Cricket tips

[theoc1172]

I'm not sure this is right place to post this but, here goes. I just became a proud owner of a Bearded Dragon. He is about 7-8 weeks old. I have had him for 3 days now and he has been eating crickets. I have been trying to get him to eat in a small pet carrier as opposed to his main habitat because he usually doesn't eat all of the crickets that I offer him in one sitting and the crickets that he doesn't eat tend to either hide where he can't see them or crawl on him and, from what I have observed, try to nibble on him. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to get him to eat in the pet carrier. He apparently only likes to eat in his cage at this point. Then, I feel that I should remove the uneaten crickets. Does anyone have any tips for getting him to eat in the carrier or for re-capturing the uneaten crickets? They aren't the easiest of insects to catch. lol

 

[doe222]

youve only had him for 3 days i wouldnt try to push seperate feeding tank at this point. i feed mine by hand it really only takes like 10min. feed him 1 by 1 so theres no straglers in his cage and i dont have to hunt for dead crickets. but if you want to do a seperate feeding tank i would at least wait a few months untill hes 100% trusting of you. right now you should be happy hes eating for you at all. people come on here and say thier dragons wont eat for a week after getting them. so for now just feed him in his viv . definetly check out the awesome care sheets on this site for help with making sure your new dragons husbandry is correct. congradulations on the beardie

 

[Slippers]

Ours only likes to eat in her cage as well , She is almost 4 months old. As soon as she sees us shaking the bottle to dust the crickets she is looking at the bottle and moving her head with it as it shakes. We drop in one at a time, but when the first one hits shes after it. She will not eat it unless it moves, she will stare at it for up to a minute till it does move. Once she is done eating she will run back up to her basking spot and thats it. She will not chase another one again. Usually that when we hand feed her 3 or so more. If you can drop then in one at a time or hand feed you should be OK

 

[theoc1172]

Now, when you are hand feeding, are you doing this in the viv or do you have her out?

 

[Slippers]

In the Viv

 

[theoc1172]

Cool. Thank you, guys. I'll give your ideas a try. I'm probably being a bit of a mother hen but I can't help myself. :wink:

 

[doe222]

no its a good thing you came to this forum for advice. thats why were all hear we all had a question at one time its a good thing or else youd be trying to force your beardie to eat in a seperate cage he doesnt feel comfortable in after already having moved to a new one, that he doesnt feel comfortable in.

 

[theoc1172]

Totally makes sense. Thanks for the input. I know this is certainly not the place for this question but I did not see the topic in the index. Of course, I have been known to miss things that are right in front of me. How much should I be handling him during this acclimation period? I have been taking him out once or twice a day. He's calm for the most part but does seem to get a little flighty. At which point, I put him back in his viv. Am I overdoing it?

 

[Slippers]

We try and take ours out at least once a day. Sometimes she will actually run away from me. So I put the lid back on and leave her alone for the day.
The next day we try again and she will just walk right up my arm. Its a learning process "she is teaching us what she wants"

 

[theoc1172]

lol, Definitely a learning process. I'm a little embarressed as i feel i should know more than I do. I volunteered at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm for a long time, caring for several reptiles including bearded dragons, anacondas, alligators, monitors, skinks, venomous and non-venomous snakes, etc. of course, they were already set up and living the good life. All I had to do was clean the enclosures and feed them. This is my first baby dragon that i've had to care for from step 1 so again, thank you all very much for your input. Much appreciated.