Few things are as stressful as your bearded dragon not eating, like all pets they can’t tell you what’s wrong so your left with a kind of helpless feeling of not knowing what’s going on or what to do.
In this article, I’ll share with you some of the main reasons why you beardie may be refusing food (and what to do about it).
Read through each point and check these off as you go along.
By the time you’ve completed this article, you will have identified one (or more) potential reasons and have started taking the required actions to resolve them.
1. Natural Processes
Bearded dragons transition through specific repeating cycles through their life and this will have an impact not only on their willingness to eat food but their overall behavior in general.
I’ve included this first because there seems to be a lack of understanding about these areas and people have turned to tactics like force-feeding during these natural cycles which is not only unnecessary but can make your dragon sick.
Brumation
Brumation is the reptile version of hibernation for mammals which bearded dragons will transition into during the colder months of the year, they may stay in this state for roughly 3 months.
During this time their activity will be minimal as well as their eating and some dragons will refuse food altogether which is fine.
What to do:
Make food and water available to them so if they want to eat they can but do not force feed them just let them move naturally through their brumation period.
Once they come out of it, their activity levels and especially hunger will be back on track.
If however, your dragon is losing a lot of weight then they will need food it is best to seek advice from a herp vet.
Shedding
Shedding is an irritable time for bearded dragons and shedding can be triggered by many things including environment, diet and health but for the most part, it is caused by growth and development for baby and juvenile bearded dragons.
- Hatchies (baby bearded dragons) will shed almost every week.
- Juveniles may shed every 3-4 weeks
- Adults will shed a couple of times per year
How to tell if your dragon is shedding?
- Reduced appetite
- Pale/dull skin color
- Irritable (not wanting to be handled)
- Bulging eyes
- Lack of energy
- Rubbing and scratching itself on things inside the tank enclosure
What to do:
While a dragon is shedding you can give it a bath once or twice per day, this will make the skin softer and loosen of the shed.
Please do not pick at or attempt to pull the loose skin off as this is painful for the dragon as the nerve endings are likely still connected, let the skin come off when it’s ready.
You can also mist them with a water bottle.
Both methods will increase your beardie’s hydration which also helps.
Do keep an eye out for ‘stuck shed’ this is when there is a piece of dry skin that hasn’t come off – you can see my article on bearded dragon shedding here.
For the most part, though, make food and water available to your dragon but don’t try to force feed, just offer the food and if they eat it, great if not, take it away and offer again later on.
Age
Baby and juvenile dragons will eat frequently and have a larger appetite because they are inside a growth phase which requires a lot of nutrients.
As your dragon enters into adulthood though, their eating behaviors (and requirements) will change, they won’t want to eat as much because that need to supply loads of nutrients isn’t there for them.
If you have a baby dragon keep in mind that you will need to adjust to their eating style as they move through their age cycles.
2. Tank Environment
The enclosure is incredibly important to your beardie such as the physical surroundings (which we’ll get to in a moment) and especially lighting and heating.
UVB Lighting
Every tank enclosures require UVB lighting which casts UV rays throughout the tank.
Make sure that you’re giving your bearded dragon 10-12 hours of per day as insufficient lighting can affect their appetite.
Mercury Vapor Bulbs offer both UVB rays and heat so they are a solid choice.
Fluorescent tube lighting is also a common choice for dragon owners and it’s best to have them 6 inches away from your dragon on their highest basking spot/branch/rock.
Too close and you can do permanent damage to their eyes.
Heating / Temperature
Dragons need fairly high temperatures to survive, one of the main reasons for these temps is to help them properly digest their food.
If they’re digesting their food, they’re not getting all of the benefits from that food which is not ideal, especially for baby and juvenile dragons.
Checking your dragons’ poop is essential so If you see partially digested bugs in their poop then the temperatures are not high enough.
A change in temperature can also put a dragon off their food so it’s best to get the temp set and then keep it that way.
Here are the key temperatures to shoot for:
Bearded dragons require an enclosure that has a temperature gradient.
What to do:
Check to make sure that you’re hitting the right temperatures
Basking spot 100 – 110 F (37 – 43 C) for babies and 105 F (40 C) for adults
Enclosure 90 F (32 C)
Cool spot (Hide) 70 – 85 F (21 – 29 C)
Night time 70 F – 65 F (18 – 21 C)
3. Health Issues
Bearded dragons can suffer from a wide range of health issues and they may affect the appetite of your dragon (or any animal for that matter).
Here are a few of the most common health problems to look out for.
Impaction / Constipation
Impaction is basically a blockage caused mostly by incorrect, foods (mealworms for baby’s especially), heating (undigested foods), indigestible objects (Sand, things around the house).
Depending on the blockage your dragon may be suffering from intense pain which will put them off food.
Obviously, force-feeding will increase the intensity of the problem.
What to do:
Impaction is one of the most feared health issues for dragon owners but it is one that can be helped with bathing, massaging and laxatives or ultimately taking to the vet.
See my guide on bearded dragon pooping to learn tips on removing impaction and also what your beardies poop is telling you.
Infection or Parasites
Infections that come in the form of parasites are of particular concern since they can negatively affect your dragon’s appetite but also make them feel ill when they eat.
Some parasites will steal nutrition from food away from your dragon as well as leaving them malnourished.
What to do:
Any kind of illness or hints of a parasite infection needs to be dealt with as soon as you can by a herp vet or a vet that is confident with reptiles.
Mouth Rot (Stomatitus)
Mouth rot is an infection of the mouth which makes it painful to eat.
Mouth rot appears as a whitish or yellowish gray around the oral cavity. In the advanced stages, the dragons head may appear swollen, teeth may come loose along with bleeding and increased saliva production.
What to do:
Best to get your herp vet to take care of this, they will treat the mouth with a Betadine and Nolvasan solution and remove the plaque areas.
Injury
Broken bones and such will obviously cause discomfort and the more intense the pain the more likely the appetite will be suppressed.
What to do:
Any obvious injury that causes lack of appetite should be looked by a herp vet since it could be connected to other injuries that are less obvious.
If it is a broken bone or fracture you will notice swelling around that area this can be very common when handling baby bearded dragons since they are so fragile – best get to the vet.
4. Stress
Stress can definitely be an appetite suppressor but in order to see it, you need to be a keen observer of your dragon’s behavior.
The solution depends on the cause.
Bullying
Do you have more than one dragon in the tank enclosure?
Beardies are solitary by nature and can be incredibly aggressive towards other dragons.
The result is the dominant dragon will actively disrupt the subordinate dragons’ eating and reduce the amount of the UV exposure which will create an enormous amount of stress on the lower status dragon.
Overtime death is the result.
Beardies will sometimes attack their tank mates so aggressively that the weaker of the two can die.
What to do:
Give one dragon away or buy another tank.
Relocation
When you purchase a new dragon the transportation process and then housing them inside an alien surrounding will place a lot of stress on them.
Don’t be alarmed if they don’t eat for a few days, let them adjust to their surroundings, once comfortable they will resume eating – make sure that they have a place to hide inside their tank also.
“Relocation stress” isn’t just reserved for moving from property to property but also from one place inside the house to another and even from one corner of the room to another.
Beardies don’t like change.
What to do:
Time is the best solution here, let them acclimate to the change.
Environmental Change
Bearded dragons are also sensitive to seemingly “small” changes like changes in their food pattern, lighting, temperature or any number of things.
If your dragon has suddenly lost their appetite think back to any recent changes you have made, this could be at the heart of it.