leave 2-3 crickets in the enclosure, it's possible the beardy maybe a timid eater.

And if all else fails see the person/s you got it from and speak to them.

What they said.

 

[Kirby]

keep her cool side cool. not 27-28... 20. if you need to open the viv, and put a fan on, do it..

and the hot spot of 40 C. turn the heat rock off. if you wont take the warning, or dont care... maybe re-think keeping pets.

it is TINY for its age..

take it to the vet, if it doesnt start eating. they may offer jumpstart or accidopholis and energy injections.

 

[falconboy]

they may offer jumpstart or accidopholis

Vets sell yoplait? :lol:

But seriously, it does look ill.

Try an eye dropper or needleless syringe (as kirby said) to drip some 50/50 water/juice (warmed) on its nose and hope it licks it off.

Sometimes if you gently put it between its 'lips', it may open up and allow you to put a few drops at a time in its mouth.

 

[888lowndes888]

My guy did the exact same thing a few weeks back when I got him home. He was 3 weeks old at the time and would not eat, would not move and you could poke him and he wouldn't wake up. After a few days of leaving crickets in his enclosure and him not eating them I took them all out and finely chopped up some greens incase he got super hungry and didn't offer him any crickets for 3 days. I found after the three days I dropped a cricket in and he went nuts over it. Though he only ate 2, the following day 4 the following day 13!!! Now he is just a guts lol. Since eating alot he has become far more active and alert. At such a young age a ceramic heat emmiter is probably good to keep temps up during the night. I also put him in his water bowl daily and with one finger lowered his head into the water and 9 times out of 10 he would have a big drink. I thought for sure I would lose him and every day I would come home expecting the worst. I know how stressful it is and best of luck with her.

 

[Kirby]

Vets sell yoplait? :lol:

But seriously, it does look ill.

Try an eye dropper or needleless syringe (as kirby said) to drip some 50/50 water/juice (warmed) on its nose and hope it licks it off.

Sometimes if you gently put it between its 'lips', it may open up and allow you to put a few drops at a time in its mouth.

jumpstart and acidopholis are reptile supplements, commonly used in sick or rescue animals. they help boost good gut flora, and give a kickstart to energy and appetite.

Yes, you can feed a little non-dairy flavorless yogurt. being non-dairy, it is digestible and the accidopholis will help. also as falcon boy said, diluted juices may help. chicken, and vegetable baby foods will also get him up and going.

 

[Australis]

so they keep heating to rediculous temperatures. third degree burns are common, considering they cant sense heat from below.. .

Dragons can "sense" heat from below, its common to find them as well as other species
basking at night (when gravid etc).

I also think most heat rocks are dodgey though all the same.

 

[No-two]

You could try breast feeding it?

 

[Kirby]

Dragons can "sense" heat from below, its common to find them as well as other species
basking at night (when gravid etc).

I also think most heat rocks are dodgey though all the same.

yes, your right. i probably mis-worded that.

"a majority of their heat sensors" arent on their underside. it takes longer for them to realise their body temperature, when heated from below.

without a good thermostat, they can overheat/burn.