Cricket Feeding, Not Eating! HELP!!

[epalefsky]

I'm new to this beardie thing and have done everything correctly. I got two 4-5 month olds (male and female) last Sunday evening and have not seen them eat. The temp in all three areas is correct. I'm feeding crickets and mustard greens in the morning around 8:00am and then feeding crickets again at 6:30pm. I take the crickets out after about thirty minutes of watching the crickets crawl all over the cage including climbing on the dragons. I have had them for two full days and don't think they have eaten a thing. I know they have lost some weight by appearance they look and feel smaller/lighter. I'm new to all this and spoke to my breeder and she said they need to get aclimated to the new surroundings and that this is normal. She suggested covering three sides of the cage with construction paper and leave only the front side open for viewing. I have now done that with the same results. How long does the aclimation process take? Obviously concerned when they don't eat. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sammyjackson]

Hi, have you tried with another feeders? I ask you this because my beardie like yours suddenly stopped eating crickets and I got worried like you so I started experimenting with other feeders and she loves supers and roaches. I guess is that she is lazy and dont want to chase crickets anymore so my suggestion is to see if they like other feeders.

 

[diggerdrake]

roaches would be a good alternative. At 4-5 months old they may be too small to handle supers as they need to be 15-16" long to properly digest them. since you have had them for a couple days they are still getting used to their new surroundings. Having them both living together can cause problems also as one will become more dominate and the other will not get the proper nutrition and lighting as the dominant one will take advantage. also there are numerous horror stories about tails bit off legs damaged beyond repair and others. Beardies are a solitary creature and thrive better being alone. Having another even with sight will cause stress. I would separate them asap giving them both a chance to strive to their full potential. Give them some time and they will soon be eating everything in sight. They need to get used to the new surroundings once they feel secure then they will be eating. another aspect is feeding them outside the cage. get a tote and add carpet or even paper towel for traction and only give a few crix at a time. Too many may cause confusion or have them feeling overwhelmed and scared.

 

[ktizzle188]

only two days dont worry. they need time to adjust if it goes on for more then i week i'd worry

 

[BDluver]

what size cage do you have them in? You might wanna try to move them to a smaller cage. That's what I did with mine and he's eating like a pig now. It helps them hunt their food better.