Babies

[Zoe]

Hi!
I just got my first baby beardie yesterday (what a CUTIE!) However, I have two concerns:
- he isn't very active... he moves around, but he doesn't struggle when I pick him up. Should I be worried or am I just lucky wit ha tame baby? (apprx 4" long btw)
- Also, he has yet to eat anything. He has mealworms in a dish, a few crix roaming around the 15 gal and some kale, snow peas and apple in a dish (a little salad). Is he still settling?

Thanks!

Oh! I was told he is a yellow x yellow lavender, but he doesn't look it at this point. Will his colour develop later on (with UV exposure?) or is he just a normal?

Thanks again!
Zoe

[eyespy]

This baby is only 4 inches long? That's newly hatched size and really is too young to be sold. Inactivity may just be "playing dead" because s/he is scared but could also be a sign of illness. It can be hard to tell while s/he's getting used to her new home. Getting a fecal exam as soon as possible is especially important in cases like this. Not eating is fairly normal when a beardie hits a new home and becomes stressed. The problem here is that s/he's too small to have much energy reserves and not eating for even 2 days can trigger dehydration, low blood sugar, and lower the metabolism too much.

Dragons that small sometimes have trouble running after their food. Putting a few crickets plus the dragon in a glass or plastic container not much bigger than the beardie might help your little one to catch its food better.

If the little one is truly a neonate and not just stunted growth from illness, s/he may still have egg yolk in the belly and not be ready to eat yet. It's important to keep the dragon well hydrated by dripping water on its snout. You can see if it truly does have an appetite by mixing up a liquid handfeeding formula to see if it will eat.

My favorite handfeeding recipe is to take equal parts of baby bird handfeeding formula and Rep-cal juvenile beardie pellets and cover them with boiling water to soften. Mash it up well and add another equal portion of baby food such as peach, butternut squash, chicken. Thin with water until its soupy enough to drip onto the snout. Once they get a taste for the handfeeding formula I start adding some blended greens as well.

Beardies that small should not be fed mealworms, they have too much chitin and hardened proteins and are a risk for impaction and dehydration. I don't even like them for adults. Most of the protein content is melanized protein in their exoskeletons, they really have very little food value to them.

Color can develop slowly and yellow pigments can take time to come out so you definitely have to wait and see what happens. Carotenoid pigments in the diet will enhance yellow and red colors, so that's an added incentive to get your little one on a varied salad diet at an early age.

[Zoe]

This baby is only 4 inches long?

My bad! He's actually 6 inches long.

Inactivity may just be "playing dead" because s/he is scared but could also be a sign of illness.

No, he's not playing dead... he's got his head up and he's looking around and stuff. If he's playing dead he's bad at it

The problem here is that s/he's too small to have much energy reserves and not eating for even 2 days can trigger dehydration, low blood sugar, and lower the metabolism too much.

Since he's actually 6 inches, will he be better off with settling in?


Thanks so much for all your help!! It is much appreciated! (by me and the little dragon, I'm sure :P)

Zoe

[eyespy]

With a 6 inch dragon I'd give 3-4 days before I'd worry about a fast. Glad to hear he's not as small as you originally estimated. I get so upset with folks who sell neonates.

[Phox]

Like eyespy said, I wouldnt start worrying about your little one not eating for a few days and try not to handle him at all during this time. I also suggest, when he does start eating, put a salad in the cage for him in the mornings and feed him crickets two or three times a day. One of those feeding shortly before lights out. When I got both of mine they ate the first night they came home with me and than did'nt eat for 2 or 3 days, and they've been pigs ever since then


And I am pretty sure they grow into there color.


Let us know how the little one does and gluck!

[Zoe]

He ate a few bugs and a piece of kale today... woohoo!

[eyespy]

Yaaay!! What a good little baby!