my lizard has trouble eating

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richierozo

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My baby bearded dragon has trouble eating as it looks like it may have slightly swollen tongue. and we dont know why it also seems to be leaving the tip of its tongue out quite alot and it also seems to sleep most of the day .we have two baby bearded dragons from the same litter at the same time and one grows and the other is not growing much. is there anyone out there that could help it would greatly appreciated

thank you and kind regards

richierozo
 
What live feeders are u giving them, crickets or woodies, & what size? Might have a sore from that, in which case u may need to kill the feeders first & offer with tweezers. The bigger one will be dominating the littler one, only way to correct this is move the bigger one to a seperate enclosure, at least for a couple of months.
If he's sleeping a lot, what UV & heat light have u got, how close can they get to the lights, & what temps do u keep them at?
 
we are feeding them small mealworms tail first. we have heat lights and recive UV from the sun. The heat is approx 26-30 deg. they are about 6-8 inches away from the heat light and there food gets dusted in reptical they get sprayed at least once a week.
 
we are feeding them small mealworms tail first. we have heat lights and recive UV from the sun. The heat is approx 26-30 deg. they are about 6-8 inches away from the heat light and there food gets dusted in reptical they get sprayed at least once a week.
dont feed them meal worms , feed them crickets and woodies [ make sure they arnt too big for the dragon]
 
what is wrong with meal worms?
is soft fruit dusted in reptical ok they seem to enjoy mashed banana, mashed soft pear and finely diced mango .i still cant figure out why the littlest one has the tip of its tongue sticking out
 
Mealworms aren't very nutritional, especially as a staple diet. Their shells are also hard to digest, especially if your temps are only 26-30, these need to be up around 38-44C under the basking spot. This will probably explain the lethargy, I'd imagine (?) the sore tongue is due to the mealworms. If u insist on feeding these to a juvenile beardy, they should have their heads cut off so they can't nip them, even fed tail first. Crickets or woodies are a much better food source.
When u say natural sunlight, are they in a glass enclosure & next to the window? If so, UVB doesn't penetrate thru glass or thick plastic, so in effect they don't get any needed UV this way, as well as risking cooking/burning them. You really do need to invest in a UVA/B light as well, & move away from the sun. If on the other hand you put them outside in a non-glass enclosure for the sun at least 3-4 times a wk, this is fine.
Re dusting the fruit, if it's eating all the fruit that's fine, but it's usually a safer bet to dust the live feeders in reptical as they're more likely to eat all these, thus getting a better effect. Bananas should only be fed as a treat, once a wk, max twice. Get onto some bokchoy or wombok cabbage, leave it a bit chunky, they do need their greens.
Let us know about the natural sun thing, & PLEASE put a stronger heat light (100-150W) in or you'll end up losing your little fellow. Cheers
 
his tounge is still swollen and he hasn't had mealworms in about a week and i am starting to get worried
 
mealworms are not good for beardies in anyway and with them having the sand all of them can clog the stomach and, they often refuse food or it could be a stomach infection. go to your local pet shop and look for a calcium tub to cover the food in before you give it to it. hope that helped
 
I always reckon animals are like kids - if you're worried about them, the best thing to do is take them to the doctor, or in this case the vet - better to be safe than sorry.
ps. is he eating anything at all?
 
he is eating mashed up pear of a spoon mixed with reptical but today i killed a couple of meal worms and he ate them with a bit of trouble
 
Is he bloated..... ? could be constapated... place your him in warm water deep enough to cover its body, but don't submerge its head. Test the water's temperature with your wrist. If your dragon is constipated, the water will encourage a bowl movement. The water is also good for a dehydrated bearded dragon

refusing vegetables and fruit, tempt it with superworms and mealworms. Mealworms have a lot of calories, so feed these to a dragon that is losing weight. or puree veggies, fruit and the dragon's daily vitamins. You can add worms for additional protein. Syringe feed at least a tablespoon of the mixture... but if not eating anything go see a vet....
 
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At this stage I'd be thinking more along the lines of an infection/abscess somewhere that it's not improving. Keep us posted:)
 
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