beardie won't eat his mealworms or greens; will eat crickets

My beardie is now a couple of years old, and his past diet consisted of crickets only. I've been trying to add more veggies into his diet and am trying to switch to mealworms, but he refuses them. I have read about lizards getting addicted to mealworms, but can he get addicted to crickets too? Thanks guys : )

Crickets are a better choice than mealworms. Why do you want to switch?

How many crickets is he eating?

Does he eat his salad at all?

-Brandon

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claudiusx":2bx4jfxk said:

Crickets are a better choice than mealworms. Why do you want to switch?

How many crickets is he eating?

Does he eat his salad at all?

-Brandon

Click to expand...

Im trying to switch to mealworms cuz he got a crap loaf of parasites in him the last time he ate crickets, so Im just trying an alternative.

He’s not eating his salad at all. When we got him from this petstore the guy Stated everything we needed to know about caring for him but never mebtioned veg, until i met this girl who advised me to start giving him salads.

Thanks

You could try some other feeder insects such as dubia roaches or silkworms. They are great.

Crickets are a good feeder too, you might just have to buy from a better source. Such as a name brand seller online. They usually have healthier feeders than the petstores do.

To answer your question, they can be sometimes but you dont see that as often as you do with superworms.

Appetite has a lot to do with proper husbandry also. We could go over yours if youd like just to make sure there is nothing you could improve upon.

Sometimes when they aren't given a salad for their whole life and then given it as adults, they do really eat it. Usually you have to cut out feeders completely for awhile to entice the dragon to start eating his salad. But you should really only do this if the dragon is generally healthy otherwise.

-Brandon

Hi guys im back sorry for being so inactive, so the best way for him to start eatibg his greens is to cut off on the crickets completely for a little bit, but what greens would you recommend please ? Thanks so much again you guys are great

IMO, Collard, Dandelion, Mustard, & Turnip are the big 4, but as every dragon is different, you may have to try some things to figure out what he'll eat/like. I have a 5 month old juvie that wouldn't eat greens until I tried some Cilantro (Coriander). Now he'll eat others as well.

More can be found here:
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I would begin with leafy greens before starting on other vegetables, fruits, etc. but the important thing nutritionally is to get him eating some kinds of plants. :wink:

Try this added to his salad as toppers
www.symton.com -- BSFL they are a great staple feeder and you dont need to dust you will need a glass bowl so they dont get out and order large --- feed as many as you want the movement will get him to the bowl
www.mulberryfarms.com silkworms - they are on sale last I looked and are a great staple feeder as well
www.dubiaroaches.com -- better feeder and more nutritious --- put them in the bowl as well however they will probably get out --- add butter worms as a topper and super worms --- only use 1- each if using all 3 and - dont feed his main staple feeder until after hes eaten from his salad bowl for like an hour or so ---- try that and see if it works --- make sure you add the worms in front of him so he sees you do this and gets his attention
Karrie

KarrieRee":1om4639z said:

make sure you add the worms in front of him so he sees you do this and gets his attention

Click to expand...

:laughhard:

Sorry, but that is so funny. Usually when I'm getting any kind of bugs/worms ready, Z is glued to the glass--even 12' and a room away. As I get closer, he dances along the glass--can't get that bowl in there fast enough. If he doesn't happen to see me (like if he's basking), he takes note of the bowl, cocking an eye at it from atop his tower. If anything moves, he'll either drop down the three steps rapid-fire, or dive the whole 3 storys at once and face-plant into his bugs. :lol:

After using crickets then switching over to mill worms and then finally recently switching over to Dubai roaches. I can tell you that Dubai roaches are a superior product. Everything I've read on dubai's is that they are far more nutritious than crickets. From experience I can tell you that they do not stink, they live much longer, they’re quiet, and most importantly unless your house is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, they will not infest your home if they get loose. My baby bearded Dragons activity level have spiked considerably after changing over to Dubai’s from mill worms. Now I can contribute some of that to lighting changes as well as making changes to his heat, but I do feel like the roaches made a big difference as well.

Ok that's great- what about his salads-- did you try the technique I suggested?
Karrie