Bearded dragon not eating

[Kotori]

My biology teacher has a baby bearded dragon in the back of the room, and I have noticed it asn't been eating for at least a week. He's on sand, but I checked and he has still been pooping, once every 3days or so. Little urea (white part) but he seems to not be dehydrated. He doesn't have a UVB bulb, and doesn't go outside, but his crickets are dusted everyday, and he has salad greens every day. The crickets are the proper size, and the bearded dragon, who should be 2 or 3 months old now, is 4 inches snout-to-vent. I don't hve a current weight on him. He seems to be extremely sleepy and sometimes appears to sit in the same spot the entire day. He doesn't have heat pad, only a strong heat bulb over the corner he is usually in.

My teacher dumps in about 10 crickets every day, dusted. yesterday when I looked, there had to have been at least 30 in the cage, and he was in the corner, sleeping as they crawled over him. Is it normal for Bearded dragons to not eat, or to eat very little for awhile? I've only noticed it this week and last week, and I thought it could be because his cage is colder than it normally would be.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Everything is wrong with this dragon's care and unfortunately, it's not very likely that your teacher will allow any changes to be made unless it's his/her idea. A lot of times teachers pay for classroom animal upkeep out of their own pockets. Is there any chance they will allow someone else to take over responsibility for this poor little dragon?

 

[Desdemona]

Pretty much what Laney said... look for some caresheets online and give them to your teacher. B.Dragons do brumate but that one is much to young to be doing so.

 

[animeavatar]

What is in this 'salad'?

 

[LeoMerlin]

Make sure it's not lettuce, or romaine lettuce. Needs to be something like turnip greens, collard greens, butternut squash, etc. Definitely needs the UVB and UVA lighting, and what size tank is it in? Needs to get rid of sand. Sand could cause impaction, 'cause beardies LOVE to lick just about everything. My Jethro does, when he's out, he loves to just lick so he gets an idea of what his surroundings are. (I make sure it's not anything that shouldn't be licked). What kind of toys/furniture are in the dragon's tank? There needs to be at least some sort of branch thing so they can bask.

I'd also consider bringing a heat pad just for the extra temps. I know classrooms get pretty dang cold, and just 'cause they're coldblooded, does not mean they tolerate the cold. They need warmth. Beardies need a bit more than geckos from what I have researched as far as heat goes.

 

[Kotori]

I was afraid of that . He has a branch in there, but he never climbs on it or anything. today he was hiding under it. The salad does appear to be letuce, but I'll ask monday. He is in a 10-20 gallon (I'm a bad judge of size) but she has bigger ones for when he grows.
I'm not sure how to change things....I'll tell her about the sand (Is Coco fiber better?) and everything, but I don't know if it will help.

She got him from a bearded dragon breeder, and he told her how to keep him so I'm wondering just who she got him from....

 

[animeavatar]

Try tiles. NEVER feed spinach either.

 

[LeoMerlin]

If she got him from a breeder, did he not have a caresheet for her? And sometimes they like to hide under their toys. 10-20 gallon is okay for babies for a little while, but they grow SUPER FAST. I just got Jethro a 40 gallon tank, and I got him back in August, the 1st. How often has she tried giving crickets? It might still be adjusting to the new home. How long has the dragon been in the class room?

Also note, food needs to be finely chopped up, so it's not too difficult for them to eat. If it's left in big chunks, they may be scared to eat it too. (veggies I mean)

For babies, my vet recommended that their food be dusted (crickets) every other day. I use Rep-Cal with D3 and Rep-Cal Herptivite. (think that's spelled right).

Also be sure to check the water for dead crickets or anything that shouldn't be in it. Some people leave water in the tanks with beardies, others don't. And ask her if she's given it a bath yet? They need a bath a couple times a week to clean themselves and to make sure they stay hydrated. See if she would like to volunteer students to have the chance to give a bearded dragon a bath once or twice a week. I give Jethro a bath a few times a week. 5-10 minutes in lukewarm water. Helps them to digest as well, so maybe he'll go to the bathroom in the water. If that's the case, you'll need to clean it out of course.

Also ask her how often the tank gets cleaned. I clean tanks either 1x a week, or once every other week.

 

[Kotori]

I asked her about the tank, and she has a bigger tank. He is eating crickets, I saw him eating a while ago when it was warmer inside. He has been there since August 23- the beginning of school, so 9 weeks. She got him about a week before that, fairly sure she hasn't bathed him, since she leaves him there over the weekend. Tank gets spot cleaned every time he poops. The veggies are in big chunks.