Bearded dragon eating only veggies

Hi everyone. I made this account to ask this question. I know almost nothing about reptiles. My mom recently ended up with a bearded dragon (loooong story). Totally unplanned/sudden. S/he is eating veggies but not crickets. S/he used to eat them just fine. I’ve seen it in the past. I have a pic of Spike and the enclsure:





(You can’t see it from the pic, but there is support under the bottoms of the enclosure)

If this would be better suited to another forum I apologize.

Spike looks healthy based on that photo which is encouraging. How much does he weigh (in grams)? I would track that and it will also give an idea of age. I'd guess maybe a year old or so but it's hard to tell for sure.

As far as the enclosure goes, it looks pretty good overall. I would replace the loose substrate with something solid and relatively easy to clean like non adhesive shelf liner. If you don't have any other animals in the house you could remove the top and hang the basking light from that adjustable stand overhead. Do you know how old the UVB light is and if it's a T8 tube? I would set that next to the basking light so it shines down over that branch. If it's an older T8 (over 6mo) it may need replacement in which case I suggest an upgrade to a T5.

Keep trying with the veges. A wide variety of veges in salads every day is important. Depending on age/size you might be able to offer fewer bugs but that depends. Here is a list of items that are good for salads. Just rotate based on what looks fresh at the store. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I recommend looking through the Care Sheet and Newbies Guides under Articles on the right side of the page for some general info. If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask and we'll be happy to help.

Thanks for the advice, I will see what I can find out about the lights from Spike's previous owner. There is also a cat in the house, and while she doesn't seem interested in Spike, she is quite the hunter. But, his room may be blocked off. I will look into it. I appreciate the help and will get some more info. Grateful to hear he looks healthy. I'd take the guy myself (with a lot of research of course) but my land lord is very firm about no reptiles with lights....found that out with my T's, but thankfully they don't need lights!

If there is a cat in the house, definitely keep the lid on and secure at all times. The cats can turn on a dragon very quickly. If you can find out more about the lights I can help you find replacements/upgrades as needed.

Hi there, I agree that Spike looks pretty healthy overall from that pic. Your problem is the opposite of what most people have with their beardie's diet. Spike actually LIKES the veggies but doesn't eat crickets ? That's fine as long as he gets a good variety. Keep offering crickets at least once a week though for extra protein and consider trying something like silkworms for him.

And BTW, if you want me to give a 99.9% accurate guess on the gender, post a few pics with Spike's tail arched high in the air while his feet are flat on a table/floor. It's always good to know exactly what you have.