Baby beardie not eating a lot?

Hi! Just bought a 1-month old bearded dragon for my wife about 5 days ago. She is very tiny. The pet store gave me some average sized crickets to feed her. I then later read that she is actually supposed to be given pinhead crickets, but don't think they have anything that small at the pet store, so they must have been feeding her these larger ones. She eats about 1-2 crickets a day, they are not larger than the space between her eyes, but pretty dang close! I thought maybe she might prefer wax worms instead, so I purchased some. She will eat 1 per day, and that is it, no crickets, no veggies. Basically she eats 1 to 2 large pieces of protein a day and that is all. She hasn't eaten anything at all today. I have started to wonder if maybe because she's so small and the insects are a decent size, maybe 1 or 2 (dipped in calcium powder) is all she needs? And maybe she hasn't eaten today because she just doesn't feel like it. She is pooping, has clear eyes, has lots of energy and doesn't seem dehydrated. She won't drink out of her dish but will lap water if I bathe her. My question is, is this OK for her to only be eating 1 or 2 bugs a day, and no veggies? I try to give her dandelion greens and strawberries but she won't even smell them to give them a chance. I would appreciate any advice anyone can offer as to how I can get her to eat more protein,and especially how I can get SOME veggies into her (I know it should be about 20% of diet at this age). Actually, I would appreciate ANY advice in any area at all. Thanks in advance!!

I think you'll find that her appetite will vary over time. If she is able to chew the crickets well and is pooping without a problem then they are probably OK. You might try some black soldier fly larvae as well since they are small and much healthier than waxworms which have a fairly high fat content. Keep offering veges but it's common for them to ignore those at this age. It's more a matter of getting them used to salads as an available food source so it's easier for them to transition over when they get older. If she is alert and has lots of energy, that's a good sign for sure.

What do you have in place for her lighting? Do you have a good UVB light? What are the surface temps around her tank? Having a good temperature gradient across the tank and using a high quality UVB light is important for digestion and overall health.

CooperDragon":28o32wvp said:

I think you'll find that her appetite will vary over time. If she is able to chew the crickets well and is pooping without a problem then they are probably OK. You might try some black soldier fly larvae as well since they are small and much healthier than waxworms which have a fairly high fat content. Keep offering veges but it's common for them to ignore those at this age. It's more a matter of getting them used to salads as an available food source so it's easier for them to transition over when they get older. If she is alert and has lots of energy, that's a good sign for sure.

What do you have in place for her lighting? Do you have a good UVB light? What are the surface temps around her tank? Having a good temperature gradient across the tank and using a high quality UVB light is important for digestion and overall health.

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Thanks for the reply, sorry I am late getting back to you. She's actually eating a decent amount now. At first it was only worms, such as horn worms and wax worms, she wouldn't touch crickets at all. As her appetite grew, she seemed more inclined to give crickets a chance. She now eats 3 times a day, each time about 3 crickets. Worms are given once in a while as a treat. But she refuses to even smell (lick) any vegetable matter whatsoever. Anyone have some tips for getting them to eat veggies? I could see if she didn't like the taste, maybe I could get something to make them more appetizing, but she won't even give them a chance by smelling them. Again, thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it.

Don't worry about the veges too much at that age. They tend to prefer bugs to get the protein they need to support growth spurts. Keep making salads available so they are familiar. This can make it easier to transition to mostly veges at 12-18 months. As they get older, offering salads by hand feeding can sometimes help. I've also had good luck cutting squash into worm shapes like this: