Bearded Dragon not eating, could it to do with new puppy?

Question

Lately, my bearded dragon hasn't been eating at all. He ate a cricket last week, I've been giving him as much attention as I can, but I've just got a puppy chihuahua/shih tzu and it's taking up a lot of my time. I'm scared that it's because I'm not giving him loads of attention like I used to, but having a dog is new to me. It's also becoming more summery in my country, could it be to do with the seasons changing?

Answer 1

The attention shouldn't be the issue unless the puppy has access to the beardie...which would be a big problem.  In any case, the beardie isn't eating anywhere near enough even for an adult beardie.  Contrary to popular belief, only the really large adult beardies should go a couple of days between meals-and the meals should be sizeable.  

I wanted to beat some sense into people at the local petstore that swore you only needed to feed a 3" hatcling a couple small crickets every two days.  Alas, you aren't allowed to take your pets with you when you go to jail.  At 3" a hatchling should be eating pretty much constantly.

You suggest seasons as a possible source of problem but if he has a prper tank setup seasons shouldn't be a problem as the temperatures and light would be consistent.  His tank (that she should be spending most of his time in) should have a gradient ranging from 75-85 degrees with the basking spot 95-105. The entire cage should be brightly lit as well as have a special UVB buld (if the bulb's package doesn't specify UVB then it doesn't..."full spectrum" lights don't cut it).

You didn't say what size your beadie is.  At under 12 inches or so he should be eating about a dozen crickets (as big as the distance between her eyes) twice a day that are dusted with a calcium and mineral supplement.  At this size, beardies too small to be eating mealworms although pheonix worms are great-food that is too big can choke or paralyzed her. He should also be getting veggies/greens between meals to snack on although he might not eat too much of them for a while as young beardies are primarily carnivores. When he's larger and nearly an adult, the crickets should be cut back to once a day (or every other day for the larger full adults).  Veggies and fresh water should be available constantly.

If temperature and lighting are good, then you need to take your beardie to a herp vet.  Besides metabolic bone disease (from not enough calcium or UVB) there are a number of different diseases that can affect beardies and many of them are lethal when untreated. There's not much you can do on your own other than making sure there is enough heat, light, and good food as many of the over the counter meds that may work on humans or other animals are lethal in beardies. Respiratory infections are another common and potentially lethal health issue that needs a vet.

MBD can also occur in beardies with enough UVB and calcium if their entire tank isn't bright enough or warm enough as they won't eat enough to get the needed calcium into their systems.

Answer 2

It might be getting ready to shed, and sometimes they wont eat, it might be thirsty, just keep trying, and make sure he has enough calcium

Answer 3

Bearded dragons are known to stop eating when it becomes more sunny - but if you see any significant weight loss get it to the vets asap.

As for you getting a puppy, it will NOT because you are giving him less attention. He doesn't like you and he doesn't like attention. It is probably more to do with the presence of the puppy - the smells, the noise, etc.

I suggest keeping your puppy in a separate room to the beardie.