Having a hard time feeding crickets to baby....

[Sweetp427]

Hello~

I'm new to all of this. I need some ideas on how to feed my daughters baby. She's about 6". Not sure how old. We've had her since Sunday.

I'm having a heck of a time feeding her crickets. I put a few in with her in her 40 gallon tank. She ate some. I went back a bit later and thought she ate them all. Same thing Monday, but then I lifted up the carpet a few were hiding under it. I tried putting her in a small carrier to feed. I only put in 4 crickets. She ate one then tried to scratch her way out of the container. This afternoon I removed everything from her tank but the carpet, fed her one at a time(crickets were still trying to hide) I thought maybe that would make it easier for her to catch them. She only ate 3 and then went into panic mode. What do I do? Keep trying the smaller container? It's 9"x6"x6.5". Is that too small?

She's very skittish so I'm trying not to stress her out too much.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[reptilegyrl]

I always feed crickets in separate container. Especially for the lil ones Crickets hide, and are quick jumpy lil things! Also, some babies sometimes miss while hunting. They can be jumpy too lol. For a baby about 6 in long i would try a lil smaller container. Like the 9 in one you mentioned. And try putting a few more than 4 in there. I had a dragon who would see her reflection in the glass or plastic feeding container, and would not eat but freak out at the "other beardie" (had to use a solid container)... and yet another who would not eat crickets unless they were dusted with vitamin powder. What are the temps in the enclosure. If a beardie is too hot or too cold it may not have much of an appetite. Also, have you tried Reptiworms/Phoenix worms as well? They are very good small wiggly worms most babies like and have good nutritional value as well.

Hope this helps some!
Good luck! :mrgreen:

 

[Sweetp427]

I always feed crickets in separate container. Especially for the lil ones Crickets hide, and are quick jumpy lil things! Also, some babies sometimes miss while hunting. They can be jumpy too lol. For a baby about 6 in long i would try a lil smaller container. Like the 9 in one you mentioned. And try putting a few more than 4 in there. I had a dragon who would see her reflection in the glass or plastic feeding container, and would not eat but freak out at the "other beardie" (had to use a solid container)... and yet another who would not eat crickets unless they were dusted with vitamin powder. What are the temps in the enclosure. If a beardie is too hot or too cold it may not have much of an appetite. Also, have you tried Reptiworms/Phoenix worms as well? They are very good small wiggly worms most babies like and have good nutritional value as well.

Hope this helps some!
Good luck! :mrgreen:

I'm clueless, so any tips help! Thanks
Her basking spot is around 111, but she usually sits on the branch underneath that. She'll pop up there here and there, but likes the other most of the time. The cool side is about 81.

I bought her some Dubia's tonight. I'm hoping she'll like them. I'll give it a try tomorrow. I'm going to order some Phoenix worms too.

She's only eating about 4 crickets at a feeding, if that. Not sure if she's eating her greens. I witnessed her eating some once. I see tid bits on her carpet, so she's either eating some or running through it. Lol

 

[reptilegyrl]

Sounds good. What kind of salad are you offering?
Just be sure feeders are no bigger than the space between your beardies eyes. I like dubias better than crickets.They dont climb and jump! And im told they have a higher nutrition/meat to "crunchy parts" ratio lol. If she eats 4 crickets per serving you may just want to offer more often during the day if you dont do that already. As long as she has at least 3 hours of basking time before lights go out she should be fine as far as digestion.
Hope she likes the dubias and wormz better than crickets :mrgreen:

Its hard to tell sometimes if mine eat their salad also because they like to do the "salad dance" ... and if they can spread some poo around to make the salad stick to their tiles they seem quite proud! lol :roll: silly dragons!

 

[Sweetp427]

Sounds good. What kind of salad are you offering?
Just be sure feeders are no bigger than the space between your beardies eyes. I like dubias better than crickets.They dont climb and jump! And im told they have a higher nutrition/meat to "crunchy parts" ratio lol. If she eats 4 crickets per serving you may just want to offer more often during the day if you dont do that already. As long as she has at least 3 hours of basking time before lights go out she should be fine as far as digestion.
Hope she likes the dubias and wormz better than crickets :mrgreen:

Its hard to tell sometimes if mine eat their salad also because they like to do the "salad dance" ... and if they can spread some poo around to make the salad stick to their tiles they seem quite proud! lol :roll: silly dragons!

I've been giving mustard greens, yellow squash, kale, rep cal dragon food.

We had fed her 2 Dobia's yesterday by hand. She ate one on her own as well. Today NOTHING! I can't get her to eat. Today is day 7 since we had her. I don't know what to do.

 

[reptilegyrl]

is she still pooping every day? is she shedding? sometimes shedding makes them cranky and not willing to eat.

Anyone else have any ideas??

 

[Sweetp427]

is she still pooping every day? is she shedding? sometimes shedding makes them cranky and not willing to eat.

Anyone else have any ideas??

Yes she's been popping. I let her soak a bit last night and she didn't move her bowels during. No shedding that I can see anyway.

I'm hoping it's just because of adjusting to her new home.

 

[reptilegyrl]

That is very possible. I cant think of anything else. Hope she eats soon! The salad sounds good. And glad shes pooping tho!

 

[mikejx1969]

Hello, Your tank might be to large for your baby dragon. I have a two month old and I was told not to have them in a large tank. The shop owner said the dragon might not feed.

 

[Sweetp427]

That is very possible. I cant think of anything else. Hope she eats soon! The salad sounds good. And glad shes pooping tho!

Thank you for your help. Very much appreciated!

Hello, Your tank might be to large for your baby dragon. I have a two month old and I was told not to have them in a large tank. The shop owner said the dragon might not feed.

I should have started off smaller, but that was before I knew any better.

 

[reptilegyrl]

That is a very good observation mikejx1969! is there a way you could block off one side of the enclosure to make it smaller until she grows a few mos?

 

[Sweetp427]

That is a very good observation mikejx1969! is there a way you could block off one side of the enclosure to make it smaller until she grows a few mos?

If I can figure out how to do it, I will. I'm really hoping I can figure this out.

 

[mikejx1969]

You could cut a piece of cardboard to fit tight and slide it down from the top of the tank. Slide it a few inches every month until your dragon is used to the tank size. Hope this works for you.