Baby beardie not eating enough

[softcastle]

Hi all,

I've had my baby beardie, Frank, for almost 6 weeks now. He doesn't eat much at all, which I know is supposed to be the exact opposite for juvenile dragons, who can eat up to 50 crix a day. Any thoughts on what might be going on?

Feeding: He eats about 2-3 crix per feeding, 3x a day, so 6 small crix on a good day, and 1-2 BSFL left in his bowl. I leave out fresh misted collards every day, but they're barely touched. He won't container feed, since he's from Petco and is used to having prey run around his cage even when he's done. I put what he doesn't eat away after 20 mins. He loves his wax worms, which he gets twice a week, and liked Dubias which I tried a couple of times. It's almost like he gets bored of the food and just lets it run around.

Habitat: 20 gall aquarium tank with mesh lid, I have a 120 gall available if you suggest I move him right away

Lighting: 150 watt lightbulb in a Fluker's dimmer lid, ReptiSun 10.0 in the hood

Temps/Humidity: ~80 cool side, ~100-105 hot side, 35% humidity. I use two of those little digital probe thermometers, I have them suctioned on each side, one is next to his basking spot, halfway in between the lamp and the thing he sits on.

Calcium intake: dusted food 2x a week, since he eats at least one BSFL a day. Let me know if I should adjust this.

Bathing: every 3 days, and he drinks water dripped on his head during every bath.

Poops: Always well formed logs with a white urate tip, dark in color, never ever runny or super dried out. Once it was pinkish tinged in the urate, but never for more than a day. Always regular, once a day.

Behavior: Always alert, loves to climb his hammock and my shirt, tilts his head to look at me when I enter the room, never dull-eyed or sleepy. He basks every morning and will then climb on his hammock or occasionally go to the cool side, but always comes back. In the past 6 weeks, he's shed his head, tail, and legs. Never gapes, hisses, or shivers in the MBD way. He's very active. No bumps on his spine or limbs, all fingers/toes and eyes are healthy.

Let me know any other questions you have or suggestions. His behavior seems really alert and healthy, I just worry about his growth because I know he should be eating WAY more than he actually is. Is there anything going on with my husbandry I should change? I attached a picture below, this is him about 10 mins after I turned his lights on this morning.

 

[JessPets]

Everything sounds right, and he looks healthy enough. What size crickets do you use?

 

[softcastle]

I do small crickets, not pinhead. The small ones are just about the size of the space between his eyes. They're those VitaBugs gutloaded crickets, and I usually put in some collards and berries for them to eat in their container.

 

[BrightStar]

You could try a different feeder like silkworms. My Rygel tends to get bored of food very quickly, but his appetite always picks right up when I offer him something different.