How Long Can a Baby Bearded Dragon Without Eating: Guide

Introduction to the topic

Although the diet of bearded dragons is simple, the dragons’ voracious appetites can be puzzling at times.

Pet owners are drawn to the lizards that have a beard-like collar around their necks. They’re easy to train and thrive in a home environment.

Many would-be bearded dragon owners neglect to do their homework before making the decision to bring one home. The most important thing is to make sure they are fed on time and in the correct amount..Beardies, as they’re affectionately known, are known to go for days without food.

Pet owners go into a tizzy when they can’t figure out what to do. As a general rule, adult bearded dragons can go without food for about four weeks. However, as a pet owner, you must be aware of a slew of factors that influence this decision. Learn how long your bearded dragon can go without food and what to do if it refuses to eat in this article.

If you’re curious about the most extreme facts about animals such as chickens and fish, check out how long a fish can survive without water and how long a chicken can survive without a head.

Why is starving a baby bearded dragon a bad idea?

Adult Bearded Dragons need food, but baby Bearded Dragons need it even more than that.

The rapid growth of baby dragons necessitates that they eat at least 3-5 times a day in order to keep up.

Even though we mentioned earlier that a baby Bearded Dragon can go up to 24 hours without food, we strongly advise against it.

Their health and development can be harmed if they do not have regular access to the nutrients they require.

As part of a healthy diet for a baby dragon, you should always provide it with live feeders, finely chopped vegetables, and vitamin and calcium powder.

Why do bearded dragons need to eat?

As you may or may not have guessed, the answer to this question largely depends on the dragon’s age and health.

If a dragon is mature and has a lot of fat to lose, it can go for up to two months without food, but this is not recommended.

The rapid growth of juveniles, however, should be a cause for concern because they need protein to grow strong and healthy.

Water should be given to dragons that have gone into hibernation because they may not eat for weeks or even months.

Insomniac bearded dragons.

Brumating bearded dragons can go months without eating, but water should still be provided.

Bearded dragons can go without food for any of these reasons

When it comes to surviving without food, other than age, the most important factor is the reason why it’s going without it.

In this section, we’ll examine the various reasons why people go without food, as well as the potential consequences for their survival.

1. Incorrect Temperatures

A bear’s ability to eat can be hampered if the temperature is too high or too low.

To digest, bearded dragons require a higher level of heat from a basking lamp.

This is due to the fact that they evolved in the desert of Australia.

For many of their bodily functions, they’ve come to rely on the extreme heat.

If the temperature is too low, they may stop eating because they don’t feel well or because their food isn’t digesting properly.

A good basking spot should be around 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius) in temperature.

Make any necessary adjustments to your heater.

In the event that this is the case, an adult bearded dragon would be able to go without food for several weeks.

Fixing the temperature, on the other hand, should solve the problem in a few days.

2. Changes in Living Situations

In terms of their personal space, bearded dragons are incredibly empathetic.

When they’re out in the wild, the oddly adorable reptiles are territorial creatures that use violence to defend their territory (which is why you never keep two beardies in one tank).

The beardie might stop eating if you have to change their tank, even to add new furniture.

This is due to the fact that they aren’t familiar with their own personal space, and as a result, they are afraid to enter it.

Within a few days, this issue should be resolved.

So, to throw them off, they can go a few weeks without food.

However, if the problem persists, you may want to take your pet to the vet.

3. Worsening of Mental Health

Your beardy may be under more stress than usual for whatever reason.

This can lead to it refusing to eat, so be careful.

This can be as simple as constipation at times.

Other times, it is afraid of what it sees in its surroundings.

Make sure your beardy is in a safe place before you leave.

Afterwards, it may begin to eat again.

If you’re under a lot of stress, you should only go a week or two without eating.

Stress causes the body to expend more energy more rapidly.

4. Incorporating a New Diet/Food Plan

When I first got a bearded dragon, I thought my two-year-old was a fussy eater.

When it comes to their diet, these creatures can get stale.

They may not want to eat anything else if they’ve eaten a lot of high-fat insects or sugary fruits.

This is especially true if the food is something they have never tried before.

A week of refusing to eat this new food is not uncommon.

Don’t succumb to the pressure!

If they don’t eat after a few minutes, keep providing them with food until they do.

5. Brumation

Brumation is the fifth most common cause of death in Bearded dragons.

Brumation may be occurring at this time of year.

Bearded dragons use a form of hibernation called brumation to stay warm during the colder months.

Your bearded dragon may be hibernating if the temperature in the tank has dropped or it has been a year since the last brumation.

They can survive for up to two months without food or water in this condition.

There is a detailed guide to bearded dragon brumation if you’d like to learn more about this fascinating process.

6. Illness

Sickness may account for some of the cases of malnutrition.

One or more of these other symptoms is usually present.

• Injuries that can be seen with the naked eye
• Foaming
• Glassy-eyed people
• The inability to move
• Absence of feces
• Discoloration

Take your pet to the vet immediately if you notice any of the following with a lack of appetite.

How to recognize a hungry bearded dragon?

Clinical obesity is common in bearded dragons kept as pets. Because they’re overfed and under-exercised,

Once a week, if your bearded dragon isn’t eating, we recommend weighing them on a set of kitchen scales. If they begin to lose more than a few grams of weight, it’s probably best to take them to the Vet. Get used to your bearded dragon’s routine, however.

You can check the tops of a bearded dragon’s heads to see if it has enough fat reserves. On the tops of their heads, above but just behind their eyes, they should have prominent little pads. Similar to the fontanelle on a baby’s head, if you’ve ever had one, you can think of these in terms of their appearance.

Bearded dragon fat pads on top of the head will be flat or even sunken in a starving bearded dragon. Additionally, this could be a sign of dehydration. There are fat pads on either side of the base of the tails of bearded dragons. Unlike the fat pads on their heads, they can be felt rather than seen.

It’s possible to hold the tail between your thumb and forefinger, just behind the animal’s rear legs, with a light touch. It’s easy to detect the tail bone if there isn’t enough fat in the tail fat pads. The skin may appear saggy as well. Soft but not squishy, a healthy dragon is at this stage.

What should you do if they suddenly stop eating all together?

Examining why your bearded dragon stopped eating is a good place to start. Because your bearded dragon hasn’t eaten in a while, you may want to look into the reasons listed above. You should take your bearded dragon to the vet if you notice signs of illness.

If your bearded dragon is not sick, you must look around or inside the cage for things that are stressing or bothering him. Changes to their habitat/enclosure or anything else in the enclosure should be reversed and the slow-and-steady rule should be followed.

Watch Baby bearded dragon diet! What I feed (weeks 4 through 10 weeks old) | Video

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Final Thoughts

I hope you learned something new about bearded dragons and had a good time reading about how long they can go without eating.

Fortunately, most bearded lizard problems are easily remedied, even if they occur suddenly. Check to see why it’s not bumming and then act accordingly, if the bearded dragon isn’t eating.

This should clear up any confusion about how long a bear can go without food. It’s a plus if you know everything there is to know about your animal. When the beardie asks for your assistance, you’ll be better prepared to provide it.

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