# bearded dragon still not eating



## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

hi me bearded dragon still aint eating live food and not much veg and never seems to drink unless a spray him or put water on his nose or hold him above his water.
and lately he just lies on bottom ov viv and also he aint had a pooh since friday.
his basking end is at 95 and cool end at around 70-75
whats going on with me poor spike


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## reptiles4982 (Oct 3, 2009)

does it sleep alot?
does he/she bask alot


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## minty1982 (May 7, 2009)

hi im sure your basking end should be at least 105f maybe its lack of heat


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## minty1982 (May 7, 2009)

beardies don't need alot of water.also how old is he have you got a uv tube what is he on sand newspaper etc and what you feeding him on


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

he basks for 12 hours a day and sometimes sleeps when basking and the other 12 hours he is asleep he is on calcium sand in his viv and he eats watercress grated carrots spinach and rocket veg and sometimes grapes and normal cress and butternut squash


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## reptiles4982 (Oct 3, 2009)

have u tried bathing him


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

yes a bath him once a week


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## reptiles4982 (Oct 3, 2009)

bath him/her every day i have a beardy that hadnt eaten for months and suddenly she started eaten chuffed
:2thumb:: victory:


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

are right a will do that now then thank u


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## ESAB (May 22, 2009)

Hi your temps need to be up a bit, also dont give him too much spinach as this effects the calcium that is absorbed.

I know there is a big substrate debate but calcium sand is not always seen as the best for beardies so you might want to put it on something else, if h hasnt had a pooh for a few days try giving his tummy a rub in the bath if he doesnt do anything himself I found this works wth mine.


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

ok so a should take sand out as well will newspaper do or shall a use kitchen roll paper and also should a put loads in or just enough to cover bottom


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## ESAB (May 22, 2009)

its up to you, many people use it but lots of people says its a big no no, newspaper should be fine, vinyl, tiles etc I use some rough type floor tiles from B&Q as they look nice still, easy to clean and supposedly help to file his nails (though I dont think the last bit is happening). I'm sure just enough to cover the floo would be ok if you use newspaper.

Also forgot to ask how far is your uv tube, should be 6-8 inches away.

Do you have any pics of your set up x


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

i have got pics but they are on me facebook profilt


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## ESAB (May 22, 2009)

pm'd you


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## dragonflymummy (May 16, 2009)

Check out the brumation thing - I'm pretty sure that's what my bearded dragon is going through - it's the right time of year, but won't apply if it's a baby~!mine is 2 years old


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## Tarn~Totty (May 4, 2009)

Hiya hun : victory:

Im sure some of the others with more experience will be able to help, if you could answer the following it will help people narrow down the causes:

How old are your beardies? How long have you had them?

What is the set-up like? Include pics if possible. What temperatures are at your hotspot, middle of viv and cool end?

Are they able to get close to the UV light? Which UV strength are you using (5%, 10%, 12%)

What live food are you offering? How often? What veg do you give them?

Do they poop regular?

Have they shed/started to shed recently?


As much info as you can think of mate, add it, it all helps.

Hope you get things sorted soon : victory:


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

i have heard beardys can also eat lamb mince is this true


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## beardie_2 (Aug 7, 2009)

*lamb mince*

beardies cant eat lamb mince, we feed our beardies locusts, mealies, crickets, morio worms, occasionally dubai roaches, and the very occasional wax worm. 

But make sure you give them greens everyday. 

we have a sub adult and she does not need to be fed insects that much but we do give her greens everyday, all our other beardies get greens and insects everyday because of their ages.

our juvenile common and our sandfire x blood reds are 12 weeks old and they are eating fine apart from the moment because of the brumation period
they do tend to eat less, although the juvenile common still eats like the gannet she is lol. 

and if ur beardie is female she will dig in the sand, by the way what sand do u use, we use play sand. 

advice would be if ur beardie is female and digging, remove the news paper because u will end up with it everywhere in the viv. 

i hope this has been of use, if you need anymore info then contact me or my partner at [email protected] :2thumb:


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

THE VIV IS A 3FOOT HOT END IS 106 cool endd 78 i have 10uvb strip light going the length of tank and a 100w basking bulb his food and water is at cool end and i have tried him on locusts crickets black and brown but wont touch any he is only eating bits of cress watercress grated carrots the odd grape and addple slice and no he is not having poo unless i rub his belly in bath i have better pics of set up on facebook


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## rich9k9 (Mar 31, 2009)

send us a link to ya face book account and people can correct ya if ya wrong in places


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## justin fisk (Oct 9, 2009)

am sorry a dont even know me link to facebook am really stupid with stuff like this lol me name is justin fisk am from newcastle ya cant miss me its a picture of me and me partner holding a baby crocodile


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## beardie_2 (Aug 7, 2009)

justin i would not worry, your beardie is most likely going through the brumation period, 

we have 4 like it and they are only eating greens, that is what happens when beardies go through the brumation period, 

it is like hybernation but for reptiles. 

my advice is to keep an eye on him/her for a few days and if u r still worried take the beardie to the nearest reptile vet in your area. 

but like i say the brumation period is nothing to worry about, it happens to all reptiles at some point, 

i hope this information helps.:2thumb:


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## samscott (Nov 2, 2011)

*calci sand*

hi not to be a ain but if its a baby calci sand isnt a good choice as it sticks together when wet! and can cause impaction. i bought calci sand and when i found this out i use paper towels( easy to clean, cheap and good for the lizard). calci sand is a good choice of substrate for an adult ! hope this helps and good luck :2thumb: im current having trouble gettin my 6 to 10 week old to eat and drink any tips ??


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## jadeybaby (Oct 8, 2011)

I would get him off the calci sand, go for papertowls/napkins. Awesome colour selection. 

Also def give him/her a bath every day, and gently rub his vent (a little undignified but worked with mine). also how old is he/she If you dont know then a rough size in inches should help work that out?.
If its not drinking it maybe because it doesnt recognise standing water as drinkable. get a pipet or something similar, start to drop it on its nose if it starts to recognise that the water is coming from the pipet and drinking it then after a few weeks start to drip the water from the pipet into the water dish. showing it thats where its going. after a few weeks it may start drinking from the dish. Saw this mehod on a youtube vid seemed to work for them. 
Double check your UV light. you can get these nifty little gagets that you stick about an inch away from the light and it changes colour depending on how much uv is being put out. works with mine.

Im not convinced on the brumation theory. mainly due to the fact that as far as i knew, you had to modify the light hours and temp within the viv for this to take place. Also if its a juvi it shouldnt be going through brumation anyway due to not having enough fat reserves. 

Just my thought!!


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