Help - Switching Feeders

[KRayne]

My new Beardie is three years old and has previously been fed mealworms as her staple. She refuses to eat crickets because they move to fast and she likes to stand perfectly still and stretch her tongue as far as it will go to grab the feeders (She's quite lazy ) I want to switch her to a better feeder and was wondering if there was a good way to do this. Should I just take away the mealworms and only feed her the new insect? Or should I gradually switch her over?
Also, I was wondering how many worms approximately should she be eating (she's about 18 inches long)? She ate 30 today.

 

[CooperDragon]

I would stop with the mealworms because they don't offer a whole lot of nutrition. At 3, she should be on a diet that is approximately 80% vegetables so I'd try and focus on that if she isn't eating salad already. If she isn't used to it, it could be a long process to transition her over so be patient. I use this guide to put together 2-3 items in a salad depending on what I can get fresh at the store. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html I like to use turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, and dandelion greens as a base and switch around which veges go along with it. Squash is usually pretty popular when I cut it into small worm shapes so I'd start there.

As for the feeders, if she isn't into crickets, you may want to try a different worm. You could try putting the crickets into the fridge for a few minutes before feeding them. That slows them down a bit. Silk worms are a good choice. Phoenix Worms are good too but they are small so that could get expensive quickly. The silks are expensive but grow to be a bit bigger and you can start growing them on your own as well. As an adult, she should be getting around 20% of her diet as bugs. That doesn't really translate to an exact number but just try to judge it based on how much salad she's getting.

 

[KRayne]

I won't be able to get new feeders for a few days still because I'm a couple hours from the nearest pet store. Should I continue to feed them to her until I get new feeders?
I'm going to try putting worm shaped squash on her salad tomorrow. Hopefully it works
Thank you for your help

 

[CooperDragon]

If her weight is good, she can go for several days without bugs and just have salads. You can also try ordering feeders online and have them shipped right to you. That's how I did it and it works well.

 

[KRayne]

Okay. I might try ordering them online then.
If she doesn't like her salads and I don't give her bugs for a couple days (her weights good) will she starve herself? Or eat the veggies if she gets hungry enough?

 

[CooperDragon]

She will likely eat the salad rather than starve. Adults can go for several days without food and if she's a good weight she should be OK for a while.

 

[KRayne]

Okay. Thank you again for your help

 

[KRayne]

Hi CooperDragon,

I've tried feeding her squash and it hasn't worked :/ I went away for a few days and told my mom not to feed her mealworms and just to give her salad. Even without the mealworms she still only ate what was gently pushed into her mouth She has crickets and a few silkworms now so I will feed her tomorrow. I'd like to feed her every other day because she eats well over 20 insects a day and no salad so I was hoping this would help her learn to eat salad, but she still hasn't chosen to eat salad even with nothing else :'(
Is there anything else I can do?
Thank you for all your help so far

KRayne

 

[CooperDragon]

It can take a while to transition (sometimes several months) so be patient. Keep a close eye on her weight to be sure she doesn't drop too much. Is she still going after the bugs? You could try salad every day and bugs every third or fourth day and see if that works. You'll want to change up what's in the salad to try and find something she likes. You can also try wiggling pieces of greens in front of her and see if the movement gets her interest at all.

 

[KRayne]

Okay. I've tried wiggling the veggies but she just closes her eyes and then I will back away thinking I'm too close to her face and then she runs away from me. I'll try be patient. I haven't fed her crickets yet because I didn't get home until late, but I'll try it today. If I feed her insects every third or fourth day how do I dust the food with enough calcium and vitamin powder so she doesn't get a deficiency, especially because she is not eatting her veggies?

 

[CooperDragon]

The calcium is designed to supplement the feeder bugs which aren't balanced on their own. I'd dust the crickets as you offer them but also offer some variety to make up for the lack in quantity. The silkworms are good as are Phoenix Worms. The hope is that the combination of hunger and the lack of needed nutrients (temporarily) will draw her to the nice well-balanced salads. Once she starts getting what she needs from the salad, hopefully she'll start eating them more regularly. Just be careful and don't withhold food to the point she is losing weight. I would also offer baths to give her an opportunity to drink some water.

 

[KRayne]

Okay. I'll keep an eye on her and hopefully get her eating her veggies.
Thank you

 

[KRayne]

Lily just ate her crickets and a few minutes in the fridge definitely helped (Thanks for the tip). She even moved after them a little. And she ate veggies when I put them against her lips! (It's a start) You said that you dusted the crickets with calcium powder and I was wondering if you ever used vitamin powder?

 

[KRayne]

Lily just ate her crickets and a few minutes in the fridge definitely helped (Thanks for the tip). She even moved after them a little. And she ate veggies when I put them against her lips! (It's a start) You said that you dusted the crickets with calcium powder and I was wondering if you ever used vitamin powder?

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad the slowed down crickets helped. I dusted crickets 5 days per week with calcium and 2 days per week with multivitamin following the instructions on the bottle.