babie beardie

Question
QUESTION: We have had our special addition for two days. He is active and per books and Internet we have a suitable home and working on a few issues today. I understand there is a period of acclimation, however he has only eaten one waxworm since Friday PM. We have offered crickets and salad and baby food and I am misting occasionally and have seen him lick water after misting. I am continuing to try and let him eat but he will not. For how long can he go like this before I need to be concerned. He is somewhat active not lethargic at all.
We baby sat a 5 yrold beardie that was ill and lost him. I do not want that again for my 11 yr old son or me or the baby. He is about 6 inches long.
Any advise would be appreciated. I have read your info for feeding light ect. Just want to know how long he can go without eating.
Sincerely Brenda

ANSWER: Hi Brenda,
Feel free to print out the care sheet that I have used for others so that you have easy access to it. There are some very good sites on the internet, but even many of those sites don't do updates as needed, such as proper uvb findings.
Its not uncommon for them to take a few days to settle into a new home.  Its good that you do see him licking water as hydration is vital to them.
Double check your temperatures to be sure they are in the needed ranges.
Try offering only one green, such as collard greens mixed with some grated butternut squash. Be sure to chop up the greens very fine.
Make sure the crickets are properly sized for him...no larger than the space between his eyes.  Be sure to leave his "salad" in with him all night long.
Many times, stress(such as a new home) can cause an internal parasite overload which can affect their appetite. I do recommend a fecal check be done, along with a checkup. He is tiny, stores are selling baby beardies when they are too young/small....which makes it tough on the new owners.
Sometimes, due to the stress or too many internal parasites, they loose too much of the much needed gut bacteria, which we need to replace sometimes....in captivity most use products such as:
bene bac...labeled for birds, approved for reptiles.
nutri bac
acidolophliz+
or plain, human grade acidolophus......   one capsule will dose for at least 3-4 days in a row.
BeneBac ..most larger pet stores should carry it...especially if they have birds...
Acidophiliz+  I think  PetsMart carries it..if not....on line at www.reptilesupply.com
If he is calm when you hold him, you can try offering a cricket by hand..or some collard greens. The easiest way to offer greens by hand is to cut them in a thin strip.  That way you can hold onto one end of it and its much easier to get it in his mouth.  Offering some water a drop at a time from an eye dropper can also be done.
If his tank has lots of places for the crickets to hide, you might want to feed him his insects in a smaller tank without all the decorations, etc so that he doesn't have to hunt as hard.
If, after a day or two he still doesn't want to eat anything, then I would surely get the fecal check done to see if the parasite load is higher than needed.
As I said, hydration is vital.  How long he can go without eating depends on his health and weight now.  If he has nice "fat pads" covering hips, fat tail base, and on his underside chest, then of course he can go longer than one that is skin and bones...but its not good to let them go for more than a few days, regardless.


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QUESTION: Everything in crickets and worms are to big using the between the eyes scale. He is very small. I have put him in a smaller container for feeding, up to 15 min at a time. should I leave him in longer and can I chop the crickets and worms or do they need to move for him too eat. From what I can tell he is healthy. I will take him for an exam next week just to be on the saft side. What we went through with our beloved snickers a few months ago was awful and I do not want to take any chances.  Your advice has been great. I do appreciate your help.

ANSWER: Hi Brenda,
You don't want the insects wider than the space between the eyes because eating too large of insects can cause a paralysis in the hind legs. Generally, Petco carries the smaller crickets, or the store you got the beardie at since they should have been feeding him properly sized insects. If its the hind legs on the crickets that are making it wider than the space between the eyes, you can break the legs off the crickets...just make sure that the crickets body isn't too wide. Some beardies will eat dead insects, some will not. Glad to hear he looks healthy!!!
I am sorry you had to go through what you did with your other beardie. I agree that a check up is a good idea.  Here are the links to finding a vet that can treat reptiles.  Do be sure to take a fresh stool sample in with you to the vet...hopefully the beardie cooperates and gives you one.
To find a qualified vet in your area you can go to
http://www.herpvetconnection.com
http://www.arav.org/ECOMARAV/timssnet/amm/tnt_mdsearch.cfm
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/
One other thing I want to mention is that if the dragons tank is in an area that has lots of activity(both human and other pets) that can cause stress..which causes them to not eat...also, if he is shedding, it can curb their appetite also.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry to bother you again. Our snickers is doing better. Has at least eated a couple worms and crickets.Now another small issue. My crickets are hiding in the small holes of my driftwood tree. How can I fill the holes to keep them out so snickers can get to them. What is saft to fill them.
Sincerely Brenda

Answer
Hi Brenda,
It would be easier to remove the driftwood and replace it with a smooth log.  Another thought is to wrap it with some type of material and fasten it with the plastic wire ties(zip ties).
Another way is to feed the crickets to Snickers in a different cage.
Since you have hiding crickets, be sure to leave a 1/2 potato in the tank so that any stray crickets will nibble on the potato instead of Snickers.
Glad to hear he is starting to eat for you. Now you get to work on him eating his "salad" also!!!