Sunny seems to be a slow eater, is this normal?

[pabluewolf]

Hi folks,
Sunny seems to be a slow eater and I will explain why I say this. I can warm her up in the am (about an hour) and she looks like shes ready to go, curious and watching me close. I then give her crickets and, well she just kinda takes her time and will maybe eat 3 in about 20 minutes. I try 3 times a day as I am home all the time. I have held a cricket on the tong and she took it, but will not want a second one. Is this normal? Everything I have read says she should be eating over 60 crickets a day! I am lucky if I can get her to eat 8 in one days time. She seems healthy, and happy. She is about 10 weeks old now from what the pet store told me when I bought her. I have the set up down as an experienced reptile owner. I am just unsure of this as I was told babies eat like crazy...Should I be worried about her? I know I had a pair of snakes (Ball Pythons) and they came from the same clutch and they were very different eaters, are bearded dragons like this too?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or comments!!
Theresa

 

[WillCorbett]

Im having the same problem. I have a 6 inch baby beardie and have had her 10 days and she/he wont eat much at all. One morning it did eat 15 crickets but that was one time. Most times it eats 4 or 5 crickets. I know it about relocation stress but I thought it would be gone by now. Also he stays dark when he is in his cage, even though i have digital therms and uvb reptiesun 10 and everything just right. :/

 

[Entity]

Well how long have you had the little one? Sometimes it takes time for a bearded dragon to settle into it's environment and actually start eating. Some dragons take a lot longer than others to settle in. As much as two weeks(14 days) or maybe longer. Relocation stress is tough on babies sometimes. I know my little guy Nigel had a tough time settling in, he wouldn't take more than 4 crickets a day and that bothered me. But after some alone time, he started eating quite a bit. But I'm no expert, I'm a first timer too.

 

[daner923]

Yes, relocation stress can greatly affect appetite. If it has been more than 2-3 weeks, however, it's possible he has parasites, so you should get a fecal done. It's also possible there's some impaction. Do you keep him on sand or any other loose substrate? Have you fed him anything bigger than the space between his eyes? Have you fed him mealworms or superworms?

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Feeding]