Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We got a very small hatchling beardie 1 week ago. He's been doing good. He's very alert and seemingly quite good natured about being picked up, sprayed with water, etc.. We're feeding him small crickets and he normally eats about 5 per day, but today he doesn't want to eat any. The weird thing is that he pounced on it, grabs it and then spits it out. He's caught and released two different crickets multiple times today.

I'm very worried about him, is this normal behavior?

Please give more info. Basking temps. hot, cool side, etc. How big is the dragon? What size crix. (pet store smalls are 3/8" which may be too big) are you feeding?

If you want a "from the hip" I'm guessing the crickets you are offering are to large and that the basking temperature is too low.

Thanks for the response. We've got our beardie in a 40 gallon tank (which I realize is a bit big for him now -- unfortunately we didn't know that when we got him). We've measured temperatures all over the tank and it goes anywhere from 80 degrees on the bottom of the cool side to 108 degrees on top of his favorite basking place. He has other basking areas that range from 90-100 degrees and he moves around a lot.

The crickets are the smallest ones we could get at PetCo and we choose the smallest ones to feed -- but all the really small ones are gone. I would guess that 3/8" is about the size I fed him today. We've ordered some 1/4" crickets from premiumcrickets.com, they're being overnighted so we should get them tomorrow.

If the problem is just bad crickets will he be okay for another day? We do have finely chopped collard greens and carrots out for him but he doesn't eat much of that.

(My husband thinks our crickets just taste bad!)

it is possible he doesn't like the taste of the crickets...but if they are too big, he may be rejecting them because of that as well, or if he is nervous. The crickets should be the same size or smaller in length than the space between the dragon's eyes.

If he is rejecting crickets now, try silkworms, of your local store has them, or phoenix worms. These are both great feeders and give your dragon some variety. Also, 5 crickets a day is not very much for a baby dragon.MOst should be eating at least 20 a day..spread over 2-3 meals.

I suggest increasing his basking spot to around 115F with cooler areas he can go to. Babies like the extra heat and it is ok to have a hot basking area, as long as there are cooler areas he can go to.

One trick I have found in the past that works most times, if your crickets are too big, is to cut them in half. Most times there is still enough movement left for your dragon to eat them right away. A little gross to do but anything to get your dragon to eat more, the better.

It is also a good ideal to section off part of that large cage, especially if it looks like he is stressed or nervous in the large cage.
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PHLdyPayne

Should he be eating 20 of these crickets a day, even as a 4-5" hatchling? How long should we leave them in the cage? Generally we put in one cricket at a time until he's no longer interested in the new cricket and we remove the cricket. Should we leave crickets in the cage during the day?

a 4-5" hatchling is very small and often difficult to get thriving.

A dragon that young should eat more than 20 crickets a day but these should be 1/8" crickets. Not all dragons will eat that many but most will.

Giving the size of your dragon and the size of the cage, that could be the problem. Either he is having a hard time catching crickets before they vanish into the large cage, he feels intimidated by all the open space etc. I suggest moving him into a smaller cage, say a 20 gal long tank, If you have all the big light fixtures set up for the bigger tank, you can always put the smaller tank inside the bigger one, or just section off half of hte 40 gal you are using.

Make sure your little guy is well hydrated. Bathing daily can do this or regular misting with luke warm water several times a day.
I also suggest leaving him alone as much as possible, till he eats regularly on his own, then you can start handling him for a few minutes every day.

The important things to watch for is if he is active, alert, basks willingly and does eat on his own. He should look nicely filled out with no bulging hip bones or sunken areas behind the eyes. If he is lathargic, as hip bones sticking out etc, then something is definitely wrong.

Crickets can be left in a container all day, provided they are visible to your dragon (a ceramic dish resting near the base of a branch or rock the dragon can get on easily, will ensure he can see the crickets (next to the basking log is good, just make sure the crickets are not directly in the heat, else they will quickly die). All crickets should be removed before lights out, as living crickets left in the cage can prey upon your dragon while he sleeps.

Some phoenix worms may entice your dragon, these are pretty wiggly, don't get too big and are great sources of calcium and portein for young dragons.
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PHLdyPayne

I'm still at a loss. You didn't say how big your dragon is. Is he over 6" long? Baby dragons always seem to love crickets. Are you dusting them with calcium? What brand?

He's very small, probably 4-5" long from tip of nose to tip of tail. My husband stopped and bought some smaller crickets on the way home from work and he ate 5 of them right away! He's basking right now.

>>He's very small, probably 4-5" long from tip of nose to tip of tail. My husband stopped and bought some smaller crickets on the way home from work and he ate 5 of them right away! He's basking right now.

Problem solved! Good job. I don't have a beardie (yet!) but I've kept countless reptiles and I've noticed that what you described is typical behavior in many herps when prey items are too large. Sometimes they won't even try to eat it, but often they will catch it and then realize it's too big and release it.
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Guessing 1/4" should be OK. The only problem with buying a bulk of 1/4" crix. is that in a week they will probably be too big. You should put a bunch of them in and let him eat all he will in a 1/2 hour then collect the rest. You should do this twice or 3 times a day. I take everything out of the cage when I do this so there is no place for them to hide. The crickets should be dusted each meal with a Calcium Supplement (No Phosphorus and no Vitamin A - RepCal is best) Once a week dust with a multivitamin. (again no Vitamin A) I would also offer a salad all day. I'd offer Mustard Greens and Romaine to get him started, torn into small pieces. Romaine is not a great choice but the babies seem to love it.

Romaine isn't a good choice but when mixed with a good choice, such as mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, etc. what romaine lacks is balanced by what the more healthier greens provide. The one thing about romaine is it seems to be a favorite for dragons, thus it entices them to eat greens.

However at the age your dragon is, he isn't going to be too interested in greens but it is good to always have some finely chopped greens available. To bring their attention to the greens, dropping some crickets right on top helps alot. They tend to eat a bit of greens with the bugs and they realize that mass of green stuff is food too. Dropping clinging bugs like silkworms, butter worms and small horn worms helps get them to eat greens too, as these worms tend to hang onto anything their pseudo feet can grip.
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PHLdyPayne