Beardie Refusing Crickets & Calcium Powder

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andrewmo

Member
Hi there, this little guy has got me stressed these days.

A few weeks back, I decided to change up his diet by introducing new feeders (butterworms, hornworms), as treats. Ever since then, he constantly turns his nose up at crickets.

So after a few days of this, I tried having him eat superworms as his staple (I know there's mixed opinions on this), but it gave him diarrhea and clearly he wasn't digesting them well enough. So despite the fact that he seemingly really likes them and jumps at the opportunity, not sure if this is a fix.

So I'm on day 3 of pushing crickets back. He maybe eats 1 or 2 if he's hungry enough and then turns his nose up at them.

Same challenge with calcium powder, even if it was on the superworms. Eats anything without and ignores those that are powdered.

I understand they can get sick of their everyday feeders, but unfortunately dubia's are illegal here. I'm offering fresh veggies every day which he picks at, but I don't know what to do to get him eating the crickets on a regular basis.

Basking - 95-97*
Cool Side - 80*
40 gallon breeder
Repti-Sun 10 UVB Bulb, recently replaced around the 5 month mark.
Baths every few days, time outside of the viv
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Basking temps need to be increased to 105-110-- please see if you can get discoids instead of dubias- you can google them and see if they can ship to your state- also BSFL are another staple and do not need to be dusted -- here is a website for them https://symtonbsf.com/--- they are tiny so you would need to order a lot of them --- please lay off the super worms I would use them only to lure him to the salad bowl --- first feeding salad in morning w/ like 3 super and w/ BSFL as well - I use them to lure my baby to salad bowl then feed the staple feeder after about 30-45 minutes of him eating his salad - I put them in a bowl they cant get out of and he gets into the bowl to eat them --- try this and see if it will work -- the 10.0 UVB is it a coil or tube?
Karrie
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
Sorry, basking spot is 100-105, mixed up the ambient temp of warm side.

Basically day 3 of his hunger strike today. I have a few super worms left but don’t want to drag out any longer than need be.

I tried putting him in a “feeding bin” with loose crickets...nothing. They don’t exist to him anymore.

Please help — I’ve had the little guy six months and it’s been constant worry...first an eye infection /parasites (both cleared months ago), fussing about basking times, dehydration. I just want to enjoy him instead of being in a constant state of “worry”.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
10.0 UVB is it a coil or tube? please answer this question - this could be the reason for all of it
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
the Reptisun is a 10.0 ? T 5 or a T 8--- if its the T 5 it is fine on top of screen - if its a T 8 it should be inside tank approx 6-8 inches from basking area --- is the cover off the bulb ? meaning is the bulb exposed?
Karrie
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":10nujovw said:
the Reptisun is a 10.0 ? T 5 or a T 8--- if its the T 5 it is fine on top of screen - if its a T 8 it should be inside tank approx 6-8 inches from basking area --- is the cover off the bulb ? meaning is the bulb exposed?
Karrie

Tube, mounted on inside and exposed
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok its a T8 or a T 5? Reason I am asking is each tube has a certain distance ----- if the T 5 is inside and closer than 12 inches its too strong - if its a T 8 it should be 6-8 inches from basking-- just trying to get lighting ruled out --- especially w/ him not digesting the bugs --- basking temps are good but UVB also plays a huge roll and they will not eat if its not correct- you can try getting him some BSFL --https://symtonbsf.com/ or you can try silkworms -- they are good staple feeders but they are spendy and sometimes hard to find--- the BFSL are small so you would need alot of them -- you didnt say anything about dubia roaches -- can you get them where you live? You can order them on line as well - I would get some of those if you can --- http://www.dubiaroaches.com or http://www.abdragons.com just make sure you have a container to put them in cuz they ship loose in a gunny sack - so you would need a coffee can a deep one or a 10 gallon aquarium --- I would defiantly order some of those instead of the crickets --- you can feed the roaches dubia food along w/ carrots for hydration --- dont feed the dragon carrots too tho --- dubiaroaches.com ship in containers you can keep them in they charge shipping where as abdragons does not -- here is a website for nutrition -- there is liquid calcium you can get but I am not sure how that is administered--
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Karrie
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":10f89c7u said:
Ok its a T8 or a T 5? Reason I am asking is each tube has a certain distance ----- if the T 5 is inside and closer than 12 inches its too strong - if its a T 8 it should be 6-8 inches from basking-- just trying to get lighting ruled out --- especially w/ him not digesting the bugs --- basking temps are good but UVB also plays a huge roll and they will not eat if its not correct- you can try getting him some BSFL --https://symtonbsf.com/ or you can try silkworms -- they are good staple feeders but they are spendy and sometimes hard to find--- the BFSL are small so you would need alot of them -- you didnt say anything about dubia roaches -- can you get them where you live? You can order them on line as well - I would get some of those if you can --- http://www.dubiaroaches.com or http://www.abdragons.com just make sure you have a container to put them in cuz they ship loose in a gunny sack - so you would need a coffee can a deep one or a 10 gallon aquarium --- I would defiantly order some of those instead of the crickets --- you can feed the roaches dubia food along w/ carrots for hydration --- dont feed the dragon carrots too tho --- dubiaroaches.com ship in containers you can keep them in they charge shipping where as abdragons does not -- here is a website for nutrition -- there is liquid calcium you can get but I am not sure how that is administered--
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Karrie

I'm 99% sure its a T8. Mounted on the insite and about 6 inches from his basket spotting. I'm pretty sure its not the lighting, because the week I had him on superworms he was ravenously hungry, and given their shells I'm not sure what regular "digestion" would look like.

No dubias here unfortunately. I might try the BSLF, I'm just getting a quote now.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Can you order on line or are you in a state for Canada that does not allow them - you can get discoids --- google them and see where you can order from if that is is the case
Karrie
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":388a1eev said:
Can you order on line or are you in a state for Canada that does not allow them - you can get discoids --- google them and see where you can order from if that is is the case
Karrie

Illegal country wide. Only BSFL provider is incredibly marked up.

He’s been throwing fits all day...assuming because he’s hungry but ignores crickets every time I try.
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
andrewmo":239ifkkr said:
KarrieRee":239ifkkr said:
Can you order on line or are you in a state for Canada that does not allow them - you can get discoids --- google them and see where you can order from if that is is the case
Karrie

Illegal country wide. Only BSFL provider is incredibly marked up.

He’s been throwing fits all day...assuming because he’s hungry but ignores crickets every time I try.

Discord’s illegal too. No roaches in Canada whatsoever.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi there,

Sometimes dragons get picky when they find a bug they like, and they will hold out until they get them.

Hornworms and superworms tend to be the worst culprits for that lol.

Also, changes in diets can cause loose runny stools. So thats possibly what happened with your dragon if he had never had supers before, and he was given a good amount of them in a short period of time. It's typically best to slowly introduce any feeder for that reason. I use supers a lot and haven't had any real digestion issues to speak of. If husbandry is up to par, their system is more than capable of handling them.

That being said, either just continue to try with him, or try different feeders.
Silkworms are expensive, but they are a great feeder. If you buy the eggs and hatch them yourself they tend to be cheaper, even with buying their food.

-Brandon
 
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