Can baby food replace crickets or worms ?

[ddma]

Can baby food be an alternative source of protein in place of crickets and worms ? ineed to find something. my 6 month old male stopped eating crix about 6 weeks ago , after about 3 weels of him eating just a few here and there i decided to try supers, well, i thought i hit the jackpot, he ate those, but only for a few days. it seems now, like he's scare of them or something. he looks at them then he backs away from them like they scare him and goes away i tried hand feeding him, he does the same thing , i tried again feeding him crix and he just sits there has no interest. so now what. but keep in mind he devours his greens, he'll eat those but no crix or worms. so i thought the baby food thing, but i don't know. can some one help please . thanks

 

[Embee]

Hi Dawn,

Sorry you dragon is having a bit of a troubled time eating. It's not entirely uncommon for some dragons to appear "afraid" of crickets. How old is your dragon, and what is his size? Could it be that the supers were just a bit too much for him, and he's avoiding them for that reason... they are a mouthful!

As far as baby food being a permanent alternative, I'm not so sure. I'd look at it as perhaps a temporary alternative (for an ailing dragon), or supplement to the diet, but not as a full-on source of protein, as dragons really should have live feeders. But don't quote me on that. I'd like to see some more opinions on this myself.

As to other types of alternative feeders, have you tried any of the other nutritious worms such as phoenix, silks, butters, horns? Phoenix and silks have good enough protein/fat ratios as to be staples. Phoenix are quite small, and perhaps would be less intimidating for him. Also, many people here on the board swear by dubia roaches. I haven't used them myself so I can't comment, but those who do are quite emphatic that they are an excellent feeder, not so hoppy as crickets and easier to maintain. You might check out the "Feeders" board for more information.

Also, could there be anything else going on with him? What type and brand of UVB are you using, and how old is the bulb? Tank temps? Often, when a dragon isn't readily accepting food, it's a husbandry issue, so this is why I ask.

Just some things to consider at any rate.

Em

 

[ddma]

thanks for responding Em , temps are good , using reptisun, 10.0, no sand . he's 6 months old and about 17 inches.

i tried silkworms once he ate 1 out of 3, besides silkworms are hard to keep. dubia roaches are out since i live in florida, they are illeagal here because we are tropical and they reproduce very well in tropical setting. none of the suppliers will ship here. haven't really tried anything else.i have 4 other beardies and they are doing just fine. he's eating his greens tho.

 

[SJM]

Sorry for your troubles.

IMO, baby food is not an adequate protein staple.

If your beardie isn't eating his live feeders, then baby food is definitely better than nothing, but you'll want to try as hard as you can to convince him to get back on feeders.

Nothing is fully sufficient in place of live feeders. They're simply necessary.

If your beardie refuses, then yes, baby food is a must. You should continue to offer feeders though, he needs to start eating them.

Do you put the worms in his salad? If he is intimidated by them, I would suggest trying a smaller size, and mixing them in with his greens.

I hope everything works out.
SJM

 

[ddma]

yes, it seems like he is inntimidated by them. i wasn't really thinking to keep him on the baby food all the time. i just figured to try and see if he'll eat the baby food, so at least he's getting something. thanks

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

When I try to hand feed my MJ, she'll eat one or two crix.. then backs away like she's scared. Even with worms ! I couldnt figure out what was wrong.. so I just left the crix in her viv as I was watching her. She didnt move.. and just stood still. The minute I walked away she started chomping down, chasing them, etc. So maybe you should just drop a few crix and leave the room ? I literally walked out of the living room... walked around the corner and peeked. The minute I walked toward her viv she stopped. Im no doctor but maybe this might help ?

 

[joesephespinosa]

I have had my beardies do the same thing... but like the poster above has said if I dropped a few crickets in the cage and watched she wouldn't eat... but leave and peek and she was eating... same thing happens with ALL of my beardies when it comes to veggies... I don't thinkt ehy are intimidated of the food but rather by us humans and won't eat it cause they think we are bigger so we get to eat it... Im by no means a crazy beardie psychiatrist... but thats just my two cents.

 

[ddma]

The weird thing is that he is 6 months old , i've had him since he's 6 weeks, he always ate , and like a pig i might add very verousiouly, whether we were in the room or not. and i did try that, walking away to come back 15 minutes later and nothing was eaten. i tried that because my daughter had a baby beardie that would never eat while we were in the room , we had to leave before he would eat anything, and he would eat every last one of them if we weren't in the room, but this guy, don't know what else to do, he's not losing weight, his fat storage at the base of his tail is very good and he does eat his greens, could he have gone vegetarian on me ? thanks for the help guys.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Is he gettin ready to shed ? When MJ's getting ready to shed.. she doesnt eat much.. and acts very lazy. I'm not quite educated on Brumation just yet.. but I've read many posts on here about it... and they dont eat for long periods of time..