Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello friends, I have a 3 month old beardie that i've had for a little over a month now!! In the month that i've had him he has grown a lot more active and playful but his appetite of about 3 to 5 crickets a day has not grown. His temps are fine, I'm using newspaper as a substrate with a half log as the hide/basking spot and I dust all crickets with ReptoCal Calcium! Is there ANYTHING I can do to get his appetite up, it take him almost a week just to eat 10 crickets somtimes!!! Any info or input would be greatly appreciated!!!

About a month ago I went through something similar and it turns out my dragons were getting ready to shed. After the shed they both ate like there was no tomorrow.

The only thing I can think of is A) parasitic infection or B)your temps arent as great as you think they are. Could you give us some details about the size of the tank and the temps? Have you had a fecal done?

What exactly is your temp in the basking spot, and on the cooler end of the tank? How much UV is your UV light rated at, and how long have you had it?
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1.0.0 Dumeril's Boa, Bruce
1.0.0 Mexican Kingsnake, Vincent
1.0.0 Graybanded Kingsnake, Boris
1.1.0 Ball Pythons, Pete & Frank
2.3.0 Bearded Dragons, Bela, Sally, Caijun, Phoenix & Spook
0.1.0 Fattailed Gecko, Sahein
2.0.0 Rats, Captian Howdy & Despero
1.0.0 Pushy Lovebird Baxter

Temps should be 110 to 115 on the hot side of the tank and 80 on the cool side. The tank at this point should be about 3 to 4ft long.
Your crickets need to be no longer then the space between the eyes.
A good source of UVB lighting is also nessary. A mercury vapor bulb doubles as a heat source and UVB lighting. The UVB rays from these bulbs are quite strong and reach far into the cage. A flourecent bulb is not as strong. Your dragon must be able to get within 6 inches of it to benefit from its UVB rays. Be sure that the cage is well lit during the day. Beardies are stimulated and resond well to bright lights.
In addition to the calcium powder with D3 you should be dusting with a multivitamin like herptavite, twice a week. Be sure to offer veggies daily. You may even consider offering an additional prey source like silkworms to spark some new interest in food.
If you notice runny stools you may want to have a fecal test ran to check for parasites.

my beadies stop eating completely for about 3 days before their shed and for about a week before that they cut down drastically on what they eat