Eating troubles

[shannalee]

So this little bearded is a great eater... he eats on average 10 crickets a day plus salad. HOWEVER he only seems to want to eat ONCE a day. Seriously. He has salad in with him all the time. And I offer crickets 4 or 5 times a day and he wont eat.

 

[PatsyB]

How old is he? What are you using for UVB and what are your temps? How long have you had him?

 

[shannalee]

He is 13 weeks now. I have had him a week. He is gaining weight, and Active.
Directly under the heat lamp is 115 .. the cool side of the tank is 85, The Humidity is dependent on which side of the tank and which thing you believe. One says 50 the other says 10% ... one is national geographic brand and is digital. The Temp thing on it is accurate ... so. The other is analog also has both temp and humidity it is zoomed brand. I also have a zoo med just temp thing which is digital. UVB according to my tester is good. But it is Reptile UVB 200 by exoterra.

 

[Kathryn Kinney]

I would recommend his first feeding always be his salad/greens once they reach 3 months old. They will fill up on their protein and not want anything else. Depending on the size of the crickets you are feeding him he can be full.

 

[shannalee]

He has access to fresh salad all day. We change it out every couple hours for fresh salad.

 

[Kathryn Kinney]

I had that problem with my first couple of dragons when I started out 6 years ago. They were spoiled.. As long as he is at a healthy weight and still very interested in his insects I wouldn't worry too much he may need to adjust. i would try taking a piece and moving it around to catch his attention and keep being persistant and offering it. Do you know what size crickets you are feeding him example 1/2 inch 3/4 or 5/8 etc. How long is he? Also try giving him 5 crickets instead and see how many he will eat on his second feeding. Do you know what kind of feeding schedule he was on when you got him?

 

[shannalee]

He prefers larger crickets 1/2 and up ...

 

[PatsyB]

Coil UVB bulbs are not good for them. You need your uvb to cover at least 2/3rds of your tank. Coil bulbs concentrate to one particular area and could damage their eyes. I would recommend getting a ReptiSun 10.0 tube style bulb or an Arcadia bulb that would give him better coverage. The ReptiSun T5 size bulb is a really good bulb that can be put on top of the mesh of the tank but you have to make sure you get the fixture that is made for it. The ReptiSun T8 bulb is good too but you would need to mount it inside the tank. It can also be put into a standard fluorescent bulb fixture.

 

[shannalee]

LOL we figured out the cricket issue. He just does not like them at all. He loves roaches. Loses his mind when he sees them.

 

[Kathryn Kinney]

Glad to hear he is eating roaches. Never thought I would say I like roaches better than crickets too!

 

[shannalee]

My daughter is totally grossed out with the idea of roaches lol. I kinda like them... they tickle when they are running around on your hand. The dont bite, jump, fly ect and from what I understand they have less parasites.