Bearded Dragon not eating enough?

Hello!

So I recently brought my 2 month old Bearded Dragon home 2 days ago. Today is day 3. When I first got him, I offered him some "Natural Juvenile Bearded Dragon Food" pellets by ZooMed. I moistened them and sprinkled some Repti Calcium and Reptivite Reptile Vitamins on it. I also added some lettuce to make it more enticing to eat. I found him nibbling at the lettuce a little bit but then no more. Later on, I hand fed him some lettuce and he seemed to like it.

Worried that he was not getting enough to eat, I did some research and read that at his young age he should eat 80% insects and 20% fruits and vegetables. I went out to my local pet store and bought him some small mealworms (not the super worms, as I also read that a good rule of thumb is not to give any insect that it bigger/wider than the space between his eyes).

I talked for a while with a store employee about my beardie's diet and he said that giving him around 20 mealworms is good. I am nervous because online I'm reading that you should be giving your beardie 40-60 crickets every day. I'm not sure if 20 mealworms a day amounts to 40-60 crickets proportionally. Both me and my mother are worried about getting a large amount of crickets because 1) they are very costly 2) they make a lot of noise and smell 3) we are EXTREMELY worried about them escaping.

I understand that they can be expensive and that some of you might say that I should have understood that food for this pet can be expensive. I completely understand. However, I am trying to find out more info in the best interest for my little guy.

Today I offered him lettuce, papaya, and mealworms, all "laced" with the calcium and vitamin powder. I believe he ate some of the mealworms, but maybe only 3 of them. Today is the first day he has pooped too, and from what I've been looking up, his stool seems healthy.

Should I be feeding my beardie more mealworms? How do I get him to eat more? Should I invest in a large quantity of crickets? Try feeding him more mealworms? I know that him only eating 3 mealworms sounds crazy and not enough, but he isn't interested in any more at this moment. That's why I'm trying to see if maybe he could be more interested in crickets?

Just some more info, I purchased a ZooMed Bearded Dragon Kit with a tank, his lights, his water and food dish, the vitamins and calcium, the pellet food, some papaya, and a can-o'-worms. His enclosure is a 40 gallon tank. I purchased him a very large branch, a little wood hidey hut, and a heat rock for when the lights go off at night to keep him warm. He has a green reptile carpet for the floor of his tank. The kit came with sand, but I read that as babies the beardies can ingest sand while eating or roaming around and it can cause health problems.

He is very active and doesn't seem sick or lethargic. I really am trying my best here!! I could use some advice from some very experienced owners. I am a first time owner so I think it is normal for me to be a little nervous. Thank you for any input.

Mealworms are really not a good idea. You're better off with small crickets, roaches, or black soldier fly larvae (aka "Phoenix worms"). Some of the best greens are collard, mustard, and turnip greens (lettuce not so much -- it's not nutritious enough), but as you have learned, at his age he should be eating mostly protein, although it's great that he already likes veggies because it will be much better if he's already used to them when he gets older.

Also, be careful with the heat rock. They're notorious for causing burns. As long as your house stays around 65 - 70 F at night, you may not need any additional heat. If not, then a ceramic heat emitter, which gives you some warmth but no light (beardies sleep best when it's dark) is probably a better choice.

If you're worried about escapees I use locusts and Dubai roaches an have never had a problem with escapees, I did locusts are a lot slower than crickets and don't seem to want to go anywhere lol. You can also get pretty good bulk deals, but it depends what country you're in as to what websites are the best

Hi there!

100% agree with SHBailey. Mealworms are not a great food for babies, they are hard to digest and could cause impaction. There are lots of great resources for better bugs online if your pet store doesn't have a good selection, personally I use dubiaroaches.com. They are fairly inexpensive and I get hornworms, dubias, and black soldier fly larvae (ie 'reptiworms'/'phoenix worms') all at the same time for a flat $7 shipping fee. They do carry crickets in assorted sizes as well. Also, roaches can't climb smooth surfaces (like glass or plastic), so can't escape from a little bin (like a Kricket Keeper), they smell much much less, and they don't jump or make noise. (Also, don't worry too much about the word 'roach', the small ones look like rolly poly bugs and not 'cockroaches') Those greens mentioned are awesome staples, and you can mix in squashes like butternut or kobucha, and try some fruits for an occasional treat, too!

I'm sorry to say that the Zoomed kit you bought contains mostly junk, unfortunately. Those thermometers can be off anywhere from 5 to 20 degrees, you're much better off with digital ones that have a probe you can leave in the tank at the basking area and the 'cool' area. I just ordered a couple for myself that read temperature and humidity from amazon for about $10 each. The compact bulbs are not great either. There are lots and lots of posts about better alternatives, and some great articles on this website to help you choose a better UVB.

Don't worry too too much about him not eating a great deal right now, especially if he seems happy and is poo-ing properly. Relocation can be very stressful for babies and he just might not be used to his new digs yet. Give him another week or so with some adjustments to his set-up and diet and he should start gobbling bugs like nobody's business!

Good luck!!

**Also- Please ditch the heat rock! They often malfunction and can burn babies' bellies since they don't have good heat receptors from the bottom.

UPDATE:

Thank you guys for your amazing replies! You are all so helpful and supportive, this is a really great community.

I went out today and bought a critter keeper to contain the crickets and bought a punch card for 13 dozen cricket refills. My Beardie ate 20 crickets! I'm very happy with that. We're cutting the mealworms down to a minimum. We have food for gut loading the crickets and the kit came with a sponge for water.

As for the heat rock, I am definitely looking into some ceramic heat emitters to replace the rock. I will probably be returning it and getting money back to put towards a ceramic heat emitter. My room is the warmest in the house, however we do push the limits of keeping a low heat bill and the house is usually below 65 degrees at night. I want to take every precaution to make sure he has a warm safe environment!

I will also be looking into purchasing two digital thermometers with probes as fuchsiaSkies recommended. If anyone cares to reply with a link to a good thermometer I can purchase online, that would be AMAZING! I'll definitely be doing my research.

I heard that ZooMed is a very good trustworthy brand, and so I think I'm going to keep the bulbs I have from the kit. I actually broke the UV bulb and had to purchase another one for $40, so I'm assuming from looking around on this site that these are pretty good bulbs, especially since they're so costly. I have the Reptisun 10.0 UVB and the 100W Repti Basking Spot Lamp.

Lastly, thank you for the food recommendations, from veggies and plants to fruits and insects. I am definitely researching prices and places to get him a wider variety of food options!

You are all lovely. Thank you!!

my little beardie Arvak is about the same age as yours.

Our little guys wont really be focusing on greens and veggies with now, they need protein to help then grow. Your beardie might not even touch those pellets, they aren't exactly the best for them, and they even say on the bottle NOT to feed to baby dragons, which is what both of ours are age wise. Offer him small crickets, petco sells them 16 cents each. dust them in calcuim powder like youre doing.


You'll see a post from me a few days ago about how Arvak wasn't eating either, we found out that he was actually molting. Last night, however, he ate about 12 small crickets in a matter of 10 minutes. Today he's eaten about 10 more. Don't forget it is good to still offer them veggies, i catch arvak licking his KALE.

Also, lettuce isn't the best, it;s almost all water and holds no nutritional value for them. Don't forget to have a small pool for water for them to swim and to drink from. And misting them every so often is a huge thing!

Hope your beardie settles in better

Just read the update,


I wouldn't get a ceramic heater for him being so young. Petco sells an under tank heater that legit sticks to the underside of the tank, Arvak has a log on his warm side of the tank and he loves it. it warms just right for him and he can also hide under it if he wants. You have to be careful with the ceramics, i have friends who have beardies and have had to rush their beards to the vet because it burned their tummy because it heated up the basking spot so hot

Please please please be careful with them. A log or something is just as good under a good heat lamp

Arvaksmomma":2cb4fntp said:

Just read the update,


I wouldn't get a ceramic heater for him being so young. Petco sells an under tank heater that legit sticks to the underside of the tank, Arvak has a log on his warm side of the tank and he loves it. it warms just right for him and he can also hide under it if he wants. You have to be careful with the ceramics, i have friends who have beardies and have had to rush their beards to the vet because it burned their tummy because it heated up the basking spot so hot

Please please please be careful with them. A log or something is just as good under a good heat lamp

Click to expand...

Acually, CHE are much better than heat pads. beardies can't feel heat going to their stomachs and can get easily burned. As long as your CHEs are on a dimmer or thermostat, there shouldn't be any problems

Hiya!

Awesome, I'm so glad he's eating more!! CHE is definitely your best option for night time warmth. As far as thermometers go, these are the ones I just bought. https://www.amazon.com/Lovely-Guy-Products-Terrarium-Thermometer-Hygrometer/dp/B01GV4C0MY/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1486947494&sr=8-16&keywords=thermometer+hygrometer I'm sure there are better ones out there, but these seem to work well, they are within 1 degree of the good temp gun that I spot check with.

As for the lighting, there is actually a pretty interesting discussion happening right now about the different options over here >> viewtopic.php?p=1779845

And yes, lots of lovely helpful people around here, I always know where to go with questions!