Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been feeding a diet of salads, crix, and the occasional mealworm and my beardies eat all of this well. I recently ordered Rep-Cal pellets and tried them for the first time yesterday- bought both the adult and juvenile pellets for the respective sized beardies. I moistened them and mixed them in with salad and as far as I can tell, none of my dragons has eaten even one pellet. Any helpful hints or advice to help them get started eating these pellets?

Some people have found it helpful to soak and soften them in apple juice instead of water. It takes time. My dragon eventually began to eat them.

Q: How do I get my Beardie to eat pellets?
A: There are several different brands of pellets. Some Beardies show a preference for different brands, sometimes you have to trick them to get them started. Put a large paper plate in the cage and bounce the pellets off it, drop them in one at a time. BDs are attracted by movement. You can also try soaking them in different juices (no sugar added) then bounce them in. Offer the pellets first thing before other foods about an hour after lights on and then again throughout the day. Don't starve him if he won't eat them but try for a few days with only offering pellets. You can also feed moistened pellets to the crix about 1 hour before you feed them to your BD. The scent of the pellets will get on them and he may learn to associate the smell.

more answers can be found at

Link

-----
Bennett

Home of the Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com

I found I could stick a piece of fish line through the moistened pellet and dangle it nearby. It doesn't hold very long though, and with much movement it will fall off.
-----
ETChipotle

I like the ideas, above; I do have to say that with several beardies the fishline idea is not practical.
Thanks to all for taking the time to reply.