Eating awkwardly

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hey guys! So I was curious as to whether or not anybody else has been having a similar problem to this. It's been going on for probably a little over a year now but it hasn't really been a serious problem, just unfortunate and making things needlessly difficult for my dragon. When she strikes at food she normally goes in tongue first but sometimes she just tries to grab it outright. In both circumstances she misses a lot these days and it often takes a few tries for her to successfully grab something, especially if it's a piece of vegetable or fruit and even when she does she can have a lot of trouble hanging on to it and ends up dropping it even if they are an easy size to eat. The worst part is that if she misses something enough or drops it she might very well lose interest in it. At first I wondered if she was going blind but her eyes look normal enough, not cloudy or anything and that still doesn't explain the weak grip on certain food chunks. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[PatsyB]

Dexter does the same exact thing. If she tries a few times and can't pick something up she gives up and won't eat anything. Bugs are the worst, if they move just a hair out of a certain range, she gives up. Like it gets out of eye site or something. I know they have poor depth perception so that probably has something to do with it. I think sometimes we just notice it more than others.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Dexter does the same exact thing. If she tries a few times and can't pick something up she gives up and won't eat anything. Bugs are the worst, if they move just a hair out of a certain range, she gives up. Like it gets out of eye site or something. I know they have poor depth perception so that probably has something to do with it. I think sometimes we just notice it more than others.

Yeah sounds like a typical thing. Poor depth perception at close range can be a problem in a lot of reptiles I hear (even some dinosaurs had it lol) but I guess so long as they eat something and find something they like that's all that matters so long as they eat their fill.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yea depth perception sucks for these guys especially because of where their eyes are. My Simon did it just today he was eating dubia from his bowl and he kept missing it he was about to give up I could see it so I moved the bowl a bit and he got a better glimpse of it and nailed it. My other male Cooper has issues getting his greens out of his bowl once he stepped on them a few times making them more flat.. I had to go in there and "fluff" up his salad lol

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Yea depth perception sucks for these guys especially because of where their eyes are. My Simon did it just today he was eating dubia from his bowl and he kept missing it he was about to give up I could see it so I moved the bowl a bit and he got a better glimpse of it and nailed it. My other male Cooper has issues getting his greens out of his bowl once he stepped on them a few times making them more flat.. I had to go in there and "fluff" up his salad lol

Yeah sometimes it seems you just have to feed them on their terms sometimes and present it the way they want it. It's like some days they have a lot of enthusiasm and a good appetite and other times they think they're too good for it and barely pick at your offering if at all and on top of that sometimes they are lethal hunters and other times they act like they need assistance. I don't think I'll ever completely understand her as long as she lives. She's more complicated than a cat.