My girl isn't eating crickets, and has eaten less veggies.

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I got Dar in August. I've had her for some time. She's always been very excited about feeding. She's been getting more interested in her veggies as she's moving towards adulthood, and always races towards them when I put them in.

In the last couple days, she's declined any crickets. They've just been in her cage, and she hasn't touched them. They sleep with her and on her, they crawl on her, they walk right up to her, but she won't touch them.

She has also eaten less of her veggies. I usually give her green cabbage, collard greens, and her absolute favorite food is strawberries. She's barely touched any of these, even the strawberries. Nothing in her setup has changed, nothing new in what I feed her and what goes on, she's just stopped eating.

I'm a first time lizard owner, I'm pretty new, I'm not sure what to do. I tried feeding her outside of her cage, but she just got really stressed.
 

CooperDragon

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How is her weight? If that is stable and she is otherwise acting normally it might just be a phase. Sometimes they go through phases in which they aren't as hungry. This can be caused by where they are in a growth cycle, shedding, or just a mood. If her weight is decreasing and she's acting lethargic she may be ill and a vet visit may be warranted for a checkup. If it has only been a few days I wouldn't worry about it too much yet. Just keep offering food on the normal schedule. I don't advise leaving crickets in the tank beyond meal time as they can hide and then come out overnight and bite her. This can be harmful especially if there are a bunch of them in there.
 

Darthedraggo

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We don't know her weight, and don't really have any scale that can determine it. I've cleaned her cage and have gotten rid of all the crickets. I put out some strawberries for her, and she stared at them for a while, so I put her next to them, and she continued to stare at them. She's only eating them out of my hand. She ate about five pieces, and I pulled away so she could eat them on her own, but now she's just sitting by them and looking distressed.
 

CooperDragon

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Sometimes they prefer hand feeding and that's OK. Keep offering variety and see what she prefers. My guy seems to always love squash pieces so that's worth a try. I cut them up into little worm shapes. If you can find a cheap digital gram kitchen scale it might be worthwhile so you can start tracking her weight.
 

Darthedraggo

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So it's been a bit over a week, she hasn't pooped, and she hasn't eaten at all in the past couple of days, she's very inactive in her cage, and she's getting pale (which could be shedding but I doubt it it doesn't look normal).

I'm very worried. This has long passed the line of not worrying. My not doing anything isn't helping.
 

Darthedraggo

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Update- We found out that her bulb is dying. We got a new one, she was probably cold, her cage is much warmer now. She won't hunt, but I held a cup of crickets out for her and she gobbled them up. I put more in her cage along with greens, and she didn't really touch them. I think the cold was causing her to be less active. Her head is just slightly off, I think it's just her starting to shed. She also pooped this morning. I just let her run around for a few minutes and get some exercise. She enjoyed that a lot. I think once she readjusts she'll be fine..
 

Darthedraggo

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It's been a few days, her cage is warmed up again, and she is still being a little pill about it. She will only eat her crickets if I offer the cup to her and wait for her to pick them out individually, and every so often will accept me hand feeding her veggies. She won't hunt or eat out of her bowl. I don't have time to feed her so slowly in the mornings, I have school. She also hasn't pooped in a while. I've been pulling her out and giving her space to run so she can exercise to help her poop, and hopefully to work up an appetite, but she's refusing everything. She insists on sleeping in her corner when she is in her cage. While handling, she's normal, and moves around. How can I get her to eat and be more active in her cage?
 

CooperDragon

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I would just keep up this routine for a while and let her take bugs if that's what she wants for now.
 

kyleena29

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I was just wondering... what kind of uvb are you using and when it was replaced last? Sorry if it was already posted.
 

Darthedraggo

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I'm using the Reptisun 10 UVB light.

She's still very sluggish in her cage, won't hunt and is being picky about her veggies, and she's been having her eyes half open for forever now. On Sunday she was glass surfing a bunch but she just wanted out. She got a lot of outside time when I noticed her throwing the tantrum. She ran around and got lots of exercise. I'm still pretty worried. She should be eating, she's obviously hungry, she just won't hunt.
 
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