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I have a 40 gallon breeder a reptisun 10 and a basking spot of 105. The ambient is in the 90's on the warm end and 80 on the cool end. She is on paper towels and poops 2-3x a day. She is only about 9 weeks old or so teh breeder thinks she would be now and 5.5inches. I offered her crix when I got her and one acutally bit her and now she wont go near tehm and has a panic attack if I even bring them near her. So instead I am offering phoenix worms small since she wont touch the mediums yet when offered. Now that my husbandry has been discussed since I know I was gonna get the questions she will only eat about 20 small phoniex worms on a good day and some days she can eat as many as 50 but its always flucuating and driving me nuts. Also I have seen small and baby superworms for sale and was wondering at what size can I give those to my baby as another option. Oh yea she eats some greens daily but not much either. I am supposed to go out of town for a week soon and with her eating habbits im going nuts with having to leave her home. Any suggestions?

first off what size cricket did she try to eat but attacked her? I am guessing your size charts are a little off. Besides that I think you are on the right track...superworms have a harder shell and are high in fat so you don't want to make them your staple diet just a treat. Crickets are the way to go unlss you want to get into roaches. I would try crickets again but one at a time or 2-3 just so your beardie doesn't get confused. This can cause confusion which can cause problems. When your beardie is gowing im saying roaches and crickets are the best source for the main food source.,

I'm not a believer in Phoenix Worms. And at 9 weeks old for your dragon to be only 5 1/2 inches you need to make some changes. First I'd raise your basking temp. to 110-115. I would also put 1 or 2 small crickets in and leave them all day. Remove the crickets at night. 1/4" crix. should be fine. I've never heard of a cricket biting a dragon except when the dragon is sleeping. So I don't think it's all that traumatic and he should be OK.

First off I bought her going on 2 weeks ago and she was 5.5in so that I had no say in. IT shocked me when I went back and asked the shop owner how old she was to find out was 8 weeks old as of a week ago. She will no chase crix no matter how i do it or what size I use. I gave her the crix the shop owner was feeding and the smallest ones I could get ahold of since she is so small. I did measure her last night and she is acutally 6.25in now. I have left cix with her all day and she just hides as high as she can from them and wont eat. If I put the basking temp any higher she will not use it so 105 works for her.

If she is hanging out in the highest spot that means she is not getting hot enough. If you raise the temp and she uses a med area that is a good thing because that means she is getting hot enough and is regulating herself. I would raise it a couple degrees if you can. Maybe a couple pictures of your setup and of the beardie would help get you more help

It's a shame. You ask for help, then when some is given you get defensive and dispute each suggestion given. My suggestions are valid and you should ponder them rather than just say they'll never work. I have 26 dragons and do rescue and rehab. for local reptile vets.

Personally I see nothing wrong in your setup. Your dragon is eating plenty and growing. Just keep doing what you are doing. When you go away, arrange to have somebody you trust take care of your dragon while you are gone. A dragon as young as yours needs to be fed 2-4 meals a day of insects.

She's far too young to be fed mealworms or superworms, but small silkworms will be a great addition to the silkworms. Or small butterworms. Small soft shelled roach young will be fine too. After a couple weeks, try offering her a cricket. She may have forgotten being bit and eat them again. Alternatively you could kill a couple crickets and mix them up with the phoenix worms. She may not feel as threatened by dead crickets than she would live ones. Just make sure they are freshly dead and not the ones that die in the container (not sure if partially rotted crickets are good for dragons to eat so don't risk it).

Though crickets are an idea insect for baby dragons as they are cheap and easy to get, they are not essential when your dragon is eating other healthy insects fine.
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PHLdyPayne