Feeding Baby Beardie - Help Needed

[mjohan]

Hi all. Im the new owner of a baby yellow phase inland beardie and having a few problems getting him to eat. Melamine Tank setup is 90x40x40 with newspaper substrate. 2ft UV light + 75w reflector globe for heat. Warm end of the tank sits between 34-35 degrees, with the colder end on about 26 degrees. Theres one log under the basking light and a rock on the other end.

Ive got a mixutre of Buk Choy and Choy Sum, with a bit of grated carrot. All dusted with a bit of reptivite and reptical, aswell as small crickets dusted with the same. Ive diced the greens and vegies into bit size pieces, but cannot get him to eat anything. Ive tried dangling pieces in front of him with tweezers and my fingers, dropping it in front of him but he doesnt seem interested. Ive put the salad on a small plate inside the enclosure, but he didnt touch any of it. He just closes his eyes when i put the food close to him. Ive tried doing this both in his enclosure, aswell as a feeding container. He does the same thing with crickets. However, he has chased and eaten 3 crickets when i put them into the enclosure with him.

Just looking for advice on how to get him to eat!

[alex_c]

how old is he? usually younger dragons are only interested in insects. but they will eat vegies and salad when they are ready.

[mjohan]

He is only a hatchling, so 1-2 weeks old i believe.

[Emski]

Put the crickets in the fridge for 10 minutes, this will slightly paralyze them till they thaw out gives the dragon more of a chance of catching them, then slowly stop doing that.

I did this for my 6m old and now she catches them great

hope this helps

[mckellar007]

get some small crix, he should go nuts

[venus]

Your beardie might just need to settle in for a few days.

When I got my girl, she wouldnt eat, so I took the following advice. It might help you.

You can put a few drops of water on his snout (with an eye dropper or your finger) to get him to lick and drink, as that helps appepite. Otherwise take him out and lightly mist him with warm water.

Get a separate plastic tub for feeding, and put your beardie in this in the enclosure, a little towards the warm end.
Leave him alone for 10 mins, then drop in a few dusted crickets (you can slow them down in the fridge for a few minutes before). Cover the enclosure and leave beardie alone for 10 mins and see if he has eaten.

They soon get the hang of it. Just make sure your temps are right, and he is warm before and after eating.

[venus]

Just another thought, at that age, he might not be used to eating vegies, so keep offering them in tiny amounts every day, just take them out at the end of the day if not eaten.

Also, dont feed crix directly in the enclosure, (use the feeding tub) as they can hide (any ones that arent eaten that is lol) and then come out and chomp on your beardie when they sleep.

[dragon lady]

droping water on their nose gives them the sensation to lick...dunking tiny pieces of greens into beardies water then wiping his mouth...will help
the temp in a feed tub is different to habitat.....place feed tub in habitat...with crickets in it
even if you get a smaller feed tub.should help

[mjohan]

Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. Just thought id give you all an update. He still doesn't want to eat when i place him inside the feed tank inside the enclosure, nor when i put the crickets near his mouth. The only way i can get him to eat is to hold the crickets near him and touch his tail to get his mouth to open, then i just put the crickets in his mouth and he munches them away, will eat 2-3 small crickets before he wil refuse them. Is this an ok way to feed him for the time being or should i stop this?

I've also added some pics of him and his enclosure.

[dragon lady]

your getting him to eat,well done!
as long as you are doing this several times per day...
generally once their belly is full & they then have done the doo..
the empty tummy feeling will make them want to fill it!

[Chris1]

warm end needs to be 40-42, its way too cool to digest well.

perservere with the bugs, but dont expect him to eat salad yet (keep offering it tho)

if he refuses to eat anything @ all mush up some beardy pellets with hot water (they mush quicker that way) and use a syringe to drip it on his nose, gently part his lips with ur finger nail so he tastes it and he should start licking it up.

do that every second day so hes still hungry fro cricks, but doesnt go down hill due to starvation/dehydration.