I am fostering a bearded dragon

[Cldelsuc2011]

I have been fostering a bearded dragon for about a month. I have been feeding him critical care and a probiotic. I have not been able to get him to eat any live food. Can someone help me with how to introduce them to him. He has had small crickets and a few mealworms in his habitat at all times. If a cricket crawls on him he will flick it off and run away. Started in the end of June at 7 grams. I have him up to 20 grams but it is from critical care . Anyone have ideas to get him eating live food.

 

[KarrieRee]

First he MUST have proper lighting and correct basking temps - this is what controls the behavior of the dragon ---- temps should be 95-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer NO stick ons they are inaccurate temp is for a adult / juvie dragon - babies need temps 105-110-- next good UVB NO coils - a long tube fixture like a Zoo Med Sunblaster Nano or a Arcadia Pro T 5 --- w/ a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 or a Arcadia 12% bulb -- the dragon could of had a bad experience w/ the crickets they will bite and if he flicked and ran then hes probably been bit --- please get your basking temps and UVB in order first I would get a 24" fixture for a 40+ gallon tank ---- and this should be done ASAP---- next he needs fresh salads every morning http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
they work really good for the small insects like dubias and BSFL --
Please NO more meal worms they are good for causing impaction and NO more crickets left in the tank - please get some dubia roaches from here www.dubiaroaches.com order the size NO bigger than the space between his eyes length wise look at the chart on the website -- dust those 5 x per week w/ calcium D3 lightly coated ONCE per feeding and vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week ONCE per feeding lightly coated

 

[Cldelsuc2011]

Thank you for the information. I will make sure he has the correct lighting and heating. I am using a red light at night also. He always has fresh veggies every day. He does not seem to eat any of it though. I will try the different live insects and see if that helps.

 

[KarrieRee]

Please shut the red bulb off it disrupts their sleep and causes eye damage- dragons like it cool and dark- 65-75 at night