Super Picky Eater... What do I do???

[NeoMc]

My dragon Rex (male) is about 13 months old now, roughly 16.5 inches long (supposedly he should be bigger). Ever since he was younger, he was always a picky eater. I see videos of bearded dragons on YouTube wolfing down crazy amounts of strawberries, blueberries, and even banana with an appetite that doesn't seem to cease. Meanwhile, Rex literally eats nothing but meat. If I try to interest him in the evenings, usually he will eat a modest amount of Phoenix Worms or Waxworms. Sometimes he looks at them and goes "heck no bro, not today."

I know he needs leafy greens, vegetables, and fruit in his diet. My current method that works about 10% of the time is to drip a bunch of fruit juice on his lips (like a cherry) until he starts licking it. As soon as the mouth opens, I literally stuff it into his mouth and he will usually chew it and swallow. But that is about it. My last few successes were mango, cherry, and banana.

He doesn't have any obvious issues, and he runs around like a wild child during the day and begs to play. He hasn't pooped in a few days, but of course all he has eaten is a few worms since Weds. Rex is my first dragon, so I'm not sure what exactly to do with him and his picky appetite. What do you guys recommend I do?

 

[NeoMc]

No crickets, he doesn't even want them anymore. Phoenix Worms and Waxworms, mostly the first though. I already consult the website regularly to try new stuff, hoping he will eat something. I was going to order replacement bulbs shortly, it has been like 5 months since I swapped them so I'd say it is probably time. He actually was irritated by some shed on his chest a little over a week ago.

 

[NeoMc]

UVB bulb? In the first picture I linked, it is located above his "hot spot." Well he doesn't like it, he is completely in love with his hammock right now (as you can see in the picture haha).

 

[NeoMc]

Yea I only have the one lamp there with the bulb I put in the picture a few messages back.

 

[NeoMc]

Remind me to write a complaint to the breeders I bought him from. They told me they were easy to care for and did not require a lot of specific maintenance. I am never going back there again.

So you are telling me that he will not have an appetite until I give him the proper lighting he needs? Also he has panic attacks when I take him outside, he blackens and flares and gets defensive. I think the shadows outside freak him out, despite me wrapping him in blanket layers. We also have hawks around here, I am deathly afraid of a hawk diving at me if it sees him...

 

[NeoMc]

He has a 40 gallon tank and I have a really crummy "slate tile flooring" set up. Not measured haha, I just bought tiles and assembled them. I actually feed him outside the enclosure usually, so I'm not stressed about bugs getting out. So you think his appetite will improve when his lighting does?

Is there a place I should look for the hood? I actually have the bulb you linked earlier, the T5 24 inch version. I do not have a hood, and I am not sure where to look for one (aside from Amazon). I do understand the diet he is SUPPOSED to have and I use a cleaning mixture of a glass of water with a few squirts of white vinegar to clean.

I guess I took the lighting a little too lightly. I come from a leopard gecko mindset and they really do not need that much to work with. I do love my dragon though, and he has so much more personality than my old gecko did. These lizards seem really precious.

 

[NeoMc]

I see it on Amazon, but some of the reviews say the hood has shorted out on them. I also saw a few people saying the hoods started smoking and they feared a fire was close. Should I trust the Reptisun brand?

 

[NeoMc]

The link isn't valid.

 

[NeoMc]

tank

 

[NeoMc]

404 not found error.

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

As a side note, beardies *are* easy to care for, once you have the setup (housing/lighting/temps/feeding) squared away. I'm sure once you have the recommended items, you'll see great improvement in your little guy.
If you're still having trouble with links, just try google. Search for ZooMed T5HO hood, and Reptisun 10.0 t5 bulb.
Once the lights are good, if they're allowed where you live, try some feeder roaches. I bet he'll love them!

 

[NeoMc]

Yeah I see, your dragon looks to be the same color as Rex here! Orange and red are such pretty colors.

I came up with a temporary solution while I research hood brands. He seems to really like sitting on the windowsill and looking out (inside the house, I'm still worried about birds/hawks). I know glass blocks a nice chunk of UV light, but if he hangs around there for an hour or two each day, perhaps that should give him some natural light?

 

[NeoMc]

I bought a Reptisun 24 inch T5 bulb a few months ago and could not figure out the hood at the time.

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

Yeah I see, your dragon looks to be the same color as Rex here! Orange and red are such pretty colors.

I came up with a temporary solution while I research hood brands. He seems to really like sitting on the windowsill and looking out (inside the house, I'm still worried about birds/hawks). I know glass blocks a nice chunk of UV light, but if he hangs around there for an hour or two each day, perhaps that should give him some natural light?

I have a cat shelf (not the kind that attaches to window with suction cups) that sits on my windowsill so I can open the window and let my beardie hang out there. The screen still blocks some of the UVB, but not as much as the glass does, and he gets to watch the world safely (with supervision so he doesn't jump off the shelf). That might work for you as a nice supplement to the bulb once you have one.

 

[NeoMc]

Alright, the lighting is on the way. He has stopped eating again, but he never loses weight. He also never acts lethargic, when I let him out in like four hours he will be a ballistic jumping ball of energy. Maybe he actually just has a slower metabolism and doesn't feel hungry often?

 

[CcStelma]

My dragon Rex (male) is about 13 months old now, roughly 16.5 inches long (supposedly he should be bigger). Ever since he was younger, he was always a picky eater. I see videos of bearded dragons on YouTube wolfing down crazy amounts of strawberries, blueberries, and even banana with an appetite that doesn't seem to cease. Meanwhile, Rex literally eats nothing but meat. If I try to interest him in the evenings, usually he will eat a modest amount of Phoenix Worms or Waxworms. Sometimes he looks at them and goes "heck no bro, not today."

I know he needs leafy greens, vegetables, and fruit in his diet. My current method that works about 10% of the time is to drip a bunch of fruit juice on his lips (like a cherry) until he starts licking it. As soon as the mouth opens, I literally stuff it into his mouth and he will usually chew it and swallow. But that is about it. My last few successes were mango, cherry, and banana.

He doesn't have any obvious issues, and he runs around like a wild child during the day and begs to play. He hasn't pooped in a few days, but of course all he has eaten is a few worms since Weds. Rex is my first dragon, so I'm not sure what exactly to do with him and his picky appetite. What do you guys recommend I do?

Try ruffle kale, got my guy at year and a half old previous owner said he didn't eat veggies. He LOVED the kale, I think because it moved. From then on he was pretty receptive. He is now 16 and cannot feed himself, so I give him baby food. Pumpkin, squash and sweet potatoes are his favorite (wax and meal worms too). I use a feeding syringe. I know all about waiting for the mouth to open and taking advatage... .Good luck!!!

 

[NeoMc]

Well he still seems to be a bundle of energy. I can't exactly do anything about the lighting right now, I have to wait 5 business days for the stuff to arrive. Right now I just plan to let him chill on my window a lot and attempt to stuff juicy fruit down his throat when he gives. I have some plums in the fridge right now, I can always share XD

 

[NeoMc]

I do use that site (again), plums are fine. Doesn't matter anyway, he only licks the juice off his lips.

I messed up, the bulb I had bought was a T8 and the hoods are only sold as T5 that I saw.

 

[Roo’s Mom]

I got my light at petco, it was $41 including the light fixture and the tube. The replacement tubes are $31. I got the one for desert animals. My dragon eats a lot of mixed greens and she loves them. My old light that I had for about 5 months seemed to be getting dim and she was just laying under it all day long. When I changed it out she became much more active, pretty much overnight.

 

[Roo’s Mom]

Also, my dragon won’t eat fruit. Does anyone know if that’s ok? Like I said, she eats a lot of mixed greens along with the meal worms and crickets, she is only about 7 months old and she is about 13” long.