Juv Not Eating Crickets

[Seneca3]

I recently got a juvenile beardie and have been trying to get him/her to eat. I give him/her crickets three times a day, but he/she doesn't seem to eat them. He/She may eat 6 a day and unfortunately sometimes it's because I had to hand feed him/her. I know it's bad to hand feed them, but generally I'm just trying to see if s/he's still hungry. I try to let her/him eat, but at the end of 15 minutes, I'm chasing most of them around trying to get them out of his/her cage. S/He'll only eat one if it happens to hop right in front of him/her.

I did try greens and mealworms just to see if it's an appetite problem S/He ate it right away! The meal worm slid a little further away and s/he still trotted over to gobble it all up. I'm wondering if s/he is just lazy and doesn't want to chase after the crickets or doesn't really care for them. I read that dragons are supposed to be eating at least 12 a day and it's just not happening.

Please help! (Sorry about the mixed gender, s/he's a little wary of my hand, so I'm trying to leave it alone)

 

[Germ]

How recently have you acquired it. It is quite normal for a BD to go through a week to 10 day acclimation period, which generally has an effect on it's appetite. If you post pics of your set up, showing your lighting orientation to the rest of the enclosure & provide us with as much of your husbandry info, such as size of enclosure, substrate, type, strength & brand of lighting including UVB, temps & types of thermometers used to measure them, Day\Night lighting schedule, etc, as much specific info as possible, we may be able to see if there may be other issues happening.

 

[Augie]

I agree with Germ, but I wanted to address two things as well.

One, and this is my gut talking, I think you're being a bit too clinical with your husbandry. It's a good sign though, it tells me that although you are new to the hobby, you've definitely done your research - which is awesome! The 15 minute rule of thumb is just that, a rule of thumb. If it's early enough in the day it's ok to leave a few crickets in there for them to munch on. Mine does that all the time. Sometimes she'll sit on her basking driftwood and just watch them run around, and then out of the blue BAM she jumps down and grabs one or two. You just want to make sure you aren't leaving too many in there at one time and remove them all at lights out.

Two, I think part of the problem may be that you bought your dragon from a place that fed him/her ( ) mealworms, so that may be something your dragon is spoiled on. If it's a new addition to your family, give your dragon time and continue to offer salads and crickets. If your dragon is new to your home like we assume, you will see your dragon adjust to the new surroundings in a week or so.

On the flip side, Germ brought up a good point. Provide a pic of your enclosure to confirm all is well.

 

[Seneca3]

I got the dragon on March 3rd, so I haven't had it for too long. It's in a 2o long tank (getting a new one as the dragon gets bigger) with one of the repti-carpets. A bunch of stuff came in with a Zilla "Desert tank kit" and much of it has been replaced. There's a background on the sides and in the back because it was trying to get its reflection the first week. There's a large rock on the hot side. It can go under the rock, but tends to perch on top. On the cool side there's a food bowl, a water bowl, a fake plant and a net it sometimes climbs up on. On the hot side it usually stay around 107 F and on the cool side it's about 80 F. I have had a problem with keeping the humidity up on the hot side, it only stays at about 10% while on the cool side, it's around 30%. I do spray water often to raise the humidity. It has a 150 watt light on his hot side that's raised up to stop it from getting too hot. On the cool side, there's a Zilla UVB light that is 50 watt. I turn the lights off at around 11 and turn his Zilla night light on (50 watt). In the morning I switch them back on around 8 or 9. The temperature/humidity gauge on the hot side is digital and the one on the cool side isn't.

My dragon gets very skittish when a cricket starts to crawl all over it which makes sense. I don't know how to get it to eat them or stop the crickets. It's still a little wary of stepping in my hand.

Thank you for all the help so far.

 

[Pat B]

I would take out the water bowl....beardies don't need them and the frilly stuff. Keep you enclosure as simple as possible so feeders can't hide. When he gets older you can add stuff but beardies don't really care. He is still tiny and needs time to adjust to his new home....I would leave him alone for about a week - 10 days. The basking lamp and UVB lamp should be together not separate as you have them in your picture. Put them as close together as you can over his basking spot. Personally I never worry about the humidity but I do keep mine hydrated. Good luck with your little guy and come back often....

 

[ianedward1]

Several things. 1) Mine went through the same phase. He was raised on crickets but it took forever to get him to eat anything but worms when I first got him. It's best to just leave some in there throughout the day and try not to feed too many worms. 2) You don't need to spray unless he is shedding. I personally do not have anything against a water bowl but others may argue differently. If you keep misting though then you will just increase chances of infection. 3) Night lights are not necessary unless you're night time temperatures are dropping into the low 60's. Also, it's not best to use a light either. Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHEs) are best to provide heat without disrupting a beardie's sleep pattern

 

[river-7]

Hi; I agree with above; Being new he needs time to settle and there's nothing wrong with leaving some crix; in for your baby to munch on at his leasure. And you do not need a water dish just feed salads and crix; and the odd worm as a treat only.When misting your baby remove him from his house[tank] and mist as you don't want the humidity rising. They are desert animals and get water from;crix; salads, misting and baths.You need a 10.0 repti-sun uvb bulb; 5.0 is not enough uvb for him. Please get one ASAP and you may see a difference. And 150-bulb is a little steep for a 20-gal; long. Try getting a 75- and start from there to measure your temps=110-baby hotside and 80-85-cool side and once is lighting is in place and he settles in you will see a difference in his eating habits.You can obtain a bulb from walmart ect; as they are a little cheaper then the stores.And if you would answer GERMS: questions he will straighten you away with your lighting placement. And nothing wrong with leaving crix; in tank during the daylight hours as he will pick. I have a baby that doe's that he will go a couple of hours and them BAM he charges them and eats and sometimes i catch for him and he eats.But remove all crix; before bed. And give him 2-hours at least to digest his food before bedtime=remove crix; at that time.Hope this little book helps and keep offering salad as sooner or later he will eat some and WELCOME to BDF;=ps; a regular household bulb from walmart is fine and much cheaper then pet store; please don't listen to pet stores or you will be broke in no time. And your temp probes you can purchase there as well and GERM; will explain all that if you provide him pic's He will set you up-Good Luck and again Welcome-river-7