I have a baby bearded dragon (about two months?) who is hesitant to come out of his tank for feeding. He has a lot of trouble catching crickets in the tank because they hide and run and do all the annoying things crickets do, but when we force him out of his tank to eat in a smaller container he won't eat anything. I've been feeding him crickets by hand so that he gets enough, but because of that he makes little to no effort now even to chase the easy ones. I don't want him to be dependent on hand-feeding but I want him to eat. Thoughts/ideas? Thank you!
If taking him out of the tank seems to cause stress I'd continue to accommodate for now and feed him in the tank either by hand or by offering just a couple of crickets at a time so they're easier for both of you to track. You could also try offering a different feeder (it's good to offer variety either way) that is easier to track or keep in place. Black soldier fly larvae, silk worms, and small dubia roaches are all good options to try in addition to or in place of crickets.
Okay, thanks! I'll get some roaches or worms this weekend and try that. Do you think that when he gets bigger and more comfortable this will be less of a problem?
One more thing I forgot to mention: because I'm hand-feeding him, I'm not sure when he's full. I can't tell if he keeps eating because it's so convenient or because he's actually still hungry. How many (small to medium) crickets is too many in a day??