Need Helping getting Beardies to eat

[beardeddragon]

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of trouble with my baby bearded dragons, they don't like going in a smaller tub to eat and they freak out and run against the plastic walls of it, but when I feed them in their enclosure the crickets just hide everywhere and don't get eaten. How can I get them to eat in a separate tub?

Cheers

 

[Carmsdragons]

Perhaps try putting your crickets in a clear plastic container with a lid on. Put it in your enclosure and wait, your dragons should notice the crickets and want to get at them. Then you could take the lid off so they can get in, just until they get use to being in a container to eat.
Otherwise put your crickets in the fridge for 5 minutes to slow them down then put them in their bowl in the enclosure. They take a while to warm up so they aren't as fast and the dragons can capture them easier

 

[beardeddragon]

those sound like great ideas, ill give them a shot, thanks.

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I'm thinking about feeding woodies rather than crickets? Would that be better?

 

[Kit_fox]

Nope, stay with crickets

 

[Chris1]

Nope, stay with crickets

im very interested to hear your reason for that comment,....roaches are a meatier better feeder than crickets.

 

[beardeddragon]

That's what I've heard, I haven't had any luck breeding crickets and roaches seem much easier..and they don't seem like they would hide in the enclosure as much as the crickets have been going into the holes in my piece of driftwood. Are "small wood cockroaches" from pet shops good size for 2-3 month ish old beardies?

 

[Chris1]

roaches will also hide, i tend to hand feed, its a positive interaction between dragon and owner,...

Roaches are the easiest things in the world to breed. carrot and dog bikkies, a bunch of adults and you'll have a colony of perfect sized food in next to no time.

 

[beardeddragon]

Yea ok, I think it's mainly just because they are new to their home, only had them for about 5 days, they have eaten some crickets but don't eat many, and they seem to get scared by the glass of the enclosure and run against it sometimes. So with woodies if I bought a couple tubs of them from the pet shop how long would it take for them to have small babies to feed?

 

[dragonlover1]

if you've only had them 5 days give them a little bit longer to settle in,usually takes about a week.
with the feed box I also had trouble with them freaking out and trying to climb the walls so I started keeping my newbies in tubs or an old 18" tank and feeding them in-house with minimal furniture for about 6 weeks so they learned to hunt,now all are fed in their own enclosures

 

[Carmsdragons]

I'm thinking about feeding woodies rather than crickets? Would that be better?

There really isn't a right/wrong answer here. Woodies are easy to breed, crickets are readily available. Throw in some silkworms and you have a lovely varied diet for your dragon.

 

[Umbral]

If you use a jar to dust them you can put the jar in the enclosure and it takes them a while to find a way out. After doing this a few time the beardies learn that jar=food and will eat them as they come out and even go into the jar to get them.

 

[Brownbird]

I generally put woodies in the fridge for a bit, they look dead when you tke them out but within a minute they start to wriggle and will attract the beardies attention before they get a chance to hide.

 

[Kit_fox]

im very interested to hear your reason for that comment,....roaches are a meatier better feeder than crickets.

Well, its just you only really ever see crickets at pet stores... So I roaches weren't as good (I'm a bit of a 'know it all' some-times , sorry. Won't happen again)

 

[Umbral]

Roaches are great and it's easy setting up a breeding colony so that you don't need to buy food.

 

[dragonlover1]

Roaches are great and it's easy setting up a breeding colony so that you don't need to buy food.

+1 I make my own woodies (Dr Cockenroach here) but I still buy crix for a change in diet

 

[beardeddragon]

That sounds like a good idea, so put the jar on its side? maybe if I put it in the fridge and then put it on its side it would be ideal.

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Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it. So I shouldn't worry too much about them not eating at this stage? I've been offering fresh bok choy, other greens and a bit of fruit daily but they aren't very interested.

 

[Planky]

May I ask How old r these beardies you have are ?

 

[beardeddragon]

I believe the shop said they are about 2 months old, but they seem quite small.
View attachment 303665

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I'm starting to get really worried..they still aren't eating, they haven't eaten a single cricket for about 2 days and one looks quite skinny, the smaller one gets scared of his reflection and is constantly attacking/running against the glass. I don't know what to do.

 

[ingie]

What is the enclosure like? They may not have enough heat or the enclosure may be too complex. When I set up baby beardies I keep it very simple with sand on the bottom and a multi forked bit of driftwood or tree branch, or that plastic mesh stuff under a heat light, so they can choose temps of 45 degrees at the top and go lower for cooler basking. Then their food won't be able to hide.

I would wait until they are established feeders at your place, before adding anything else to the enclosure.

Also in the past when I've had a little dragon who wouldn't eat, I have puréed a bit of tinned dog food or used canned hills a/d from the vet, and syringes a bit into their mouth for a boost of energy. I would try everything else first though as that can freak them out if you are opening their mouth to put it in, and make them sulk. Mine used to love it though and wait for me to come round with a syringe so they could latch on and lap it up you can try dropping a bit on the mouth to see if they lick it up.

 

[yellowbeard]

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of trouble with my baby bearded dragons, they don't like going in a smaller tub to eat and they freak out and run against the plastic walls of it, but when I feed them in their enclosure the crickets just hide everywhere and don't get eaten. How can I get them to eat in a separate tub?

Easy fix, remove all the things in the enclosure that the crickets can hide in/under.