4wk Old Eating Habits?

Hi guys.

We got Mario Friday night. (5in, 6g)
He ate 12 roaches Saturday afternoon, and 12 more Sunday morning.
Sunday evening he ate nothing.
Monday morning he ate 9, then had a MASSIVE poop around noon.
He only ate 1 roach Monday evening.

This morning he didn't eat anything. He's been active and observant, not even moving away when my daughter put his bowl in the enclosure. He did watch the roaches very intently for about an hour, just didn't jump down to gobble like he did this weekend.

He's still new, so is it just relocation stress and he's just getting used to his new schedule?

More Info:
Lights come on at 6am, off at 8pm.
Daughter feeds him around 7-7:15am and 4-4:15pm

I'm inclined to think it's just going thru an adjustment period. As I understand it, the majority will go up and down with eating the first couple/few weeks so it's not anything unusual. He shouldn't completely quit eating but can def slow way down at times. Just keep offering at his scheduled times.
If I'm wrong with this I'm sure someone with more experience will correct me. ?
-Dee

That can be normal behavior as DP. mentioned. Can you post pics of the roaches next to your little baby to be sure that they're not too large ?

DragonPete":1sh4jfup said:

I'm inclined to think it's just going thru an adjustment period. As I understand it, the majority will go up and down with eating the first couple/few weeks so it's not anything unusual. He shouldn't completely quit eating but can def slow way down at times. Just keep offering at his scheduled times.
If I'm wrong with this I'm sure someone with more experience will correct me. ?
-Dee

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reassurance!

AHBD":1sh4jfup said:

That can be normal behavior as DP. mentioned. Can you post pics of the roaches next to your little baby to be sure that they're not too large ?

Click to expand...

Is he still just giving them the stare -down ? For a minute there I thought the dark spots on the bowl were also roaches but I see they're just spots. The roaches look about right size, no bigger than that for him though and if fed in the afternoon allow at least 3 hours to digest before you turn the heat lights out.

That pic is from when he munched them the first time on Saturday. Right now he's looming over them from atop his rock. My wife says he's lording over his kingdom, basking in his subjects' fear!

Thanks again. I'll keep an eye on him the next couple weeks and report back. My daughter is keeping track of how many he eats so we should have some good data by the time he's over the relocation stress.

Well, Mario ate 4 roaches last night, and 7 this morning. He even let my daughter "pet" him when she was removing his murder pit. 2 data points are not a lot, but things are looking good for the coming weeks.

That's a decent amount of insects of that size for a 5" baby beardie. Dubias have more meat/protein so they are quite filling. His appetite + size will increase greatly in the next weeks/months as he grows.

Munching and getting pets? Sounds great to me. ?
-Dee

How's mario doing lately?

Just wanted to add my experiences to help aleviate any worry.

They all do handle the relocation stress different.

Tombo, ate amazing the first two days I got him. Then he didn't eat basically anything the rest of the week. By the second week, he was eating just a few insects, and each day it would slowly increase. It wasn't until week 3 where he had what I'd call a normal appetite.

Another one of mine, Moro, ate from day one and never stopped.
Mei and Suki both ate the first few days, slowed down a bit, and then were back up to full power by the end of the week.

And Kiki, Kiki has ate like a monster from day one, never stopped.

They all are different. And besides their appetites, they all also "Acted" different than each other in their relocation time. Kiki was very calm and ok with being held for the first 2 weeks. And then boom, no more holding allowed if she had her way!

Morale, they all are different and as long as you are doing everything right (husbandry and diet wise) that's all that you can do

-Brandon

Mario seems content and well, munching at least a few roaches Am and PM feedings. I appreciate the anecdotes, Brandon. They really do help!