My beardie is barely eating

[KarrieRee]

I have ordered the thermometers and hygrometer along with the UVB light. It is all coming today. I just moved his lights closer together so they overlap, made him a salad with some wax worms, and dusted it all. He is still shedding a bit, I will give him a warm bath shortly, so he can absorb some moisture as well.

Please dust the insects- he is more likely to eat those than the salads- please use bsfl to lure him to the bowl- wax worms are very fatty and long term use and too many can cause liver issues- the bsfl are a good staple feeder use as many as you want drop them in front of him on his salads- when the uvb comes please post back on here I will help you get it set up for your tank - the screen will determine where the uvb needs to be placed and distanced-

 

[Sporeprints]

Please dust the insects- he is more likely to eat those than the salads- please use bsfl to lure him to the bowl- wax worms are very fatty and long term use and too many can cause liver issues- the bsfl are a good staple feeder use as many as you want drop them in front of him on his salads- when the uvb comes please post back on here I will help you get it set up for your tank - the screen will determine where the uvb needs to be placed and distanced-

Hi KarrieRee. I will go get some crickets for him today, they were out two days ago, for the future wax worms only for treats and he has some meal worms in there as well. They are dusted, but he is definitely avoiding them. He ate a piece of squash. I will post later on with pictures of his enclosure and the new light for guidance. Thank you so much. A quick question about the crickets. Do I drop them in his tank, or do I feed him in a separate container? Thanks again

 

[Sporeprints]

Hi KarrieRee. I will go get some crickets for him today, they were out two days ago, for the future wax worms only for treats and he has some meal worms in there as well. They are dusted, but he is definitely avoiding them. He ate a piece of squash. I will post later on with pictures of his enclosure and the new light for guidance. Thank you so much. A quick question about the crickets. Do I drop them in his tank, or do I feed him in a separate container? Thanks again

I have a report. I got his new uvb light, but I could not install it inside the cage. It is sitting on top of the cage now. It didn’t come with anything to attach it inside. I made him a salad, bought him crickets, my daughter watched him in his bath on her bed, while I setup his new lights, probes, and food. And wow, he snapped up a bunch of crickets. I let him bask a bit, and then turned off his lights. I will take pics of everything in the morning for your review. I am so happy. Also. I asked about the black fly soldier fly larvae, the person at the pet store never heard of such a thing. I know of them, cause I grow them in my compost pile for my chickens, but I also know I should not feed him those cause they could harbor parasites and bacteria. Do you have a source where I could get some? Thank you for all your help.

 

[Sporeprints]

Thank you so much. Yes I did get the tank at the pet store. It came with lights, uvb and daylight basking light, the felt carpet, and also an artificial rock for basking with a hiding place underneath it. I just turned of his purple light. I really appreciate your quick response and I am really excited to learn a lot here.

Hey! I just wanted to report that I got crickets for Giblet today, and he was happily snapping them up, after his warm bath, clean cage, and a new uvb tube light. Thank you so much for your help with it all

 

[KarrieRee]

Hey! I just wanted to report that I got crickets for Giblet today, and he was happily snapping them up, after his warm bath, clean cage, and a new uvb tube light. Thank you so much for your help with it all

Please no meal worms - www.symtonbsf.com what kind of screen is on the tank? Fine mesh or wide hole? This will determine placement and distance

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Did you purchase the 24watt light, how long of tube did you get? I had forgot to say that you can
get it to cover 1/2 to 2/3rds of the length of the tank so that he has a little portion of his tank without
UVB. I hope you get the light quickly or did you already get it now?
How is he doing today?
It sounds like he was eating a lot also, that is wonderful! I think he will be just fine.
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[Sporeprints]

Hello,

Did you purchase the 24watt light, how long of tube did you get? I had forgot to say that you can
get it to cover 1/2 to 2/3rds of the length of the tank so that he has a little portion of his tank without
UVB. I hope you get the light quickly or did you already get it now?
How is he doing today?
It sounds like he was eating a lot also, that is wonderful! I think he will be just fine.
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

I got the light the day after I made this post, it is a tube light and it takes up 2/3rds of the top of the cage. And he is doing so amazing. He ate 40 crickets today LOL, a bunch of kale and two pieces of yellow squash! I giggled every time he snapped up a cricket. Today I had to go buy more crickets, and when he saw me with them, he leaped off his basking spot and attacked the container. He is so darn cute, I am in love. I have been dipping the crickets in water and then in a tiny bit of calcium. He is crazy for them. I also ordered some black soldier fly larvae, I hope he will like those.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, I am glad you have the tube bulb all set up for him. So he is enjoying the UVB light?
That's wonderful he is eating a lot now, plenty of bug & greens then. It is a lot of fun to watch them
chase the poor crickets. He should like the black soldier fly larvae also, most of them tend to.
Keep us posted on him. I hope he continues to do well!

Tracie

 

[Sporeprints]

Hello,

Great, I am glad you have the tube bulb all set up for him. So he is enjoying the UVB light?
That's wonderful he is eating a lot now, plenty of bug & greens then. It is a lot of fun to watch them
chase the poor crickets. He should like the black soldier fly larvae also, most of them tend to.
Keep us posted on him. I hope he continues to do well!

Tracie

Thank you! I am so happy! Do you know of a reputable source to buy crickets in bulk? I looked up a few on Amazon, but most of them have bad reviews with crickets coming in dead.

 

[xp29]

Get the banded crickets if you can, they live better and are quiter. I think ghan sells them

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The banded crickets, actually are pretty nice crickets, the size is small to moderate. They are
very easy to take care of, also. Yes, Ghan's website is the only site I believe that sells them.
Let us know how everything is going!

Tracie

 

[Sporeprints]

Hello,

Great, I am glad you have the tube bulb all set up for him. So he is enjoying the UVB light?
That's wonderful he is eating a lot now, plenty of bug & greens then. It is a lot of fun to watch them
chase the poor crickets. He should like the black soldier fly larvae also, most of them tend to.
Keep us posted on him. I hope he continues to do well!

Tracie

Hi Tracie! I have a question about the black soldier fly larvae and a general comment about my bearded dragon’s eating habits. He really loves the larvae. Is it true that bsfl have the ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio, and don’t need to be sprinkled with calcium? Also do I need to feed him crickets? Or can I just stick with bsfl? He is eating so much. Yesterday he ate about 70 bugs. Is this too much? He weighs 43 grams. He shed when we I got him and his tail has turned white, I read that this is a sign he is about to shed again.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, the BSFL are normally gutloaded & have a naturally higher calcium content. So you shouldn't
need to dust them. He ate 70 of them yesterday? They are pretty small though. If they are working
well for him you can stick with those for awhile. Crickets or roaches would be a good addition eventually
for some variety for him.
If you wanted to be sure he was getting enough calcium you can dust them once weekly just to be sure
he gets plenty of calcium for his growing body!
I am happy that he is doing so well!
His tail does sound like it is going to shed.

Tracie

 

[kingofnobbys]

Please no meal worms - www.symtonbsf.com what kind of screen is on the tank? Fine mesh or wide hole? This will determine placement and distance

I restrict mealworm and superworm consumption.
If hatchling is < 12 inches nose to tip of tail ==> no mealworm lavae , no superworm lavae , an occasion mealworm pupae and the freshly emerged mealworm beetles ( still light coloured and soft ) are OK as a treat.
Only staple worms I currently give are BSF lavae , if you can source 1" long silkworms == excellent staples too.

My 5 mth old (new pair) Godzilla (M) 80.8g ~ 12" NTT , Zoe (F) 91.5g ~ 15" NTT are now big enough to get supers and mealworms as TREATS .

My staples for them
are Med to Lg crickets ( gut loaded w/ P.Choy or B.Choy or Sum Choy , repcal adult beardie pellets & carrot - one meal of crickets / day - I handfeed to I know who got what, 16 lg each
BSFL in a worm escapeproof dish (I gut load these with choi stalks (chopped) I leave the BSFL (about 60 in the shared mega tub overnight) and often see both raiding the BSFL dish.
BS flies ( as a treat with crickets & BSFL )
mix of choi greens roughly chopped ( Zoe loves her greens , rarely see Godzilla at the salad dish )

I keep a daily log , here's an extract

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Please keep us posted on your dragon's progress!

Tracie