Bearded dragon Won't eat without assistance

[Dragonzlady]

We have been trying to get our bearded dragon (Scorch) to eat. He won't eat on his own. We are having to hand feed him with tweezers. We are feeding him medium size crickets. When we got him from his last owner he was not eating a lot and they fed him only super worms. No vegetables, fruits or crickets.

Now that we have him we are introducing him to fruits and vegetables (only the staple ones) and he has been eating crickets for us.

We recently upgraded his tank from a 50gallon to a 75gallon. Finally got the basking area between 105 and 110 degrees Fer. And the cool side is between 80 and 85.

Since the new tank he isn't hardly eating at all unless hand fed and he only ate 11/12 crickets. And that was just today. Before today he hasn't ate in about 3 or 4 days.

He is about 6 months old and weights about 166grams and he is also 14 inches long.

Since we got him he has also been glass surfing so we put up a background that blocks off 3 sides and so he's not doing it as much.

Any advice or suggestions... has anyone ever had this happen or know someone who did. We are really concerned.

 

[kingofnobbys]

He's spoilt and has his mommy well trained .... (as well as lazy).... not such a bad thing IMO, all my beardies and skinks all get the 5 star service from daddy (me) even though they will eat their salad and some slow moving insects (silkworms, supers for the beardies / silkworms, supers, mealworms. garden snails (purged and gut loaded with house green scraps) for the bluetongues / and when we had Wriggles our little lady water skinks it was mealworms, silkworms and crickets).

So .... I'm guilty of spoiling our family of scaley 4 legged children too. I use my fingers to hand feed my dragons and skinks , the occasional accidental finger / thumb tip nip is the price I pay but well worth it.

IMO there is no better way of forming a really strong trusting bond with a lizard, all mine are extremely tame and very affectionate.

Sounds like your little boy has landed on his feet when you took him on.

Only changes I'd recommend are :
*** 110oF is a tad hot , I aim for a basking spot temperature about 40oC.
*** two feeds per day of live insects (by hand if he refuses to catch them himself if you put a couple in with him at a time) - largest live feed in the am, the late afternoon feed the rest , I'd give him his salad/greens/veg (in a dish) after the 1st feed, this way he has had some insect protein and can graze all afternoon, leave it in overnight (they will midnight raid I've found when young and always hungry).
*** get hold of some calcigent and or silkworms - not only are they near perfect feeders , but even even fussy eaters will take to silkworms once they taste them , and calcigents are also good to mix with the greens /grated veg. I tend to put the silkworms in on a bit of mulberry leaf and in the feed dish with the second feed and leave them overnight for the lizard to discover.
*** how many hours per day are the lights on ? ..... I suggest 14- 16 hours ,this will give the growing beardie loads of time to bask and process it's food and will simulate natural lighting in their native range in tropical central Australia in summer.
*** keep his tank warm overnight (> 21oC) , will help him metabolise his food.

At 6mnths old and 166g , he's doing OK . My boy Toothless was 174g at 6mnths old.
There might be some relocation stress happening with the tank upsize , this will pass.
Glass surfing : Let him out for snuggles as part of the daily routine .... A ROUTINE IS VERY IMPORTANT for lizards , if you can make the room/s where the tank is dragon safe (no where he can crawl behind and get stuff or lost whilst exploring , he'll probably appreciate burning up some of those beans in him that are hyping him up and causing him to glass surf.

 

[Dragonzlady]

Thanks for the information it was very informative. Do you havr any suggestions as to where we should get our silkworms? We live in Florida.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thanks for the information it was very informative. Do you havr any suggestions as to where we should get our silkworms? We live in Florida.

Sorry , try searching on Google , or Ebay .

I live in Australia and don't really know who sells what insects in USA, a good option is to buy silkworm eggs and silkworm chow (as a powder) if you can not access some mulberry trees .