Agni not eating very well

[SkyfangRauss]

he just finished shedding this shed cycle, and I got a variety pack from lindagonebuggy

he'll only eat one or two silkworms, one or two hornworms, he used to love supers, now he'll only eat a few of those.

he wont touch crickets anymore, roaches are out of the question, and he'll barely touch phoenix worms.

I'm running out of affordable bugs to try to feed him, but he just wont eat all that much. I usually feed him 3 times a day.

he's about 5 months old, a smidge over 16 inches.

his heating and lighting are spot on. I just replaced his reptisun 10.0 tube with another reptisun 10.0 tube, he has a basking spot around 110 give or take a few, and another basking spot around 95-100. he has ample space and a good temp gradient

his poops are good, if a little wet because of the baths I've been giving him to help his shed. he eats his greens fairly well, usually half of them, but sometimes all.

not sure what I should do.

maybe feeding him only twice a day? I don't think he's full grown yet and I don't want to stunt his growth

 

[CooperDragon]

Twice a day feedings won't be an issue or stunt his growth. As long as you have a fresh salad available all day that's totally fine. If his energy levels and poops are normal, it may just be a mood and he'll snap out of it after a while.

 

[Taterbug]

Is he consistent in weight or gaining slowly, do you track it? I'd worry if he is loosing but if he is stable he may just be slowing down. It's good he has a good appetite for greens.

I went thru something similar with Pepper, his appetite for insects began to dwindle at around 7 months. He is on a self imposed plan of every few days having a big meal and maybe one or two bugs on the other days as well as salads. Some days it's like he doesn't even see the bugs.

I spoke to my vet and the breeder I got him from and was given the advice that as long as his fat stores are healthy, poops and behavior is normal and no weight loss it shouldn't be a problem. The breeder has a range of "appetites" from bottomless pits to picky eaters who only care to eat a few bugs more infrequently.

 

[SkyfangRauss]

I don't think he's losing weight. I don't have a scale, but I handle him frequently, and if anything he's getting heavier

his belly and beard are all white, without a hint of stress lines except in the morning after he wakes up and lights come on.

for lunch he ate 2 hornworms

they were pretty big, but I wouldn't think 2 horn worms would be enough for a growing dragon regardless of how big they were.

hopefully it is just a phase, cause im starting to get worried

 

[SkyfangRauss]

so I got a 100 count phoenix worm cup, and he ate about 80-90 of them yesterday

however when he went poo this morning, there were at least 6 completely whole worms in the poo, and at least 2 of them were still alive and wiggling.

that's kind of worrying that a soft bodied worm like p.worms can make it through his digestive tract still fully alive

 

[CooperDragon]

He may have just overdone it a bit and they went right through. Maybe cut the amount offered in half for now and see how that goes. You can try pricking the worms with a needle which should allow for more complete digestion.

 

[AHBD]

I agree with Cooper + Tater, he is eating fine, some do slow down at a certain point as if they are regulating their intake, getting ready to enter adulthood. He's beefy looking, so no need to worry about his weight. Him eating 2 large hornworms is sort of equivalent to eating about 10 -15 superworms or 30 -40 crickets....plus the horns have a higher fat content as they grow. So don't be too worried...he looks fine.

 

[Taterbug]

so I got a 100 count phoenix worm cup, and he ate about 80-90 of them yesterday

however when he went poo this morning, there were at least 6 completely whole worms in the poo, and at least 2 of them were still alive and wiggling.

that's kind of worrying that a soft bodied worm like p.worms can make it through his digestive tract still fully alive

Totally a guess, I haven't had much chance to look into it, but I wonder if since they are maggots the BSFL are just a bit more resilient than other larvae. Maybe some thing about their skin/exoskeleton is more durable, and if they aren't punctured the digestive juices can't do their work. It's not uncommon for them to remain undigested if they aren't chewed/punctured. You can try pinning them (pop a hole in them before offering) but I imagine that gets old fast.