Picky eater. Not eating enough Crickets!

[Tangerinebeardie]

Ok so Dexter is about 7 months old hes about 17 and 1/2 inches long and 344 grams. He usually dives into the crickets but ever since I got these new crickets they are the jamacian whatever crickets. He has been eating less. He will go in the bowl and eat but he just doesn't eat as many. I put maybe 20 or so in in the morning and he will still have about 10 left in the bowl in the evenings. Before I got the new crickets I had to feed him some dubia because I ran out of crickets. I have been leaving a couple dubia in the bowl with the crickets to entice him which seems to work for a few seconds but now he mostly just eats the dubia and will eat maybe 3 or 4 crickets and leave the bowl. I also give him a couple superworms too. Could he just be spoiled on the dubia and superworms? I cannot feed a lot off the dubia because I just started the colony and want to give it a chance to grow. If I try to hand feed him a cricket he turns his nose up or away but offer him a dubia or superworm and he snaps it up. ugh its so frustrating because he was doing great on the normal crickets and he was ok with the new ones for the first few days but now has slacked off of them and just seems to only want dubia or superworms. His poop seems normal. Has a BM everyday. He gets a fresh salad everyday. I was feeding turnip greens but then he got bored from that so I started collards and yellow squash today which he ate ( not all but some of it) .

 

[my1stBD]

Yup i think you have a case of a spoiled dragon on your hands here............. Mine did the exact same thing. Had crickets for forever untill she got a taste of roach and supers :mrgreen:
It got to the point where i got rid of my cricket colony and started breeding roaches and supers.

Try ordering more roaches till your colony gets established enough to feed off of. It does take time but is sooooooooooo worth it in the end. Being self sufficient with feeders and having them eat a better quality feeder as well.
Also have you tried other feeders in the meantime till your roaches get to a feeding point?

 

[Tangerinebeardie]

Yeah I starting to breed some superworms too and today I caught my roaches doing the nasty so maybe I will have baby roaches soon yay! Didn't think I would ever be saying that about roaches. lol Today he ate better. I just made a really nice salad for him this morning and left the crickets in his bowl all day and he seemed to have eaten more and I gave him 3 supers and he went to his cricket bowl afterwards to nosh on a few. Still leaving a few crickets in the bowl but seems to be eating more than he was a few days ago. He really is spoiled rotten. I have tried reptiworms but he got bored of those. I will try maybe some horns and silks as occasional feedings when I get my paycheck. Money has been a little tight. I just got a new job so hopefully that will change.

 

[my1stBD]

Yeah I starting to breed some superworms too and today I caught my roaches doing the nasty so maybe I will have baby roaches soon yay!Yup real soon, at 1st i thought it would never get going properly, but now i have soooooooooooo many

Didn't think I would ever be saying that about roaches. Me neither, never thought i would willingly have roaches in my house.
Creepy little buggers but ive gotten used to them and theyre sooooo much better than cricks, less noise, less stink, and dont die off as quick.

lol Today he ate better. I just made a really nice salad for him this morning and left the crickets in his bowl all day and he seemed to have eaten more and I gave him 3 supers and he went to his cricket bowl afterwards to nosh on a few. Still leaving a few crickets in the bowl but seems to be eating more than he was a few days ago.
Question?????????? How do you keep the crickets inside the bowl? Dont they jump out? Or do you remove the jumping legs?

He really is spoiled rotten. I have tried reptiworms but he got bored of those. I will try maybe some horns and silks as occasional feedings when I get my paycheck. Money has been a little tight. I just got a new job so hopefully that will change.
Mine is spoiled as well, she will only eat GREEN stuff (with the exception of butternut) SHe absolutely refuses any other colour. The being strapped for cash was also my main reason for breeding my own feeders and i also grow my own greens. So the only dragon expense i have now is power and UVB lights

 

[Tangerinebeardie]

I keep them in a deep ceramic bowl and its slippery so they cannot climb out. Some of them can jump out but he eventually catches them or I just pick them up out of the cage in the evenings. I found a giant round bowl that I used for a while that he could fit his whole body in and lay in there and eat the crickets but then he started to poop in it too and it was gross so now its back to the smaller bowl lol. I want to start growing my own greens too. I have plans for my hubby to build some planter boxes in the backyard to grow some veggies. Dexter loves the yellow squash but I have to cook it a little for him to eat it. He refuses to eat it raw. Maybe its the smell or something. He is such a spoiled dragon. :roll:

 

[my1stBD]

Maybe its the smell or something

Yup slightly cooking it does enhance the smell