Eating Behavior

[NathanNatalie3002]

My BD is roughly 10-11 month's old she has always been at good eating but lately within the last month or so not eating as much and going from 2 live meals with veg to 1 with veg a day but still has shown interest eating.

3 days ago i transported my BD from one place to another (Car journey) and since then she has not seemed interested in live food or veg. she did however eat 2 locusts on the second day but only because they where right in front of her. She also seems her normal self, likes baths and puffs her beard from time to time as usual.

And one other thing her female owner "Natalie" normally takes care of her but she is away for work reasons..... so is she missing her mum...???? I dont know HELP!

Temps 80f-112f
UVB 10 (3 weeks old)

 

[Luthien]

Beardies don't take being relocated very well. Give your beardie time to adjust, I can't really say how much time because all beardies are different in this. Just make sure she/he keeps eating even if it is a little and going to the bathroom regularly.

Also a quick thing on the temps. Make sure your beardie has a cool side and a hot side. The hot side should be between 100-110F and the cool side between 75-85F.

Yes she could be missing "Mom" as beardies do become attached to people.

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

The temperatures are fine, and she has never been bothered about moving before. She likes to explore new environments. This started before the move it has been gradual. She is fine in herself spending half the day in one area and half in the next moving to the front of the glass to lick/see us now and again, she poos every 3 days in the bath and other than that she is just eating bits and bobs, some day lots and others hardly anything.

Is this common when they get older?

 

[Luthien]

Yes this is very common in older beardies. Just like kids they grow like weeds when their young and then slow down when they hit a certain age. Don't be alarmed by the lack of eating or not running around as much it's natural for beardies.

 

[Maxwellsmomma1989]

this may help i learned last year with maxwell sometimes they get finicky and dont wanna eat in their cage. theres one time of year that max wants to get picky and wont eat anything in his cage..so i take him out and he eats while cruising around the house hes still picky about his veggies as he will only go crazy for the ones in the yard that he can pick himself..sometimes they get like kids and what things done their way or no way

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

Yes thankyou I think this is the case. She looks fine all bright and then dark to absorb more heat etc. she stopped eating in her separate feeder tank a while ago and demanded feeding in her viv which I hate doing as the crickets hide! The only
Food she will chase is locusts! But I don't want to feed her those all the time.

Thank you

 

[Luthien]

If your beardie isn't too interested in hunting down food you might want to consider switching to freeze dried. Both my beardies are on freeze dried and doing well, some people will say it doesn't have the right nutrition or it depletes their natural hunting instincts, it doesn't! If I were to put live food in with my 6 year old beardie who has been on freeze dried for 5 years he would hunt it down if he felt like it.

The best freeze dried is Flucker's crickets, the crickets are already gut loaded with everything a beardie needs nutritionally and Flucker's is a really good brand. Here's a picture of the bottle:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=585

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

Thank you for the info I will consider if she gets worse. I'm
In the UK. She ate loads today she is just picky. I don't like to leave her with crickets all day because they all hide and she doesn't go looking for them, so I have to take out her basking rock and UVB log and newspaper so she can have a free run of them and even then she doesn't always want them, then I have to pick them out again. She ate a lot of veg today and about 20 crickets so that's good