4 month old bearded dragon

Question
i have a baby beardy and ive had her for about a month and then about a week ago she started getting the shakes if she got to exited , i realized we needed a uvb bulb so i got one she has since decreased alot in the shaking but now she wont eat , she has peeped and kinda pooped but just not intrested in anything and ahe just lays around her tank all day last night i got a needless siringe and tryed to force feed her baby food very genatlly she didnt seem to care and i tryed again today she had a little more fight in her but still didnt want to eat on her own i had to force her mouth open very carefully a squeeze a little baby food in, what should i do as there is no vet that specailizes in exotics where i live PLAESE help

Answer
Hi Amy

The first thing that I would like to ask is what type of substrate do you have on the bottom of your Beardies tank
If it is sand or any type of a particle substrate-get rid of it and replace with paper towels

Ingesting small particles over time when they chase and pick up their insects can build up a blockage especially in baby Beardie's

Can you please tell me what the basking temp is on the area under the spot bulb in the Beardies tank?

This should be the hottest area/spot of the tank and you should have a piece of wood or a rock that your Beardie can climb on to bask in a temperature that reads 95 to 100 degrees

Often you will need to adjust the space between the basking bulb and the basking spot depending upon the size of the tank and the wattage of the bulb so that you can get a temperature between 95 and 100 degrees

The temperature of the room that the tank is in will also effect the temp of the tank and the wattage of the bulb needed to get the perfect basking temperature

This is simply trial and error to get it right and  it is the reason for using the thermometer with the probe on the end

With laying the probe end of the thermometer right on the area that you want to measure the temp- it will measure that exact spot surface temp and not the air temp around it

So if you do not have one-you will need to buy a digital thermometer with a probe on the end to get the most accurate temp reading-stick on or dial type ones just aren't that accurate

One of the main reasons that reptiles will stop eating is that they are not warm enough to digest their food

If there is not a spot that is hot enough for them to bask in they will not eat as the food will lay in their stomach and rot and make them ill

As I said in the previous paragraph-only the spot under the basking bulb should be 95-100 degrees and you should be using at least a 20 long tank/aquarium for your Beardie to be able to provide a good temperature gradient in the tank

Using a basking bulb on a 10 gallon tank can heat up the entire tank  to a temperature that is too hot and cook your Beardie baby or using too low a wattage so as to not heat up the entire tank-can result in temps not being hot enough in the basking area

As for the basking bulb itself-it can be a regular incandescent light bulb that you place in the reptile light holder and then place on the metal screen hood of the tank
I prefer to use spot/flood type bulbs as they narrow the light even more than regular light bulbs will

They have to be able to move from a hot temp to a cooler one to thermo-regulate their body temperature

Is her feces runny and smelly or is it fairly firm with a dark and a white area in it?

Smelly and runny feces can indicate internal parasites and meds are given to eradicate them from your Beardie's body

As for feeding a non-eating lizard
I would recommend going to a large chain pet shop and purchasing some Flukers Rept-A-Aid
It is a kit that contains a powder that you mix with water and feed to your Beardie with the syringe that is provided

This powder has been formulated especially for re-hydrating and providing caloric intake for ill and stressed lizards

You need to buy the CARNIVORE/INSECTIVORE formula as they make two types
Follow the mixing directions and
Feed this instead of the baby food-two to three times per day

Start with a small amount-depending upon the size of your Beardie(a 4 month old can still be small)-if this is a very small baby-their stomach is not very big at all and I would start off feeding no more than 1/4 syringe at a time

Can you measure your Beardie from the tip of it's nose to the end of the tail and let me know how long that it is please?
Also-when it lies flat-is it's stomach flat like a pancake or does it have a nice rounded look to it?

Start feeding by placing a drop of the formula on the area above the Beardie's nose-that should trigger a licking reaction

Usually they really like the taste of this formula and will readily lick it from the end of the syringe so you will not have to try and open their mouth as with doing so you can injure their jaw

So check the temps in the tank and the poop and go and get the Rept-A-Aid

If there are no vets in your area that will treat reptiles and the feces are runny and smelly I will direct you to an OTC product that you can buy to treat for internal parasites

Of course it is always better to have a fecal exam done to confirm the presence of parasites but you if there is strong evidence of them

Many vets that normally do not treat reptiles will do fecal exams-you bring in a fresh sample of poop and they examine it under a microscope
The fee for this is generally not much over $20

I hope that this has helped and please let me know how things work out and write back if you have any further questions

Sandy aka LadyGecko