Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got my first bearded Sunday. He is 4-5 months according ot the dealer, and I named him Max. I have owned a couple of green igs for a few years now, so I figured this guy won't be too difficult. When I got him home I gave him a salad, which he didn't eat any of. Later I gave him some crickets which he scarfed down greedily.
Then yesterday I gave him a salad in the morning, which he still didn't touch. I didn't give him any crickets cause there was still 1 or 2 roaming about from the previous day. today another salad, and he still didn't touch it. I put in some crickets this evening and he only ate a couple. Now there's like 15 crickets running around his terrarium. I took him out for now, and I guess I'll have to catch all the crickets. I read somewhere that they will nibble on him if I don't. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,

Erik

Ok, lemme tackle them one at a time.

1) Keep offering him salad. In a few weeks he'll start eating it, just be consistent and every day put a good combination of greens (You probably know this from owning igs, but use good greens like kale, collard, dandelion, etc.). He'll eat them sooner or later.

2) What substrate are you using? If sand, with a little guy like him, use a seperate feeding tank that has no substrate. I use a large critter keeper. To remove crickets, just get like a coffee grounds can or a pringles can, and scoop the crickets in with the lid. It's just a thing I do with them, but, I leave them in there for the next day, so if theres anything in the dragons tank that gets them sick with something they won't spread it to the other crickets. Always gutload your crickets, greens are good for gutloading, the same you feed your dragon with. And, yes, never leave crickets in overnight, they can do a horrible amount of damage.

He's probably not going to eat alot because he's adjusting to his new enviornment and a bit stressed. If in two weeks he's still not eating well (Or even before that) get a checkup done or just have a fecal done. To avoid parasites, alot of us successfully use ParaZap, a herbal, 100% natural parasite preventative, and also has reportedly been used to get rid of existing parasites. www.parazap.com .

Hope I answered your Q's.

Thanks a lot. I had gone to the store to pick up some supplies, and when I got back the number of crickets had thinned surpisingly. Also he's eaten 1 or 2 since I got back, so I guess he's alright. Do I have to worry about overfeeding him? I am going to take a fecal to the vet no matter what anyway because I have to go get my ig's nails dremmeled next week. Thanks again for the assistance.

Erik

Go Noles!!!!

No, just let him eat as much as he can in 10-15min.

Generally for young beardies you want to feed them as many crix that they can eat in about 15 minutes twice a day. He probably wont touch the veggies for a while. Mine seemed to start trying them around 6 months old. You may have better luck with him trying other veggies like squash, green beans, or parsnips etc then try sneaking in some greens. Try not to leave crix in the cage. Instead of dumping in a dozen try 3 then after he eats them 3 more...then 3 more etc til he seems finished. Also if you have a lot of things in the tank he may just not see them. He should still be on paper towels at this point but if not, seperate tank feeding would be better.