Dragon Not Interested in BSFL?

My bearded dragon used to love BSF larvae, as well, and I mean he loved them. I'm irritated by the amount of work it takes to sift them out of their substrate, but I was so stoked that he liked them that I gladly dealt with it several times a week.

One day about eight months ago I absentmindedly sorted about 120 or so of the little guys into my dragon's food dish - probably about a double serving for him. He got super excited and housed the entire bowl in less than a minute. About an hour later he vomited up half of them and spent the rest of the day in his hide. I wasn't terribly concerned because I figured he'd just overeaten, and sure enough the next day he was his old self again.

Fast forward a few days, and I try offering him the larvae again. Excited as usual, he rushes to his food bowl...


Contemplates what he's seeing for a second, then gives me an unmistakable look.



"Hey dad, is this a ******* joke?"

He hasn't touched them since.

Hi there!


Im sorry your beardie got sick. Im wondering if it’s what you mentioned: he got sick and now thinks he cant eat them anymore. If you have other feeders, try mixing them with the BSFL. Dont give him too much and slowly reintroduce it into his diet perhaps. I like to give Drogon my beardie a mix of larvae and cover them with chopped greens so he eats slower.

Im a new owner but Ive learned a lot based on his eating habits. Hopefully this will help you out

Selkie

That picture is too funny though. Definitely is giving you that look!

-Brandon

Selkie1993":n1b600qo said:

Im sorry your beardie got sick. Im wondering if it’s what you mentioned: he got sick and now thinks he cant eat them anymore.

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Oh, I'm very certain that's what it is! I do my best to avoid anthropomorphizing non-human animals, or ascribing too much intelligence to behaviors that might be instinct, but my little guy never ceases to amaze me with what he seems to observe and the connections he makes. He also learned a long time ago to not only pick around what he doesn't like in his food (so I can't be sneaky and hide stuff in his squash), but that I'll also take away any particularly offending food right away if he just defecates in the dish. He's got me practically remote-controlled. It's alright, though. We're just back to dubias and supers, and silkworms when I can find them. I find that, for him, feeders insects he has to chase are just better overall.

Claudiusx":n1b600qo said:

That picture is too funny though. Definitely is giving you that look!

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It's uncanny, right? He spent a few uncomfortable seconds giving me that look of surprise and indignation before clambering up onto his rock, blackening his beard and bobbing multiple times in my direction.