Newly adopted adult BD feeding issues

I just adopted my bearded dragon yesterday, and I have some issues that I hope someone can help me with

1) Pokey won't eat salad. His previous owner didn't seem to give him any, she'd put a lettuce leaf on his hide every once in a while. I offered him veggies but he just licked them and wasn't interested. I've left a dish of salad in there that he's ignored and even stepped on. The good news is he ate half a grape. Does anyone have any tips or tricks? I know adults are supposed to have mostly greens so I'm worried that he doesn't like them.

2) I HATE CRICKETS. It's been less that 24 hours and I'm done with them, I think I will just cut my losses and free the rest of the 100 I bought. I didn't notice any leaks or witness any escapes, but they are already all over my house. On top of that, Pokey hasn't been interested in them (maybe just adjusting?) and what's worse is they've been gnawing on him. I saw a crickets gnaw on his tale, he turned around and ate it but then a few minutes later two were sitting there eating him and he just took it. He much prefers kingworms anyway, can these be a staple? Are they the same as super worms or are they just large meal worms?

3) Lastly, I'm not really understanding how to get him water. The previous owner had a gravity water dish thing, should I put that back in? She also used to mist him (in the tank with sand no less) but I don't know if I want to wet his tank even with the replacement of sand with tile.

He's only eaten half a grape, about 4 crickets and 5 kingworms since I got him.

For reference my temps are:
- 116 ambient warm side, with basking spot of 105
- 83 cool side
- humidity just over 30%

Thank you for any help you can give! It's been great learning from you all over the past few days!

Thought i'd reply, but I can't really offer that much advice!

I hate crickets too, and thankfully, so does my beardie baby. I tried Dubia Roaches today and he loves them! They don't jump, they don't climb and they dont bite!

With hydration, I bathe my baby beardie every other day which is supposed to help. I also put a tiny drop on his nose that he licks off. I've also bought some Phoenix Worms which I understand can be used as staple.

I mentioned on your other post that 115* is just too high. You need to drop it down to 110* at the absolute highest. I don't do crickets very often, usually I do Turkish roaches and a combination of worms. Kingworms are the same as supers (as far as I understand) and are fine as a staple. If you are interested in Turks, http://www.thebugpros.com
Okay, as for water, I give baths every other day (sometimes every day). They absorb water through their vents. You can also offer water through an eye dropper. Just drip it on his nose and he'll lick it off.

Thanks for the advice! He drank water from a spray bottle, but I'll go with the baths since that helps him poop in an easy-to-clean place also. I'm about to go pick up some butternut squash and give that a go.

I'm going to try to get set up with dubia roaches, and see if he likes them. He still hasn't eaten, save the occasional super worm by hand, even though I only feed him in the morning.

As for temp, is the 110 ambient? His basking rock is 108 at its peak, and the ground tile is much cooler than that. I feel like he has a good gradient going, but should I lower the temp so that the max is less?

First off, what are you using to measure ambient temps? Where are you measuring them? Basking temps should be 95-110 (although many beardies won't bask at 110) and ambient like 85-95.

I have the zoo med dial gauges at a little above basking level on the hot side, and one pretty high up on the cool side. I also use a digital thermometer with a probe at the end of the wire, and rest it around various areas when I want to know the exact temp. The temps I quoted you are from the warm dial, the digital placed on the highest part of his basking spot, and the cool dial.

Thanks

Ok, the dials aren't very reliable at all. You can put the probe there and see what temps you get.

I went out and got a temp gun, and I've been trying to find out if the feeding issues are related to the scratching (index.php).

Took him to the vet, who wanted me to return when I could get a stool sample (no poops yet obivously b/c not eating), but otherwise the vet said he looked fine. I'm going to attribute the lack of interest in food to the adjustment period, since I changed so much about his cage.

Here's some updates:
- He still won't eat greens, I've tried squash to no avail. He ate that one half grape so I'm going to try offering him a bunch of grapes tomorrow with some greens mixed in.
- He gobbled up 8 tiny wax worms in addition to 3 more super worms (I know they're bad, but I just wanted him to eat something to stay alive) and I am currently trying to start a modest dubia colony. I haven't offered that, but let's keep our fingers crossed that he just loves them. I figure 8 wax worms and 3 super worms is pretty much a full meal? hooray!
- Tried crickets in the morning, 0 interest, and the crickets mysteriously died so maybe they were diseased anyway. I'm going to stop attempting crickets, it's more hazard than its worth.

Thanks for all your responses!

Supers are not bad. I try my best to get my beardies to eat supers, but neither will touch them. My picky eater only wants silkworms and phoenix worms right now. Hornworms and butterworms are also typically a big hit. If you are in the us try any of the following:
http://www.coastalsilkworms.com
http://www.mulberryfarms.com
http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com
http://www.phoenixworms.com
I know shipping is killer on stuff like that, but it's worth it to get a dragon to eat.
What temp did you get with the temp gun? I feel like the temperature could be the root of his problems, but I don't know.

The temps are just over 100 at the very peak of his basking spot, mid 90's - 80's in the rest of hot area. Mid 70's-80's in the cool area. The place where the basking spot is low 100's is literally about 2 inches in diameter... Seems to be what everyone is telling me though.

He eats super worms now consistently. I am trying to switch him to dubias since I just started a colony. I THINK he just ate an adult male dubia, but I didn't see him do it so it may be hiding.

He will not touch salad. I put grapes, squash, and some greens fresh every day, but I'm getting tired of preparing a salad I will just throw out. should I lesson the quantity until he eats it? I even put bugs in the same dish as greens, he just waits for the bugs to crawl far enough away so he doesn't accidently ingest greens!!! My lizard is an evil genius.

Any tips on getting an adult who has been on an all-cricket diet to start eating veggies?

spurlee01":81066 said:

Pacmanandy":81066 said:

This is an amazing story! Kana is about to have a much better holiday than I'm sure she's ever had. I just adopted an adult beardie who was treated pretty well, except he was on an all-cricket diet with occaisional lettuce. Any tips on how you got Kana to start taking salad? My guy would rather starve than eat greens, even squash.

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You could try putting greens and squash in a food processor and pureeing it then feeding it through a syringe, by dripping it onto his nose. I just posted on your other post as well.

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Thanks Sara, I may resort to that eventually. My fear though is that syringing veggies won't teach him to recognize them as food on his own, and I'm also hesitant to force feed him if he's now eating bugs and seems healthy.

Do bearded dragons have a favorite vegetable? How long can he healthily fast for? I'm debating just feeding him only greens until he eats them out of hunger, but this seems pretty harsh and I don't want him to starve or get sick.

lol... maybe I'm one of the few NOT plagued by that issue... However, I have used the Juices from grapes, cherries, blue/black/rasp over the salad as well as "hiding" some worms under the greens...
Janie

Luck you! Hiding worms doesn't work for me at all. I will try your juice idea though that sounds like it has the potential to be life changing! He does like to lick grapes, although he doesn't eat them (maybe he can't pick them up?) I'll get back to you when I have the chance to try it

Also do keep in mind he will be experiencing relocation stress for a bit... could be a few days.. could be a month... Might wanna get some 100% pumpkin in him, that'll produce some poo ! lol
Janie

Good point, he did just get moved to a completely new home with new people after two years of stability. Also I switched his substrate and his furniture, so it's pretty much a new cage.

I'll go easy on him for a month, is the importance of veggies pooping? He poos when I bathe him so he seems fine in that department. I'm trying to get a sample to the vet but can't bring myself to bag wet stinky lizard poop out of his bath tub and put it in my fridge... Waiting for him to drop one in the cage at least.