The New Prince will only eat what is hand fed to his royal lips

[slingshot09]

Hello everyone, glad to be part of this knowledgeable group. Our family just got a gorgeous, super chill and very friendly dragon eight days ago. Over the last eight days I have been fine tuning his lighting, UVB, basking temp, cool side temp and night time temp ... you know pulling my hair out. To this point I have not seen him eat ANY BUGS, three crickets and half of a super worm are missing from his enclosure but there were no witnesses. lol He gets a fresh salad every morning and most days I will give him a second one after work but I haven't seen him eat his salad on his own. He's offered Kale, collard greens, spinach, butternut squash, carrot, bell pepper, etc. Our new Prince, aka STEVE... yeah, my son named him Steve. Go ahead and have a laugh, we think its hilarious. Steve will only eat salad that is hand fed to his royal lips! (read that sentence again with a British accent... trust me),
The fact that he is eating is great. The fact that he is only eating from our hands bothers me because he is not eating as much as he should for a Steve of his size.
What do you think? Should I worry and if not, when should I start?

 

[Sadie]

Hello everyone, glad to be part of this knowledgeable group. Our family just got a gorgeous, super chill and very friendly dragon eight days ago. Over the last eight days I have been fine tuning his lighting, UVB, basking temp, cool side temp and night time temp ... you know pulling my hair out. To this point I have not seen him eat ANY BUGS, three crickets and half of a super worm are missing from his enclosure but there were no witnesses. lol He gets a fresh salad every morning and most days I will give him a second one after work but I haven't seen him eat his salad on his own. He's offered Kale, collard greens, spinach, butternut squash, carrot, bell pepper, etc. Our new Prince, aka STEVE... yeah, my son named him Steve. Go ahead and have a laugh, we think its hilarious. Steve will only eat salad that is hand fed to his royal lips! (read that sentence again with a British accent... trust me),
The fact that he is eating is great. The fact that he is only eating from our hands bothers me because he is not eating as much as he should for a Steve of his size.
What do you think? Should I worry and if not, when should I start?

Steve is going thru relocation stress --- please do not leave any crickets in the tank over night - they will come out and bite the dragon - please NO spinach - its a calcium binder -- if he stops eating all together is when to worry- what kind of UVB are you using ? coil or a long tube fixture- surface basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick on please - digital probe thermometers are the most accurate- 95-100 for a juvie / adult dragon - the temps in the tank and the UVB are the most important thing in the tank --

 

[slingshot09]

Steve is going thru relocation stress --- please do not leave any crickets in the tank over night - they will come out and bite the dragon - please NO spinach - its a calcium binder -- if he stops eating all together is when to worry- what kind of UVB are you using ? coil or a long tube fixture- surface basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick on please - digital probe thermometers are the most accurate- 95-100 for a juvie / adult dragon - the temps in the tank and the UVB are the most important thing in the tank --

Hello Sadie, I was hoping you would chime in. I haven't left any crickets in his tank over night but I did leave them in there on the first few days during daytime. We now use a separate tub to feed him bugs but it seems like he hates it. He hasn't eaten any spinach but it was offered. I read last night that spinach is no good and won't be offered again.
We are using an Arcadia 12% tube with reflector, it is at 12 inches at the closest point and that light is unobstructed. I cut the screen away under the UVB light. I have his basking temps at 105 on average, it depends on weather or not Steve is sitting on the temp probe. I have a inkbird ITC-308 temp probe attached to his highest basking spot ( it's not currently being used as a thermostat) and an less expensive temp probe on the cool side that reads low to mid eighties with lights on. At night the temps drop to high 60's low 70's
I have pictures of his setup but I'm not great with tech

 

[Sadie]

Hello Sadie, I was hoping you would chime in. I haven't left any crickets in his tank over night but I did leave them in there on the first few days during daytime. We now use a separate tub to feed him bugs but it seems like he hates it. He hasn't eaten any spinach but it was offered. I read last night that spinach is no good and won't be offered again.
We are using an Arcadia 12% tube with reflector, it is at 12 inches at the closest point and that light is unobstructed. I cut the screen away under the UVB light. I have his basking temps at 105 on average, it depends on weather or not Steve is sitting on the temp probe. I have a inkbird ITC-308 temp probe attached to his highest basking spot ( it's not currently being used as a thermostat) and an less expensive temp probe on the cool side that reads low to mid eighties with lights on. At night the temps drop to high 60's low 70's
I have pictures of his setup but I'm not great with tech

Ok everything sounds great for Steve -- he should acclimate very well to his tank and surroundings - you can get a bowl like this https://www.amazon.com/MACGOAL-Rept...uGQB&pd_rd_wg=tLkwE&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d or similar to and feed him BSFL www.symtonbsf.com and feed them on his salads first thing in the morning- they are great for babies and a good compliment to dubias and crickets- I would get him switched over to the roaches those you can feed in his tank - www.dubiaroaches.com - the stress from moving back and forth may hinder the appetite --

 

[slingshot09]

Ok everything sounds great for Steve -- he should acclimate very well to his tank and surroundings - you can get a bowl like this https://www.amazon.com/MACGOAL-Rept...uGQB&pd_rd_wg=tLkwE&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d or similar to and feed him BSFL www.symtonbsf.com and feed them on his salads first thing in the morning- they are great for babies and a good compliment to dubias and crickets- I would get him switched over to the roaches those you can feed in his tank - www.dubiaroaches.com - the stress from moving back and forth may hinder the appetite --

Thank you Sadie for your help and info. Prince Steven is not a baby, he was born July 29, 2022. He's a red dunner Hypo male at a healthy 14.5 inches. You and I both know he has eaten quit a few bugs in his day. I will keep his temps, lighting and uvb where it needs to and I'll provide a safe and clean tank for him to thrive in.
Sadie... I'm not hand feeding Steve bugs. I tried that with a super worm the other day and I'm pretty sure that nasty thing tried to bite me! STEVE NEEDS TO STEP UP HIS GAME, lol
I'm sure he will and I'll keep you posted, thanks