Newbie in the house

[Willtheeman]

Hi everyone, I just got my baby Rex (not very creative but I like) and I had some general questions.
I got him on Monday and I had his set up ready before hand....hes 3 months old according to the store (small reptile and fish pet store with good reviews) I have him in a 20 gallon tank for the mean time til he grows a little more, basking spot hits 105 cool side around 90 , I have aa probe thermometer...reptisun 10, climbing and hiding spots, sticking to paper towel, etc ...the whole set up I think it's appropriate
I was wondering if its normal for him not to be hungry for a couple days maybe a week since he's getting used to the new home...he moves a little but mostly stays in the basking area...haven't seen him touch the veggies which I put fresh every morning....collard greens mustard greens, carrots, zucchini (all properly cut) etc.
I was putting him in Rubbermaid container to feed him but he would not eat the crickets so I put him back in his tank and placed a few inside....he only went for one and ignored the rest...I placed some superworms in a dish and same thing...he only ate one that was wandering in his salad
Today he accepted two superworms I offered him with tongs but when I placed him in the container he didn't eat the crickets...is it normal? Also at night his temps are around 85 and 75.
If need more detail lmk please

 

[Canicke]

Welcome !! 3 month old little guys probably wont eat salad. they might, but i wouldnt expect it. keep offering - he will probably eventually eat them. i have a 3 year old male who devours everything. and a 6 year old female who is seriously picky. sometimes she will eat her greens sometimes (mostly) she wont. Super worms - unless they are very small - are a bit on the big side for your baby. i would probably wait several months - do you know the "space between the eyes" rule? no food larger than the space between the eyes. yes - they can get "moving sickness" - it just takes them a few days to adjust to the new environment. i like the cricket in the rubbermaid idea - spcially for little ones learning to hunt.

 

[Willtheeman]

Welcome !! 3 month old little guys probably wont eat salad. they might, but i wouldnt expect it. keep offering - he will probably eventually eat them. i have a 3 year old male who devours everything. and a 6 year old female who is seriously picky. sometimes she will eat her greens sometimes (mostly) she wont. Super worms - unless they are very small - are a bit on the big side for your baby. i would probably wait several months - do you know the "space between the eyes" rule? no food larger than the space between the eyes. yes - they can get "moving sickness" - it just takes them a few days to adjust to the new environment. i like the cricket in the rubbermaid idea - spcially for little ones learning to hunt.

Thank you...I thought I wasn't a good chef and be just didn't like my mix lol I did rad about that rule but I wasn't sure about worms.....I had 200 but they ended being too large for him so Im waitig for my friend to pick them up..she has a 3 y.o monster lol ...I grabbed the smallest ones I could find and he ate them...the space betwee n his eyes is about 1" so I get him medium crickets ...just right now I got some small dubias in the mail so hopefully I have better luck with that.

Btw how big does the container have to be to keep about 100/200 dubias? I was thinking of a bigger bulk order if he likes them. Read the crickets escape easily so I rather buy those daily

 

[Canicke]

Dubias are great. I feed them a lot. Have not had success breeding them. i've been told they're easy to breed so it must just be me !! Dont buy too many at once - they grow. Not super fast, but faster than your beardie. I get mine off of Craigslist - from a couple of different folks (depending on which side of town i will be on) I meet both of them in a well lighted public area - one outside a casino, the other at a gas station. Dont have to pay shipping. I've developed a relationship with both of them so when i ask for a mix heavy on smaller dubias, they're good about it. (I have 2 geckos and 2 beardies). Yeah - crickets are nasty. I havent fed either of my beardies wax worms or meal worms, but i think you can. these are smaller. Meal worms are higher in chitin, so digestion may be an issue. it is my understanding that wax worms are higher in calories, but dont have so much nutrition. dont quote me - could be wrong. my geckos get the wax and meal.

 

[PatsyB]

Welcome to the forum! Your guy is probably still adjusting to his new home so he's not eating much right now. Like Canicke, I have a boy that loves all his greens and a girl that will eat them occasionally, usually by accident. Keep offering greens though, he may come around.

Wax worms are good for treats, they are very fattening. Meal worms have a lot of chitlin so they aren't the best feeders but you can get small super worms that kinda look like mealworms but not as crunchy. Butterworms are good, they kinda look like a giant wax worm with a dark face, they are kinda cute and you keep them in the fridge so they don't really grow. Again, my boy loves them and my girl not so much. She's very picky and at the moment will only eat a giant hornworm a few times a week.

 

[Hdrydr31]

just right now I got some small dubias in the mail so hopefully I have better luck with that.

Btw how big does the container have to be to keep about 100/200 dubias? I was thinking of a bigger bulk order if he likes them. Read the crickets escape easily so I rather buy those daily

Wow the space between his eye's is an inch? seems big for 3 months.. But as long as he is not showing signs of having troubles eating then ok. Crickets well are mostly moisture and they really are a pain. I have housed crickets for the last 5 years due to having a rescued wren, however she passed a couple weeks ago... I am feeding off the crickets to my BD then no longer....With a 20 gal you may want to keep tabs on the overall temps as a smaller tank will heat up much easier. My thoughts are that he is just adjusting to his new home. My BD freaks out when in a rubbermade tub and refuses to eat while in there.. What I've found works for her is I have a clear shallow bowl (only 1 1/2" high and about 4" across) and I put her insect feast in there dubia's, super's, treat times waxworms or butterworms. And to keep the crickets contained and keep time from hiding in her 55gal I take the back legs off them (yes spoiled BD but I don't want the crickets to bite her while she sleeps if I can't find them all, this way they stay in the bowl.)

I am feeding Dubia roaches and breading them... I bought a small colony online and I have them in about 25-30 gal rubbermade containers covered in black paper to block out the light, screen top, I have left them alone other than feedings and water changes..It has been 5 weeks now and they are just beginning to reproduce. You want to have a couple of these totes 1 contains what your feeding off to your BD and then 1 for your colony so your not bothering your colony all the time you put what you would feed for a month or several weeks into the other tote.


@Canicke the temps need to be up around 80-90+, dark, they do like some humidity, feed them oranges (kinda like a viagra for them) The big thing is you really have to leave them alone for min of 6 weeks, don't clean out the droppings/sheds called fras until it becomes over 2-3 inches as the babies eat that and burrow in them you then still leave an inch after cleaning. I am glad my Izzy loves them as once they reproduce and get going I won't have to buy anymore as the females live 11/2 years and males 2 years.. as long as you don't take all of 1 size when separating them for feeding they are self sustaining.. Dubia's are way more nutritious than crickets anyways 1 dubia = 5 crickets. You can slow their growth down by lowering the temps.

@PatsyB I've not been able to find small supers where have you found them? Izzy can do the big ones but I think sometimes she is unsure of their size..

post pictures of Rex would love to see him!

 

[Willtheeman]

Wow the space between his eye's is an inch? seems big for 3 months.. But as long as he is not showing signs of having troubles eating then ok. Crickets well are mostly moisture and they really are a pain. I have housed crickets for the last 5 years due to having a rescued wren, however she passed a couple weeks ago... I am feeding off the crickets to my BD then no longer....With a 20 gal you may want to keep tabs on the overall temps as a smaller tank will heat up much easier. My thoughts are that he is just adjusting to his new home. My BD freaks out when in a rubbermade tub and refuses to eat while in there.. What I've found works for her is I have a clear shallow bowl (only 1 1/2" high and about 4" across) and I put her insect feast in there dubia's, super's, treat times waxworms or butterworms. And to keep the crickets contained and keep time from hiding in her 55gal I take the back legs off them (yes spoiled BD but I don't want the crickets to bite her while she sleeps if I can't find them all, this way they stay in the bowl.)

I am feeding Dubia roaches and breading them... I bought a small colony online and I have them in about 25-30 gal rubbermade containers covered in black paper to block out the light, screen top, I have left them alone other than feedings and water changes..It has been 5 weeks now and they are just beginning to reproduce. You want to have a couple of these totes 1 contains what your feeding off to your BD and then 1 for your colony so your not bothering your colony all the time you put what you would feed for a month or several weeks into the other tote.


@Canicke the temps need to be up around 80-90+, dark, they do like some humidity, feed them oranges (kinda like a viagra for them) The big thing is you really have to leave them alone for min of 6 weeks, don't clean out the droppings/sheds called fras until it becomes over 2-3 inches as the babies eat that and burrow in them you then still leave an inch after cleaning. I am glad my Izzy loves them as once they reproduce and get going I won't have to buy anymore as the females live 11/2 years and males 2 years.. as long as you don't take all of 1 size when separating them for feeding they are self sustaining.. Dubia's are way more nutritious than crickets anyways 1 dubia = 5 crickets. You can slow their growth down by lowering the temps.

@PatsyB I've not been able to find small supers where have you found them? Izzy can do the big ones but I think sometimes she is unsure of their size..

post pictures of Rex would love to see him!

Thank you hdrydr31!

Maybe is more like 3/4" lol but yeah I have checked the temperature numerous times and they seem right....I went and got a 18gl Rubbermaid tub to keep the roaches in and drove for a while looking for egg crates....didn't think going to the pet store where I get them so I ended up at a barn lmao dubias are in and I guess only half survived the trip....on the bright side he ate 5....is that a good amount? They were about medium, same size as between his eyes lol I measured it lol and I put a heavy coat of repti cal w/d3 since he hasn't eaten much...I think dubias are going to be the staple food for him with the occasional worms mixed in...he doesn't care for chasing crickets but maybe I'll take off the legs and leave them in there with him too ....btw do I need to use d3 all the time or I alternate it with the one without? Couldn't seem to find a solid answer to this...he gets about 14 hours of uvb light and I don't take him outside for now til he's a little older and more settled....thanks in advance

 

[Willtheeman]

I plan on using vitamins on Saturday and Sunday ...with beta carotene ...I'm going to HD to buy some mesh for the dubias bin lid ventilation

 

[PatsyB]

@Hdrydr31 I used to find them at Petco. I didn't know they existed until we got our chameleon. They had 3 sizes.

 

[Hdrydr31]

you can find egg crates online for cheap stand them up so the droppings etc fall to the floor they will last longer that way.
I dust my insects with calcium without D3 everyday, I dust with a multi vit 2/3x a week, I have been spraying her greens with a vit supplement but now that she is eating a good variety of the greens I will spread that out... This is just my routine with Izzy...
# of insects will vary with the dragon Izzy would easily eat 20 small roaches, now that she is bigger I feed her the bigger ones that are size appropriate 10 seem to do her well. I also put 2/3 superworms in there and after she poops she usually "tops" off lol and eats those too. She snacks on her salad throughout the day.

 

[Hdrydr31]

@Hdrydr31 I used to find them at Petco. I didn't know they existed until we got our chameleon. They had 3 sizes.

hmmmm maybe some of the other stores have smaller ones the one I usually go to only had large..

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thank you hdrydr31!

Maybe is more like 3/4" lol but yeah I have checked the temperature numerous times and they seem right....I went and got a 18gl Rubbermaid tub to keep the roaches in and drove for a while looking for egg crates....didn't think going to the pet store where I get them so I ended up at a barn lmao dubias are in and I guess only half survived the trip....on the bright side he ate 5....is that a good amount? They were about medium, same size as between his eyes lol I measured it lol and I put a heavy coat of repti cal w/d3 since he hasn't eaten much...I think dubias are going to be the staple food for him with the occasional worms mixed in...he doesn't care for chasing crickets but maybe I'll take off the legs and leave them in there with him too ....btw do I need to use d3 all the time or I alternate it with the one without? Couldn't seem to find a solid answer to this...he gets about 14 hours of uvb light and I don't take him outside for now til he's a little older and more settled....thanks in advance

wow only half survived?? they are pretty hardy

 

[Willtheeman]

wow only half survived?? they are pretty hardy

Yeah they were in the mail for 5 days so maybe that's why but I'm not complaining...the closest place that has then in stock locally is like an hour away so I rather get them shipped....Any advice on a website with good quality and decent shipping? I was thinking rainbowmealworms

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yeah they were in the mail for 5 days so maybe that's why but I'm not complaining...the closest place that has then in stock locally is like an hour away so I rather get them shipped....Any advice on a website with good quality and decent shipping? I was thinking rainbowmealworms

This is who I used to get my colony and everyone arrived just fine https://www.southtexasdragons.com/dubia-roaches.html . I've also used http://dubiaroaches.com/

 

[Willtheeman]

you can find egg crates online for cheap stand them up so the droppings etc fall to the floor they will last longer that way.
I dust my insects with calcium without D3 everyday, I dust with a multi vit 2/3x a week, I have been spraying her greens with a vit supplement but now that she is eating a good variety of the greens I will spread that out... This is just my routine with Izzy...
# of insects will vary with the dragon Izzy would easily eat 20 small roaches, now that she is bigger I feed her the bigger ones that are size appropriate 10 seem to do her well. I also put 2/3 superworms in there and after she poops she usually "tops" off lol and eats those too. She snacks on her salad throughout the day.

Its been a week and Rex still not eating....besides the 5 roaches he ate a couple days ago....right now I have him in his separate container where I feed him with some roaches and he just looks at them...he took a superworm I offered him but I don't wanna give him more since they're not that good for his age..he's been exploring his enclosure a bit more and stuff...he has also been pooping but idk why isn't he eating....will he be OK if he's still settling in?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but mine refuses to eat in a sep bin... (just looked back I have mentioned what I do) Have you tried feeding him in his enclosure in a clear glass flat dish?? Try butterworms or wax worms those are like candy (use only as treats) but you may be able to get him going...are the dubia roaches appropriate size to smaller?

 

[PatsyB]

Mine never liked to eat in a separate container either, they were too stressed. If you are worried about loose feeders you could always bowl feed. Small ramekins or small glass bowls (dollar store has them 4 for $1) are perfect. Insects can't climb clean glass.

 

[Hdrydr31]

(dollar store has them 4 for $1) are perfect. Insects can't climb clean glass.

oh I should check them out never thought about them.....the one I have was like 3 bucks

 

[Willtheeman]

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but mine refuses to eat in a sep bin... (just looked back I have mentioned what I do) Have you tried feeding him in his enclosure in a clear glass flat dish?? Try butterworms or wax worms those are like candy (use only as treats) but you may be able to get him going...are the dubia roaches appropriate size to smaller?

Hi, well seems like my timing wasn't that great with Rex...he happens to be shedding lol maybe that mixed with relocating was stressing him out....today he didn't care for the roaches at all...they're small dubias...I tong fed him two small superworms and he ate those but that's it...I should be getting feeder cups tomorrow with some waxworms and hornworms so well see how that goes....he is mid shed and I gave him a quick bath because he was running all over his enclosure.. I'll try the glass cup too maybe he just doesn't like the separate container

 

[Willtheeman]

Mine never liked to eat in a separate container either, they were too stressed. If you are worried about loose feeders you could always bowl feed. Small ramekins or small glass bowls (dollar store has them 4 for $1) are perfect. Insects can't climb clean glass.

Hi Patsy... I will go ahead and try that....I had bought a zilla worm dish but that was a fail....the worms and roaches climbed out but I think the glass will be better.... BTW should I put Vaseline on the top of his tank? So in case one gets out, they don't come out the tank?
Everyone would go crazy if they find a roach roamin around lol [emoji28]