Adult Bearded Dragon hasn't eaten in 3 days!?

Question

My husband and I got him when he was three months in Nov 07' and we have pretty much done everthing you can name to be the perfect beardie owner we started giving him crickets, then wax worms and now superworms. After so long he would not eat any crickets it got to the point we had to let the crickets loose. So all He ate was wax worms and Superworms everyday along with his daily greens, but lately he hasn't eaten anything for three days. We don't use sand we use Critter Litter which is too large to cause impaction, he stays warm, he has a 75 gallon tank, we take him outside when its nice and his color is very vibrant which seems good, for the past three months he only moves his bowels once a week which I heard was common for his age. I'm just not sure about his appetite.

Answer 1

If it's not an impaction, then another reason he would slow his eating would be brumation oir hibernation. Depending on where you live.  Try the warm water bath and if that doesn't help he will probably need to get to the vet.  Good luck.

Answer 2

That critter litter can most definatly cause impaction! Impaction is a blockage of the intestinal tract or r****m, the larger the particle, the more likely it is to cause impaction. Calcium sands clump up into a large clod, which blocks them up, this stuff is big enough in individual pieces to cause impaction.

Anywho, check your temps more acuratly. Beardies need a basking spot temperature of about 105 degrees, if his temps are not high enough, he will not eat. Deficating once a week is about normal for an adult beardie.

Give him warm baths like the other poster said, warm water can help loosen his bowels and if he poops, it may get him to eat. You can also try mixing up his diet. Try Butterworms, roaches, silkworms, etc. Don't feed hom too many waxworms, they are very fattening and not very nutritous. Butterworms have a decent amount of fat, but also TONS of calcium, they are much better for beardies. you can get them at www.premiumcrickets.com and some PetCo's have them.

If he doesn't eat after about a week, I would start getting worried. Take him to a veterinarian and get him tested for parasites.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

The critter litter can definitely cause an impaction!  Loose substrate is not recommended for these guys.  Any loose substrate can cause impaction.  I use non-adhesive shelf liner in my reptile tanks.  It is easy to clean and looks great.  

Are you soaking him?  Weekly warm water baths are important.  Try soaking him for about 15 minutes every day and see if that helps him p**p.  Make sure your basking temps are 100F....only use a digital probe thermometer to measure these as stick-on and dial thermometers are up to 20F off.  Some beardies only p**p every week or so, so I wouldn't be too alarmed just yet.  If you are not sure, seek the help of an experienced reptile vet.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.co...

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

Answer 4

TRY TAKING HIM TO A HERPITOLOGICAL SPECIALIST. IN OTHER WORDS, A REPTILE DOCTOR, HE MAY BE ABLE TO TELL YOU MORE.DON'T WORRY AND LEAVE THE CRICKETS IN THE TANK. COUNT THEM WHEN YOU PUT THEM IN.

Answer 5

I would change up his apetite. mine go in and out of likeing what I offer. they get sick of the same old. also use twesers to hold one up to his mouth. if he wont eat, use one of those kid syranges for medicen to put water down canned dog food in. just mix of canned dog food in water, suck it up, and put it in his mouth or try to. also that kid stuff pedialite i think is how its spelt. use that for water dish.