What am I doing wrong??

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Emerald14

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Hello! First time bearded dragon owner here and I really need some help. I’ve had my dragon for 16 days now and she isn’t eating as much as I thought she would. At 10 weeks old, I read that bearded dragons eat like 50 bugs but my beardie only eats around 7 dubias and 5 BSFL a day—even less some days!
I dust all the bugs with calcium. Shake them around in a bowl and place it at the bottom of her enclosure. She is usually basking at the top and all she does is stare at the bowl and then stare at me. I usually just drop bugs in front of her but most of the time, she doesn’t eat. I am very concerned and stressed! Pls give me advice on feeding my beardie ??
More info:
-uvb is a reptisun T5 HO on top of the screen less than 8 inch from her basking spot(she had a coil uvb for about 13 days before i changed to the reptisun)
-150 watt thrive basking bulb
-basking spot is at 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit
-I am using an infrared thermometer gun
-———I’m thinking “maybe she has relocation stress” but it’s been 16 days! Why is she still not eating that much?
—her tail has been ashy and gray for about 5 days now
—oh and my husband let her eat 5 super worms yesterday. She pooped today so I hope ?? she doesn’t have impaction
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Emerald14":27klcnfe said:
Hello! First time bearded dragon owner here and I really need some help. I’ve had my dragon for 16 days now and she isn’t eating as much as I thought she would. At 10 weeks old, I read that bearded dragons eat like 50 bugs but my beardie only eats around 7 dubias and 5 BSFL a day—even less some days!
I dust all the bugs with calcium. Shake them around in a bowl and place it at the bottom of her enclosure. She is usually basking at the top and all she does is stare at the bowl and then stare at me. I usually just drop bugs in front of her but most of the time, she doesn’t eat. I am very concerned and stressed! Pls give me advice on feeding my beardie ??
Show us the size of the insects you are currently offering, could be they are too small to be worth her effort to catch and eat them .
Insects about the same size as the space between her eyes is ideal.

or

you are not letting her warm up enough to be hungry . What time are the lights turned on ? and what time do you give her first insect meal to her ?
How often are you feeding per day ? ( recommend at least 2 meals of live insects per day at 3 months old ).

More info:
-uvb is a reptisun T5 HO on top of the screen less than 8 inch from her basking spot(she had a coil uvb for about 13 days before i changed to the reptisun)
-150 watt thrive basking bulb
-basking spot is at 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit
<<< too hot considering the thermometer is unlikely to be reading within 5 degrees F of the actual temperature , nudge this temperature down by 10 degrees F.
-I am using an infrared thermometer gun
-———I’m thinking “maybe she has relocation stress” but it’s been 16 days! Why is she still not eating that much?
—her tail has been ashy and gray for about 5 days now
—oh and my husband let her eat 5 super worms yesterday.
<<< too many , not more than 5 of these per week, better off giving BSFL, silkworms, crickets , roaches or hoppers .
She pooped today so I hope ?? she doesn’t have impaction
 

Emerald14

Member
Original Poster
Thank u for the reply!

Show us the size of the insects you are currently offering, could be they are too small to be worth her effort to catch and eat them .
Insects about the same size as the space between her eyes is ideal.or
you are not letting her warm up enough to be hungry . What time are the lights turned on ? and what time do you give her first insect meal to her ?
How often are you feeding per day ? ( recommend at least 2 meals of live insects per day at 3 months old ).

——how do I post pics?? I held the bugs in front of her and lengthwise, they are abt the length between her eyes. But for reference I ordered the 3/8 and 1/4 length roaches from DubiarRoaches.com ——lights on 8:15 we offer food at 11-12 and then again at 2:30 and then again at 7 (she usually only eats At 2 out of the 3 times we try) and then lights off at 9:45

<<< too hot considering the thermometer is unlikely to be reading within 5 degrees F of the actual temperature , nudge this temperature down by 10 degrees F.

—Ok. I have a 100 watt bulb and will try that tomorrow
<<< too many , not more than 5 of these per week, better off giving BSFL, silkworms, crickets , roaches or hoppers .

—too many, I know. My husband feed her the worms while I wasn’t at home even though I told him not to feed her super worms ??
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Emerald14":3isw9okd said:
Thank u for the reply!

Show us the size of the insects you are currently offering, could be they are too small to be worth her effort to catch and eat them .
Insects about the same size as the space between her eyes is ideal.or
you are not letting her warm up enough to be hungry . What time are the lights turned on ? and what time do you give her first insect meal to her ?
How often are you feeding per day ? ( recommend at least 2 meals of live insects per day at 3 months old ).

——how do I post pics?? I held the bugs in front of her and lengthwise, they are abt the length between her eyes. But for reference I ordered the 3/8 and 1/4 length roaches from DubiarRoaches.com ——lights on 8:15 we offer food at 11-12 and then again at 2:30 and then again at 7 (she usually only eats At 2 out of the 3 times we try) and then lights off at 9:45

<<< too hot considering the thermometer is unlikely to be reading within 5 degrees F of the actual temperature , nudge this temperature down by 10 degrees F.

—Ok. I have a 100 watt bulb and will try that tomorrow
<<< too many , not more than 5 of these per week, better off giving BSFL, silkworms, crickets , roaches or hoppers .

—too many, I know. My husband feed her the worms while I wasn’t at home even though I told him not to feed her super worms ??

I upload the app called Postimages (it's free) , and use the Img tab to insert my images between the
tags.

Easier to adjust temperatures by simply either moving the basking down an inch or two or by adjusting the height of the basking globe from the basking spot .
( inverse square law of radiation applies and a small change in difference makes a significant difference in "power".
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Emerald14":jw94e71x said:
They look about the right size, he should be polishing off 6 - 8 of those in a sitting.

Are those roaches dead ?

He'll be more interested in if they are least twitching .

He may just be confused about the clear barrier formed by the feeding dish , try depositing very lively roaches where he can see them but not in a dish one or two at a time , likely he'll be more interested if there aren't lots of bugs running in all directions all at once.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
97951-7323218365.jpg
Get a glass bowl and something she can get in that is not so high --- and the tail turning gray is she is going to shed-thats a pic of Blaze when I first got him that bowl hes in is a nice one and they can get in it if need be -- it came from www.symtonbsf.com its the large one
Karrie
 
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