Not eating crickets?

[Blaze]

well to start things off.
ive had my bearded dragon for about 2 weeks.
hes had no issues so far other than a little cut on his foot.
his temperatures are 85 degrees on the warm side and 104 on the hot end, hes 6 months old.
and has been fed mealworms. greens. and crickets. for a single day.
i ran out of crickets and fed him some roaches i had.
they were the ones i use as the clean up crew in my cresties cage.
so he fell in love. and ever since he refuses to eat meal worms and crickets.
but loves to eat roaches.
he shows no interest when i let the crickets free in his cage. but if i show him the roaches, he goes beserk trying to get ahold of them.
so my question is how to get him to eat crickets and mealies again.
if i squeeze their guts out (yes gross but the only way itll work.) and place it on his nose he licks it and eventually will eat it.
i dont have the most time in the world so i cant constantly be feeding him by hand.
do you guys have any advice?
these are the only feeders i have to give him.
the roaches were only used to hold him off for a day.
and i totally regret it.

he has no uvb. but i take his tank lid off.
and he gets full sunlight from a window.
the window opens up, and he gets direct sunlight for at least 6 hours a day.
so i know its doing him good.
thanks for all the advice in advance.

 

[catUK]

If they try other things they prefer then it 'spoils' them so to speak. I think all you can do is be persistant with the crickets and he will eventually eat them when he is hungry. Also stay away from the mealworms- they are bad for beardies as they have a hard shell they can't digests, which could lead to impaction.

 

[Blaze]

Ok so I just stick to my guns and offer him the crickets until he gets hungry enough to eat them. Has this ever happened to you before? I'm just worried sick that he's going to starve himself. He's been eating his greens so that's not an issue. Thanks for the reply

 

[fez09]

I have 6 beardies and they each have their likes and dislikes, I would just keep feeding him the roaches, they're more nutritious than crickets anyway.

 

[catUK]

My beardie has had times where she's completely gone off her crickets and then suddenly loves them again. I fed mine locusts once and she refused crickets but soon got back on them. it has worried me in the past when she's showed little interest in crickets but she has always gone back to her normal 'live food loving' self. If they are about to or are shedding then their appetite goes down considerably. Could yours be shedding? Also you can feed beardies baby food which gives them the nutrition and protein if they are not eating their live food. Like fez09 said, roaches are very nutritious and are a good staple (not sure how expensive they are though- i cant get them in UK). Once you've had your beardie a while you will learn about his traits and learn more about his eating patterns etc- so you will relax a bit. ive had my beardie 3 months and remember how worrying things are at the beginning! Hope this helps a bit

 

[boxerLvr]

I started my own roach colony after following advice on here. Cheaper then crickets, no smell to them and very easy to do. Not sure if its something youd be interested in or not. I have 4 beardies ranging in age from 6 months to 3 years and my oldest won't touch a cricket, but will go crazy for the dubias where any of the other dragons will eat either or. Sometimes I offer them crickets just for a change of pace. Only thing they are finiky over is their salads. One likes red items, another like yellow items.. you get the point lol

 

[Blaze]

well i would use roaches but dubia roaches are illegal where i live.
i used some roaches from my geckos clean up crew.
they eat leftover waste and mold.
but i dont have any other feeders other than mealworms and crickets.
i have no problem feeding roaches.
but it would take to long to buy, get them here, and establish a self sustaining colony.
i guess ill have to feed baby food until he goes back to crickets.
thanks for all the replies i appreciate it so much.

 

[Blaze]

bump.
i still need help

 

[Blaze]

bump.
i still need help