Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all, I was out of town for around 4 months on and off, and had my roommates feeding him superworms for that amount of time. Now I'm back, and I can't get him to eat crickets at all! Its been almost 4 weeks now... I broke down and had to give him a few worms.. cause he just is starving himself... He's really lethargic and barely moves anymore (which I guess isn't shocking since he's not eating bugs). He is eating leafy greens.. red leaf lettuce, salad savoy, mustard greens. But that is it. He's even picky about his lettuce... doesn't like kale, or collard greens...

I'm not sure what to do! Please help! How do i get him off of eating worms and back to eating crickets?

I wouldnt worry too much about it as long as he is eating something. I have the same problem lately all but one of my dragons switched over from crix to worms, I guess they like variety too. After reading about the nutrients in supers they actually compare almost equal with crix and most worms equal out to 2 crix for portion size. I'm sure he will switch back when he gets tired of them.

Yes, but from what I've read they can have issues with impaction.. and not digesting them properly.. possibly causing death. In addition to them being really high in fat.. and poor in nutrition value...

If he's eating plenty of greens but no insects he should be fine, especially if an adult. The fact he is lethargic and hardly moving can be pointing to other issues.

How is his weight? Is he loosing any? It is always good to regularly weigh a dragon as a way to monitor weight gain and loss. Most animals don't look like they are loosing weight till they are getting very skinny and often once they look really skinny its harder to bring them back.

If there has been no weight loss or very little, the lethargy could be brumation setting in. (reptile version of hibernation)

Knowing the age and setup for your dragon will be helpful as well. Basking temperature, ambient temperature of warm and cold end, UVB light provided? Substrate etc.
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PHLdyPayne

After I started giving him the superworms.. he got MUCH fatter, and more lethargic. Now that I've stopped giving him the worms, he's lost all of that weight in about a month... It was a drastic weight drop and he doesn't eat many greens.. a finger pinch full... and some days he won't touch any at all. He is very lethargic.. much more so than he ever was.. is much more non-responsive... to anything... me, food, etc. He will lay in one spot in his cage all day/night, without moving.

He is in a critter condo.. 4'x4'x2'. He has a Reptisun 10.0 bulb as well as a halogen bulb(I forget the wattage) to bask in... which he has not been doing since the diet switch. I do not think any of this is the issue however, as he has been doing fine for the past year in these same conditions.

He's a little over 15inches long... and I believe him to be around the age of 2 years.

Any help you could provide would be much appreciated...

The weight loss has been maybe about.. 15% of his body weight, I would estimate. This was about all of the weight he had gained eating worms only in the few months prior..

Superworms are fine and no impaction risk for a dragon that size. If that's what he'll eat, that's what I'd feed. I feel you and us are missing something and I would recommend you bring him to the vet.

But what are the temps?

As below, temps are the single most important husbandry detail, and the most commonly misunderstood and overlooked.

It has a "basking spot", but at what? 75F? 95F? 130F?

Your temperature gradient is what? The cool side of the cage is what?

Temps have a significant impact on digestion, appetite, weight loss, weight gain and weight management.

What are your temps?
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Superworms are a fine staple insect for a beardie. Feed him them if he wants them.

Check www.beautifuldragons.com for a complete and thorough list of different food items that can be offered.
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

2 years old, 15" that would cause me alot of concern,
my 6 monther is already 17"
Been on Supers since she was 13-14"