Bearded Dragon Help

[Jeannine]

below is a copy of an email i sent to the breeder of my girl but so far no answer so im guessing he must be away or very busy working and hasnt had a chance to get online, im open to suggestions and advice

email is a few days old and i have managed to get her to eat some of the blended vegies via a syringe but she still isnt eating on her own, local pet supplier is still waiting on a delivery which should arrive tomorrow (wednesday) and i intend to get some crickets, woodies,silkworms,a few mealworms to place in with some vegies to hopefully stimulate a feeding response and i intend to get a few pinkies to try her on and i now have her inside as well

Im at my wits end Bella is just NOT eating anything, she is really thin and i can see her backbone and hips, today i managed to force a few peas down her mouth and tonight ive blended some frozen vegies into a liquid which im going to try and feed to her via a syringe have you ANY other ideas of what i can do or what i can force feed to her to bulk her up some more till she decides to eat herself or any tricks i can do to make her interested in her food? ive got a pinkie mouse im defrosting to also try to get her to eat to give her some bulk, also going to try and get some silkworms and crickets to see if she will show an interest in them even if i have to put them inside her mouth to trigger an eating response

I do NOT want to loose her but dont know what else to do, im worried she is going to starve herself to death, do you also think it would benefit her to bring her inside and put her in the indoor enclosure for a while?

thank you to anyone who might have some advice to offer, i am ducking off to try and have a lay down for a while but will be back again tonight

 

[iHerp]

Have you ever got bearded dragons to feed on vegies?
try putting out a plate and move the beardie close to it and giggle it around (the food ). works most of the time
should last till tommorow (for the crickets)

 

[Renenet]

How old is Bella? How long have you had her? Has she been a good eater before this episode?

I think it's a good idea to put her in the indoor enclosure with the usual basking spot and UV light while you get this sorted.

 

[Jeannine]

bella came to me as a almost 5yr old so i dont know her history prior to me but was assure she was a good eater and i was given a list of what she usually ate so offered her the same items, shes never really been a big eater for me and when offered crickets in the past has only had a few, she was in brumation when i got her and went straight back into it when she arrived here, i have noticed periodically small amounts of food has been eaten but not a lot

ive offered her fresh vegies, jiggled the food in front of her but shes just not interested, i was able to get her mouth open, place the syringe so the liquid vegies would get a response which it kind of did as she would 'lick' and swollow the food, i did it slowly without choking her and just a little bit at a time, if i have to keep blending vegies and feeding her this way for a while i will do it cause then i know shes at least getting something

ive tried to think of a lot of things that might get her attention but she just looks at the plate then at me and goes 'meh' and ignores it

im even wondering if perhaps she is use to eating with others of her kind and is 'missing' them yet worried about putting her and the other girl together to see if that works

 

[damian83]

You can buy a shaker bowl to put frozen Crix in but put the veg In it instead. Mine have all eaten rocket, dandelion flower, hibiscus flower and veges. ... just persistance. .
Hope all works out

 

[Jeannine]

thanks damian, ive heard of those bowls and its definately something ill look into if her feeding instinct isnt triggered by live crickets/roaches when i get them

ill happily feed her nothing but them for a while if she will only eat them

 

[bigjoediver]

If worried about losing weight try feeding jars of baby food with the syringe. Get one that had the most protein and is for 3 month olds ( purée ).
I had a similar problem with a juvenile and this kept her going until she started getting back on track. Hope it all comes good for you.

 

[Jeannine]

oh great idea bigjoediver thank you, i honestly never gave them a thought that way i can get some 'meat' into her, i thought i might grab a small bit of roo meat from my pet shop when we go in the morning to see if perhaps the smell might stimulate her appetite even though they are more visual feeders? if it doesnt work nothing lost as im sure the dogs wont protest too much being forced to eat it lol

 

[Chris1]

another thing you can use as a base for a slurry is soaked and mushed beardy pellets.

i would also try (it cant hurt) a probiotic, it has helped with a couple of mine i the past.

i wouldnt go with the pinkies, thats alot to digest if her body isnt functioning up to scratch....you can try popping insects in her mouth while shes basking if she has her mouth open, otherwise press the edge of a roach against where her lips join till she takes it,...have a few ready to keep feeding them in once shes chewing.

a few small meals during the day rather than 1 huge meal.

dont forget to add pinch of calcium to your slurries

good luck, i hope ur girl starts eating on her own again.

oh and yes, i would bring her inside.

 

[Jeannine]

hi chris, thanks ive got some beardy pellets here

thanks for the other suggestions as well, ive got crickets here and going to feed them up overnight so they have some condition on them before feeding and if she wont eat them ill see if i can 'convince' her to try one and if still no go then onto the baby food

what kind of probiotic did u use? how much? etc?

 

[Chris1]

i used a pinch of a dairy free probiotic powder from a healthfood shop and added that to the slurries for a week or 2.
ive heard of people using yoghurt too, but since dairy isnt meant to be good i went the powder.

a probiotic will apparently also help her body absorb more nutrition from the food.

if shes that thin, dont mess around too much stressing her out trying to make her eat insects, get some condition back on her and worry about that in a week or 2.
syringe feeding in my experience is far less stressful than trying to wrangle their mouths open to get insects in. (and repeatedly spat out)
(if youre using the pellets for the slurries, soak them in boiling water to soften them quicker)

 

[saintanger]

have you tried some bok choi and cut up apples, also try different insefcts and see how she goes.

 

[Jeannine]

thanks Chris, unfortunately i think our only health food store has closed down after not being able to be sold but if push comes to shove i will try one of the local vets to see if they have any powdered stuff i can use

i tried her with the crickets, put her into a container with some and she just sat there, closed her eyes and let them crawl all over her so i took her back out after a few so not to stress her out too much, popped one in her mouth which she spat out when i put her into the enclosure

hi saintanger, ive tried the bok choi, some carrots, frozen vegie mix all to no avail but the 'only' vegie she has eaten after being placed in her mouth were pea's and i dont think a pea only diet will do her much good, dont have any apples but might grab one to mix in with her slurries which chris suggested

 

[Chris1]

you could also try a chemist or maybe even coles,...one of the brands i see advertised is called 'inner health plus'.
microwaved/mashed pumpkin is also a good addition to the slurries,...

 

[Sel]

She sounds sick. Prob needs fluids.. give her some powerade and syringe baby food if she wont eat anything.
Id also sit in the sun with her for a good 20mins

 

[Jeannine]

oh thanks chris will see what my chemist has and if they dont have anything, which in sure they will, well duck over the other side of town and visit coles (must write everything down so i wont forget lol), any particular pumpkin? i heard butternut were better then the others?

sel, shes been getting fluid despite not eating but im adding a little extra fluid to her food when feeding her via the syringe, shes actually been an outside girl and only got bought in on sunday (think it was) and shes in with a basking and UVB light and if necessary i can put her back outside in her enclosure for a few hours of a day after ive fed her to help disgust the food and then feed her again in the early arvo leave for a few hours then bring back inside

thank you all so VERY MUCH, you have no idea how much i appreciate everyones advice and ill try bits of everything and cross my fingers it works, hopefully she will pick up in a few weeks, to be honest none of the vets here have any experience in reptiles and have told me if i need help to seek the RRANA lady who does the reptiles but im keeping my fingers crossed i wont need to go that far

- - - Updated - - -

thank you to everyone who offered advice and suggestions here

just letting you know bella lost her battle earlier this afternoon

R.I.P. bella

 

[Renenet]

Oh, damn. I'm so sorry to hear that, Jeannine. RIP, Bella.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

thank you to everyone who offered advice and suggestions here

just letting you know bella lost her battle earlier this afternoon

R.I.P. bella

Aww I am so sorry to hear that Jeannine

I was going to like all of Chris's comments and will still like them but now it is going to be sad likeing because I already know the outcome. I know how much your beardies mean to you as well, R.I.P Bella

 

[Jeannine]

thank you both Renenet and Venomous and yes please do like Chris's comments as they were great suggestions, perhaps if i had been quicker posting in here the advice might have worked sooner for her

never nice to lose a family member

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Your welcome, very sorry for your loss