Alternative Food

[packfan74]

Hi - its me again (miss Million Questions new parent)

My 7 month old is not eating well (he's approx. 15"). Has has not touched a cricket in over a week. No veggies to speak of in last 3-4 days and has only taken about 6-7 superworms since last Saturday, 10/30. Went to the pet store to get new UVB tube and saw the following product:

Bites for Bearded Dragons by Nature Zone

It claims it is specially formulated with appetite stimulating color & flavor. Analysis is: 3% Crude Protein, 1.5% Crude Fat, 3.5% Crude Fiber and 92% Moisture.

What do you guys think - does anybody have experience with this? Is it worth a try?.......not very expensive.

 

[staylor]

I would not recommend then. While the colors are stimulating you can do the same thing by adding those colors to his salad. Have you ever had a fecal done. It could be that he pick up parasites from the crix.

 

[ladyknite]

I have actually used them for a trial on juveniles for 6 months.
I found they had no ill effects, although they do not fully compensate for hunting skills and live prey. If they are fed in conjunction with live food, and actually eaten, then it's no worries.
I found with most juveniles, they like to chase it down, attack it and chew it up. Dragon Bites tend to play dead.

I agree with Sandra concerning the fecal. It's been a week. Time to check things out.

 

[packfan74]

no vet check yet. Thought I'd try upping his UVB from 5.0 to 10.0 first to see if that helps (did that today). If not, then I'll go see the doc. for sure!

In the meantime, I've tried just about every green leafy thing the farmers market carries (kale, collard, mustard, turnip, spinach, watercress, romane, parsley, basil, rosemary, green/red/yellow pepper, corn, carrot, greenbeans, snap peas, apple, pear, blueberries, bananna, tomato.....the list goes on. HE DOESN'T REALLY EAT ANY OF IT very well!! The ony thing he seems to like is clover and green pepper.

Up until about two weeks ago, he was eating about 80 large crix a week. I started alternating crix w/supers to try and fill him up more so it wasn't costing me an arm & leg. I was spending $20 a wk on crickets alone! Only problem was, he ate as many worms as I'd give him!! I thought he'd stop when he was full - but no, not my little piggy! If I gave him 15, he'd eat 15 and look at me for more. I got scared I was overfeeding, so I slowed down to only giving him 5-6 every other day plus afew dusted crix. On the alternate days I'd feed only veggies, which he would'nt touch most of the time (maybe I have a girl dragon, cuz I get alot of attitude....diva style).

That routine lasted about two months and now he's completely off crix. and almost completely off veggies and only looks at the worms sideways. He may munch a couple but not more than 6-7 in the last 5 days

I'll follow up w/ya if the UVB works......cross your fingers for me!!

 

[belialsson]

one thng i will say is that dont feed them spinach it is not good for them other than that i would get a fecal done for sure.

 

[li]

Not much to add. I agree with the beardie food to be used as a topper not a staple and a fecal sounds like your next step.

 

[beardi1990]

my beardie bubba who is 9mo was eating great and out of nowhere got parasites i cured him with panacure and he was still not eating. There is a virus going around in crickets right now in the US. They it is not transferable to the lizards but i do not believe that. What i would recommend is taking him tot he vet. have them check him out. also you can try 1 of 2 products acidopholiz+ which you can find online and at some petsmarts and also Bene-Bac that you can find in the bird section at petco or petsmart. It is a pro-biotic for while/after taking meds, when they are not eating it gives them more good-bodies in there stomach which helps send signals letting them know that they are hungry. Ask your vet about those products see what they say.

 

[renich]

My herp vet compared those types of food as if you were feeding your dragon jelly donuts.

Some dragons don't like crickets. Yours is getting close to that one year mark. You may want to try dubia roaches or phoenix worms.

And a fecal is never a bad idea.