My Beardie is addicted to hand feeding!

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Hi all, my baby girl Spyro when I first got her a good week ago wouldn't eat (due to stress) but I handled her a lot to help her get used to me and on evening day 2 she began eating if I was offering her from tweezers or from my hand. But she still won't eat anything unless I give it to her myself.
I've tried everything I could think of. Putting them in her tank, in a bowl, in a separate tank I made. I've tried these methods several times with her but she still insists on being hand fed (She won't even be hand fed unless she is resting on me).
It's not that it's an issue for me, I enjoy it and it's fairly easy and helps me to take note of her eating habits.
Any suggestions on how I can get her to eat by herself at all?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
I hand feed all my pet skinks and dragon and have done so for years.

They will still take food from the food dish , but they seem to enjoy the handfeeding experience and the snuggle that comes afterwards. So do I , what's the harm ?
 

jjkima

Member
It can take a good week or so for a dragon to become comfortable in their enclosure and to start eating greens. I like to put my worms in the bowl so she accidentally snags one and understands that this is where she is getting fed from. I'll still give her a little in my hand but separate from feeding time. After some time of making her fresh food and her not eating it, I started wetting it a bit and she eventually started eating it! I like hand feeding her as well, but letting their natural instincts remain when hunting bugs is good. And our dragons should have greens available all the time, so I can't always be handfeeding her. Dragons will eat a little at a time (at least my two do) and will come back in an hour. If they get dry in that time I'll wet them once and it will help encourage her to eat to get hydrated. I replace the greens twice a day.
Monitor your dragons poop.
 

Za941

Member
Hi there

Sometimes it's best to just leave them alone when they're feeding and let them figure it out. If she gets hungry enough she'll hunt. Should could also be intimidated by the insect she's hunting. My dragon shys away from bigger insects and hate jumpy ones.

If she's quite young try a bowl of calci worms, they're wriggly and only grow up too about 2 cm. They also turn into flies, I put mine in my tank and my dragon goes nuts trying to chomp them in the air. They're also a great source of calcium and protein. Also try baby dubias and baby silk worms :)
 

Casir141

Member
Be careful my bearded dragon thought my thumb was the Dubai,or he mis judged the distance and bit me. They have sharp teeth too! He is a sweet boy just accidents happen.
 
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