Beardie Suddenly Picky

[zandi202]

It's no problem. We have all been there and appreciated those who answered us.

I was using baby horns and silk and large repti worms. It should be plenty along with a salad. Not sure if I already mentioned this, but what helped Jace was a bug bowl and greens dish. When Jace and Zy were about 4 or 5 months they each ate at least 80 phoenix worms a day and a good salad.

 

[MoonsAreBlue]

Wow, that's a lot! Parthy has never eaten that many, and I give her a full 15 minutes to eat. She usually eats a good amount of greens though, so I've never been concerned until now. I have a water dish that I converted into a food bowl. It's great for her salad and was great for superworms. She doesn't eat the reptiworms fast enough, so I have to make sure none crawl out of the bowl. Although one time, one escaped and she found it later. She was behind the driftwood in her tank though and vigorously tried to climb under the driftwood to get to the worm, but she couldn't fit. I laughed so hard. :lol:

 

[zandi202]

Aw, poor girl. What I do is give them their meal one hour after they bask and take it out two hours before I plan to take them out so they can digest, unless I'm syringe feeding them their calc and vit and other stuff, then I just leave it in because they are out for only a couple of minutes. This way they can eat throughout the day whenever they're ready to. I used a dog dish with smooth walls so the worms couldn't climb out...except the hornworms. They're brats. :lol:

 

[MoonsAreBlue]

I was wondering if you could help me out a little more, zandi.

Since my last post, she has eaten one more big meal of reptiworms, 20 or so. She sometimes eats 1-5 when I offer them to her now. I went to my local pet store and found some wax worms and super worms. I got a small amount of both and tried feeding them to Parthy to see if it was just the reptiworms she didn't like. She immediately ate the one superworm I offered. I won't keep feeding her the supers until she is bigger, but I had to see if it was just the reptis she wouldn't eat. She then ate one wax worm from the bowl and one from the tongs. I think it's the movement that she is attracted to and will only eat the reptiworms when she's really hungry. I plan to order butterworms in a couple of days and I was wondering if they moved around a lot like supers. They'll at least be better for her than supers or waxes, and I can get them cheaper than hornworms or silkworms.

She has still not eaten any greens/veggies other than green beans and parsnip. So far, I've tried collard, mustard, and turnip greens, spaghetti squash, yellow bell pepper, bok choy, corriander, and strawberries. I'm running out of ideas on what to offer her. I can't get dandelion greens, endive, or cactus leaves. She did eat one bite of strawberry, but I'm guessing she didn't like it because she didn't eat any more. She will eat quite a few green beans, so she's hungry. She just suddenly doesn't like what I'm offering her, and I'm running out of staple greens to try!

 

[zandi202]

Sometimes they go on hunger strikes. Jace was on one for a little over two weeks, it was a pain trying to keep him up at at least 300g. He would eat maybe 1-2 horns a day, usually one and maybe 1-2 leaves of greens, but that was very rare. He was healthy though, so I guess it was just a hunger thing.

I can't remember much about butter worms, it's been a while. I don't think they move around too much (silks and horns don't move much either).

What you can do is feed her baby food on a spoon. I'm not sure if we have it here in the states, but I've been recommended to feed them Heinz Chicken baby food and and Heinz Pumpkin and you can mix in their calc and vitamins. I didn't get to try it because Jace decided to eat at that point, silly boy.

If you think it is a movement thing, have you though about crickets? At least temporarily until she is 16"?

 

[MoonsAreBlue]

Yeah, right when she first went on the hunger strike, I got her some crickets. She ate 3 but then was too lazy to chase after the others! I'm also wondering if she prefers the supers because they're just bigger. It took her some encouraging to even eat the waxworms. She's still small, so I'm not sure what weight I should keep her around. She was 111g when I checked last. Is that a good weight? I remeasured her and she's 14" now. I'll try the baby food, but iff I can't find Heinz specifically, would another brand work like... Gerber? That's the only brand I even know, haha.

Oh, now that I think about it, I bet growing the reptiworms would make her more likely to eat them. I can set my beverage fridge to warm, but I'll have to see what temperature it gets to. There's only a cool, off, and warm switch, but it may save me from getting a heater.

(Again, thanks for all your help!)

 

[zandi202]

Honestly, I don't know about the other types of baby food lol.

Good luck!

 

[dragonmommy23]

My female Fred keeps going on hunger strike too !! It is so stressful. Somedays she will eat a few crickets, then others she will refuse everything. I even started a dubia colony for her because she loved them (haha), but now she won't touch them. After a few days of her not eating, I crack open a jar of Gerber chicken and Gerber squash and feed her by hand. She LOVES it. Maybe that's why she keeps going on hunger strikes? :lol: Fred is so lazy that I have to pick her up in the morning and put her in her basking spot and then put her down by her food bowl. Jeez, what have I created? Good luck on figuring out what works for you and your beardie.