Hates crickets, calcium worms, and greens

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Hi! New dragon owner...

I got my beardie about 6 weeks ago from a pet store. I think he’s 10 weeks now. I have a 10 reptisun bulb and keep the basking temp around 105F. Humidity at 34%. Warm baths 2x a week. He was a pretty big eater when I got him but he’s slowed down significantly recently. He has 1-3 BMs a day. I started with crickets and calcium worms from mulberry farms. I want to offer a variety of feeders so I also have micro supers and wax worms for treats. I think that was a mistake because he will only eat supers and wax worms now. I stopped the crickets all together 2 weeks ago because he refused them from the tongs and I had to pick them out of the cage every time. So Im only feeding calcium worms and supers. Now he will only pick out the supers and only 5-7 per 15 minute feeding. I try to hand feed too and he usually will eat 3-4 from the tongs. He will not eat any greens. I try squash, collard green, carrots, strawberries, mustard greens, kale, zucchini. They just get dry and gross by the end of the day untouched. I try to hand feed them as well and it doesn’t work.

I’m worried about dehydration and he has grown but doesn’t seem to be growing any more recently since he’s slowed eating. He has shed twice since I’ve had him I know shedding can make them slow down eating but I’m not sure what to do now.

Any ideas or insight would be appreciated.. Thank you !!

*Edit* also I was dusting crickets and supers but not the calcium worms. And multivitamin once a week but I know he wasn’t crazy about the dust because he would pick out the ones with less dust on them after the dust fell off with them moving around. Picky eater omg!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The calci worms are good --- you dont have to dust them -- however I would cut back on those supers -- that is very common for them to do that-- you can try dubia roaches --- they are another good staple feeder since he doesnt want the calci worms--- you should dust the supers 2 x per week when you feed them in vitamins since hes not eating the crickets w/ the dust--- the calci worms are a good source of calcium--- go figure--- as far as hydration bathing every couple of days will help -- you can always drip water on his nose to see if he will lick it off-- is his coloring returned to normal meaning he doesnt have relocation stress marks anymore --- and his Reptisun 10 is that inside the tank ? on top of mesh? is it a T5 or T8?
Karrie
 

Sunnycore96

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3if2r0nf said:
The calci worms are good --- you dont have to dust them -- however I would cut back on those supers -- that is very common for them to do that-- you can try dubia roaches --- they are another good staple feeder since he doesnt want the calci worms--- you should dust the supers 2 x per week when you feed them in vitamins since hes not eating the crickets w/ the dust--- the calci worms are a good source of calcium--- go figure--- as far as hydration bathing every couple of days will help -- you can always drip water on his nose to see if he will lick it off-- is his coloring returned to normal meaning he doesnt have relocation stress marks anymore --- and his Reptisun 10 is that inside the tank ? on top of mesh? is it a T5 or T8?
Karrie

It’s a T8 mounted inside the tank. He does get stress marks occasionally he is very skiddish. I try to handle him at least 10-20 minutes a day he’s getting better. I do put water on his nose during his bath but he’s still seems a little wrinkly and dehydrated to me. Should I just stop with the supers and wax worms and leave the calcium worms in the bowl all day until he eats them? I’m afraid how many days he’ll go without eating he shows no interest in them anymore.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hes gotten spoiled -- super worms are not a good staple-- I would suggest try dubia roaches since hes not eating the crickets or the calci worms--- you will haft to dust the dubias tho-- he has gotten picky and I would still offer the greens too -- he may or may not eat them but at least offer them every day-- mustard collard or turnip greens -- yes I would cut the supers out --- he will eat when hes hungry--
Karrie
 

Sunnycore96

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":1zkp4fxi said:
Hes gotten spoiled -- super worms are not a good staple-- I would suggest try dubia roaches since hes not eating the crickets or the calci worms--- you will haft to dust the dubias tho-- he has gotten picky and I would still offer the greens too -- he may or may not eat them but at least offer them every day-- mustard collard or turnip greens -- yes I would cut the supers out --- he will eat when hes hungry--
Karrie

I can’t get Dubia roaches they are illegal in Florida! But I will keep trying the calcium worms and cut out the supers and wax worms and yes I keep offering the fresh greens everyday. I never realized they can get spoiled or I would have never given him supers or wax worms to begin with! I thought a little variety would be good but I didn’t think he would start refusing the good feeders altogether. Thanks for your help!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Sunnycore96":1edwf6nn said:
KarrieRee":1edwf6nn said:
Hes gotten spoiled -- super worms are not a good staple-- I would suggest try dubia roaches since hes not eating the crickets or the calci worms--- you will haft to dust the dubias tho-- he has gotten picky and I would still offer the greens too -- he may or may not eat them but at least offer them every day-- mustard collard or turnip greens -- yes I would cut the supers out --- he will eat when hes hungry--
Karrie

I can’t get Dubia roaches they are illegal in Florida! But I will keep trying the calcium worms and cut out the supers and wax worms and yes I keep offering the fresh greens everyday. I never realized they can get spoiled or I would have never given him supers or wax worms to begin with! I thought a little variety would be good but I didn’t think he would start refusing the good feeders altogether. Thanks for your help!

Since you are in the subtropics in FL, you should be able to get silkworms (locally grown by hobbyists), your dragon likes wormy type feeders, he'll love silkworms and they are nearly perfect feeder nutritionally.

If your dragon is under 3 months old , small silkworms (up to 1" long) are a good size , let him eat his fill (place 6 in a dish on a mulberry leaf or on a piece of chow).

BSFL are a great staple if he likes them, leave 20 or 30 in a worm escape proof dish and let him nibble at them at his leisure.

Another option is blowfly gents , they are about the same size as BSFL .

Could also try suitable sized immature locusts ( use the left over salad to gutload them ).

Try offering crickets or locusts 1 or 2 at time, he may be getting overwhelmed by bugs hopping and running in all directions if you dumping a lot in at a time (a common mistake).

Don't worry if he is not interested in the salad at this point , keep offering it fresh daily so he's familiar with and can nibble when he wants to.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Just stop feeding him the super + waxworms. He won't die, after a few days or a week he'll start eating the crickets again. Crickets are still one of THE best insects for beardies.
 

Sunnycore96

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the help! I have quite a bit of calcium worms left so im going to keep trying with those. I cut out the super worms and wax worms. Once I get him eating the calcium worms I’ll try crickets again.
 

JumpinJellyfish

Juvie Member
Hi - I live in Florida too, and just wanted to mention that discoid, green banana, and Asian roaches are all legal here. Discoids are the closest similarity to dubias. I'm not sure we are allowed locusts here. (Kingofnobbys - calci worms are actually BSFL). Kingofnobbys is right about silkworms, though - they're great when you can get them. Consider getting extra food for them if you order them - they eat a lot!
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

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