Hello! I just got a BD for my son for Christmas. He’s wanted one for years! We’ve been doing a lot of research and everywhere I look it seems like young bearded dragons should be eating way more than what our little guy is eating. He only eats about 3-4 crickets per feeding, 3x a day. Is this normal?
Hi there,
congrats on the new little buddy. Could you give a rundown on how you are taking temps, what the temps are, and what kind of bulbs you are using for basking/uvb? By the look of your setup I assume you have a coil uvb which isn't ideal, the tube versions like this one provide a better source of uvb https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-2606...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
What type/brand of UVB are you using?
Lighting & temperatures are vital to their health & greatly affect the appetite, too.
A youngster should be eating mostly protein, but hopefully some vegetation also.
Can you review your tank setup some, such as the temperatures too & the type of
thermometer you are using?
Thanks so much for the reply and congratulations! . We are using a digital infrared thermometer, ZooMed’s Reptisun 10.0 UVB, ZooMed’s Repti basking spot lamp, and the box to the dome light says it’s ceramic sockets with polished aluminum? It was part of a kit. The basking side is ranging from 108-110 (hammock is about 6 inches from the lamp) and the cooler side is about 78-83. His mouth is often open when he is basking! I also have the lights on a timer. On at 7:00a and off at 8:30p
This morning I put several crickets in his tank but he only ate 3 on his own. I usually have to hand feed him to eat a little more. For the first time he ate 10 in total this morning! How can I get him to eat more on his own? He’s not eating the crickets from me like he’s sick or anything, he’s super fast to chow down on them but refuses to eat them on his own. I usually offer him a small piece of kale everyday but he only eats it if I hand feed him.
Relocation stress. His eating sounds normal for a new baby. They take a couple weeks to settle in, but once they do be prepared. They will eat like a cow. Once my guy got over relocation stress I was spending a couple hundred dollars a month on roaches for him.
Also chiming in for one thing. Are the crickets smaller than the space between the little ones eyes? Make sure any insects are smaller than space between the eyes, which is a good rule no matter how big he grows
Relocation stress. His eating sounds normal for a new baby. They take a couple weeks to settle in, but once they do be prepared. They will eat like a cow. Once my guy got over relocation stress I was spending a couple hundred dollars a month on roaches for him.
Oh wow a couple of weeks! Ok, I’ll keep an eye on him. Im looking forward to seeing him run after all the crickets. I just ordered small Dubia roaches that should be arriving Monday. Hopefully he’ll get excited over those. Are there any signs to look for in case I need to switch out the UVB light?
Also chiming in for one thing. Are the crickets smaller than the space between the little ones eyes? Make sure any insects are smaller than space between the eyes, which is a good rule no matter how big he grows
I realized that a few of the small crickets I was getting from PetSmart were a little too big for him but he went after them. The ones I ordered online were a lot smaller but he definitely didn’t run after those. I had to hand feed all of them. Can’t figure this little guy out. I’m hoping it is just relocation stress.
The UVB coil should be replaced w/ the first poster that posted- he is going thru relocation stress so his eating will be off-- the basking temps should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer/ also a infrared heat gun - it is a good investment- the probe can be purchased at Petco or PetSmart for around $5 the heat gun at your local home improvement store $10-12-- dubia roaches are more nutritional than crickets and are not that spendy-- you can get 200 for around $40- they are easier to keep than crickets and last longer than crickets- here are some websites for dubias--- http://www.dubiaroaches.com--http://www.abdragons.com---http://www.mulberryfarms.com---http://www.joshsfrogs.com-- I also recommend getting him some bsfl-- they are a great staple feeder and don't require dustng as they are full of calcium-- they are great to use to put on top of their salads -- along w/ some super worms 1-3-- it will entice him to bowl -- feed the salad first thing in morning before feeding him his salad-- bsfl can be ordered from here http://www.symtonbsf.com--- if you order some bsfl order large they are really small please ask if you have anymore questions --- I can't stress enough on the lighting in the tank is crucial to the overall health of your dragon --- UVB and basking temps
Karrie
The UVB coil should be replaced w/ the first poster that posted- he is going thru relocation stress so his eating will be off-- the basking temps should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer/ also a infrared heat gun - it is a good investment- the probe can be purchased at Petco or PetSmart for around $5 the heat gun at your local home improvement store $10-12-- dubia roaches are more nutritional than crickets and are not that spendy-- you can get 200 for around $40- they are easier to keep than crickets and last longer than crickets- here are some websites for dubias--- http://www.dubiaroaches.com--http://www.abdragons.com---http://www.mulberryfarms.com---http://www.joshsfrogs.com-- I also recommend getting him some bsfl-- they are a great staple feeder and don't require dustng as they are full of calcium-- they are great to use to put on top of their salads -- along w/ some super worms 1-3-- it will entice him to bowl -- feed the salad first thing in morning before feeding him his salad-- bsfl can be ordered from here http://www.symtonbsf.com--- if you order some bsfl order large they are really small please ask if you have anymore questions --- I can't stress enough on the lighting in the tank is crucial to the overall health of your dragon --- UVB and basking temps
Karrie
It was going well for a few days but now he’s not eating anymore. I ordered the dubia roaches and he loved them! He got super excited and would pace the tank waiting to eat them every feeding. Well, I was happy he was finally eating on his own so I reordered the Dubias and then I got an email saying my order was cancelled and that my previous order was accidentally mailed out to me because I live in Florida and Dubias are illegal in Florida. So now my beardie doesn’t want anything to do with all the other bugs. I’ve tried everything. Got a container of BSF, crickets, mealworms just sitting there and whatever I offer him he just licks it and closes his eyes. He always eats kale however. This is really frustrating. He hasn’t had protein in 3 days!
Also, he’ll just eat the calcium dust that’s laying around the bugs. Is this normal?
Yes that is normal he needs the calcium- look at ordering discoid roaches in fla--- they are similar to dubias--- let me get the website I will post it
Karrie