5WK OLD BEARDIE WON'T EAT.

[ROSEMARIE]

i have a tiger fire bearded dragon that wont eat. I dont really know what to feed her. I tried bananas, blueberries, raspberries, spinach, lettuce, pellets. I bought a dried mix of veggies worms and crickets but she wont eat it unless shes starving. She will eat sum live crickets though. I want to get more then just crickets in her diet. What can i feed her?

 

[Germ]

Hi Rosemarie,

Just about the full list mentioned is not good for a BDs 'Staple' diet. Here is a link to a very good nutrition list in the way of greens, of what is good, not so good to eat & how often it is recommended.
Nutrition List

It is not strange that a BD that young is not eating greens or fruit, some won't take to them at all until much older (Months), while others take to them more quickly. When they are that young the majority of their intake is protein in the form of Live Prey. The more common source is Crickets. In order for the Young'un to receive the benefits of fresh greens when they won't take to them in the beginning, the greens can/should be fed to the Crickets or other Live prey. This is a process called 'Gutloading', then the crickets fed to the BD.

If it is only 5 weeks, I'm guessing that it has not been in your possession very long. BDs need an acclimation period when re-homed, that can last a week to 10 days, during which time their appetite can be little to none. Handling during this time should also be minimal, other than for enclosure maintenance & necessary husbandry, to enable a stress free transition.

There are many other factors that may be the culprits also. A pic of your setup & dragon will help greatly in pinpointing problems or potential ones. Please give your setup Specs, as in the accurate Basking temperature directly at the basking spot & the floor area of the cool side, taken with an accurate thermometer. What type of substrate you are using, enclosure size, type & brand of UVB bulb, etc, etc.

In order to be helpful, we need all this info to give us an idea of the situation.

You may find some helpful info on their care here ...
Basic Care Guide

Good Luck

 

[ROSEMARIE]

Hi Rosemarie,

Just about the full list mentioned is not good for a BDs 'Staple' diet. Here is a link to a very good nutrition list in the way of greens, of what is good, not so good to eat & how often it is recommended.
Nutrition List

It is not strange that a BD that young is not eating greens or fruit, some won't take to them at all until much older (Months), while others take to them more quickly. When they are that young the majority of their intake is protein in the form of Live Prey. The more common source is Crickets. In order for the Young'un to receive the benefits of fresh greens when they won't take to them in the beginning, the greens can/should be fed to the Crickets or other Live prey. This is a process called 'Gutloading', then the crickets fed to the BD.

If it is only 5 weeks, I'm guessing that it has not been in your possession very long. BDs need an acclimation period when re-homed, that can last a week to 10 days, during which time their appetite can be little to none. Handling during this time should also be minimal, other than for enclosure maintenance & necessary husbandry, to enable a stress free transition.

There are many other factors that may be the culprits also. A pic of your setup & dragon will help greatly in pinpointing problems or potential ones. Please give your setup Specs, as in the accurate Basking temperature directly at the basking spot & the floor area of the cool side, taken with an accurate thermometer. What type of substrate you are using, enclosure size, type & brand of UVB bulb, etc, etc.

In order to be helpful, we need all this info to give us an idea of the situation.

You may find some helpful info on their care here ...
Basic Care Guide

Good Luck

GERM,
IMA CORRECT MYSELF I HAVE HAD HER FOR 5 WKS, THE PERSON I BOUGHT HER FROM WAS FEEDING HER MIXED BERRIES AND LETTUCE. I HAVE ALSO PURCHASED A BEARDED DRAGON KIT FROM THE PET STORE. I HAVE THE PROPER LIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR HER. IM JUST CURIOUS TO WHY SHE WONT EAT ANYTHING BUT CRICKETS AND OCCASIONALLY SUM DRIED MIX OF VEGGIES AND CRICKETS.

 

[Nitro]

From what I've been told if you are using the ZooMed Beardie setup there is lots not right with it.. Calcium sand shouldn't be used, thermometer isn't very good doesn't give right temperatures and more, can't remeber all. Spinach binds calcium and lettuce shouldn't be used. too much fruit isn't good either. just trying to help Because the other keeper wasn't feeding right doesn't mean that you should continue. You asked for help but wont give information. ppl cant help if thre isnt background informatin. Can b many differett reasons. And there is no reason to yell lol the guides posted before are good things to go by.

 

[Aleena]

GERM,
IMA CORRECT MYSELF I HAVE HAD HER FOR 5 WKS, THE PERSON I BOUGHT HER FROM WAS FEEDING HER MIXED BERRIES AND LETTUCE. I HAVE ALSO PURCHASED A BEARDED DRAGON KIT FROM THE PET STORE. I HAVE THE PROPER LIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR HER. IM JUST CURIOUS TO WHY SHE WONT EAT ANYTHING BUT CRICKETS AND OCCASIONALLY SUM DRIED MIX OF VEGGIES AND CRICKETS.

Rosmarie, Germ was trying to help you and give you some additional information. Fresh veggies are the best to feed your beardie, but most young ones won't eat it at all, it can take a few months before they start eating much veggies. They'll eat red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, sweet peppers, collard greens, and many others that are in the nutrition list that Germ provided for you. Do you know how old your beardie is? Berries should only be given as an occasional treat, along with any other fruit.

 

[ROSEMARIE]

I was not yelling i usually type in caps...i am not using the zoomed setup...im new to owning a bearded dragon and u appreciate all the advice i am given. I dont really have too much info on her, ive had her for 5 wks shes very active its just she wont eat anything but crickets, i have taken a look at the links and guidelines given to me. I was just asking for help because u felt like she isnt getting enough nutrition in her diet

 

[Aleena]

I was not yelling i usually type in caps...i am not using the zoomed setup...im new to owning a bearded dragon and u appreciate all the advice i am given. I dont really have too much info on her, ive had her for 5 wks shes very active its just she wont eat anything but crickets, i have taken a look at the links and guidelines given to me. I was just asking for help because u felt like she isnt getting enough nutrition in her diet

How big is she? Try her on some chopped fresh veggies and see how she does. Crickets are a good staple for her, and she'll eat more veggies usually as you offer them to her. You can try offering her fresh veggies first thing in the morning, wait til later that afternoon/evening to give her crickets. Just make sure she has a couple hours before lights out.

 

[Germ]

Being a new owner, I still suggest the pics & setup specs, but that is up to you. Very often, what is honestly thought to be correct, is not, whether it be simply in lighting placement, using too tall of a feeding dish to too small of an enclosure to provide a proper heat gradient, all simple things that do really matter in their care. For instance, having all the right types of lights, possibly placed in the wrong positions, where they are either not doing any good or possibly harmful to the animal or temps taken in the wrong places, are very common errors. Many things affect appetite & over all health & wellbeing.

Younger BDs very often do not recognize food that doesn't move. They can sometimes be 'Tricked' into testing out their greens by placing appropriate sized worms under the greens which will cause them to move as they slither around. Crickets too, but is quite difficult to get them to stay still long enough to get the greens over them. Using a low sided feeding container, so your BD can easily see it's food without having to climb, has been known to make a huge difference, a jar or plastic container lid, to start with often works well. Aleena's suggestion is a good one to try also & I echo, how long is it from nose to tip of tail, to give an idea in the ballpark of it's age.

This is all just to help, as Nitro said, there could be many reasons that could be the cause or culprit. When a problem is queried about with no background info, members can not even give educated guesses with any kind of accuracy. So we have to play 20 questions & they should be answered if you felt things serious enough to post for help. Otherwise what is the point in posting at all? Your second & third post gave no added info to the original post.

Oh, an added - 'Heads Up' - Pet stores are Notorious for giving wrong information, whether they just don't know better, are not familiar with specific species needs or are simply in it for the sale. They are for the most part, highly unreliable sources of good info. There are many products that are listed on the packaging as BD safe or have a picture of a BD on them, when in real life are quite dangerous & detrimental to the animal. Examples being & not limited to, almost all loose particle substrates, heat rocks, some thermometers, kits, etc.

Is it possible that you are using this setup?

Good Luck

 

[Renae_nae]

I went to a reptile pet store (figured they knew what they were really talking about) and got some bad information. It happens. Listen to Germ and read the information on everything you buy. Do some of your own added research and you'll find a lot of easy mistakes can be deadly but once everything is set up right they are pretty easy.