My new beardie

[anothermix]

Hi everyone! Just to introduce my new bearded dragon that came in yesterday! It is now about 7" from head to tail.

However, it has not eaten anything since i brought it home. It has been more than 12 hours since it ate something. I tried brown crickets, superworms, mealworms, but it showed no intrest in them. Is this normal? I am a little worried.

 

[reptyfae]

From what i read, some new dragons wont eat for approximately a week or two

 

[gunkle]

Very normal. It's called relocation stress

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Acclimation, cover all sides of your enclosure with white printing paper so your BD can not see out. Minimize traffic and noise around your BD and only remove 1 sheet of paper per 5 days. Also, minimize handling down to maintenance only (moving him for baths and cleaning the cage). Hand feed your little one. I use tweezers to feed my BD live bugs. This will create a bond between owner (human) and BD. Allow your BD to acclimate for about 10-15 days at least. And watch for stress marks. Stress marks are jagged black spots or blurs on their throats and belly. It is a color pigment that actually changes the color of the scales temporary. I hope all this helps and Welcome to BDF. You are family now.

 

[JAQ]

My beardie is about the same length as yours. I covered his tank on 3 sides and made sure his temp is about 100 degrees. I use solar sun its a great product. I started feeding pgoenix worms for whatever reason the crickets got boring for him. Try the phoenix worms they do wonders...

 

[Bushmaster11B]

I would try feeding Dubia Roaches. We have several Venders in the "For Sale" section of BDF.com

 

[anothermix]

Thanks for all the advice! I will try to hand feed him. Manage to get him to eat a few pieces of bok choy today, however he does not seem interested in bugs at all, except for 1 cricket. I'm currently trying superworms, mealworms and brown crickets. Dubia or lobster roaches are a little difficult to get in my area, though I'm still trying to search for some sources.

 

[anothermix]

I would try feeding Dubia Roaches. We have several Venders in the "For Sale" section of BDF.com

I've noticed the black jagged marks you mentioned under his belly and throat. I hope this is normal when they relocate. Getting a little bit worried! I've also noticed the marks getting darker when he is asleep, but lightens up a little once he is awake.

 

[Bushmaster11B]

this is normal. and the marks get darker at night because BD's turn darker when their body temp drops. They should clear up if you do what I said earlier.

 

[anothermix]

this is normal. and the marks get darker at night because BD's turn darker when their body temp drops. They should clear up if you do what I said earlier.

Thanks! Thats great to know! That is a little reassuring. Yeap I've already covered the 3 sides with paper. Also my bd is currently only on mealworms as it isn't interested in taking crickets or superworms. Hope that will change soon

 

[Bushmaster11B]

I wouldn't feed the mealworms as a staple. When my BD started being stubborn with the crix, I would crush the crix heads (like 2-3 at a time) and lay them in front of my BD as an offering so to speak. Try ripping off the legs too. Your BD could be just being picky. But try the head smashing trick with the crickets and let us know. You may have to leave them in there for a couple hours.

 

[anothermix]

Alright think i will try crickets again. Will have to get a new pack as the previous pack had all died. So what you meant by head smashing is that i should kill the crickets before feeding him?

 

[Bushmaster11B]

I would use tweezer, squeeze their heads (crushing it) and lay them in front of my BD. I would only leave them there for an hour and only in his basking area so they were still warm. This worked for me during Aries' stubborn period when he wasn't eating good (shedding usually). But when you get a chance, you should try buying roaches for feeders. They love them.