Feeding Problems - Bearded Dragon

[Beardie]

Hi we are new owners of a 4month old Eastern Bearded Dragon and very new to this. We are having some problems with getting him to eat. He will eat baby crickets and slaters with no problems (as many as we offer) but we cannot interest him in any veggies, fruit or the recommended meal suppliment (growth formula) sold to us by the pet store. we are concerned that we are only feeding him crickets at this stage, is this a problem?

We are keeping his tank at the recommended temps. We are unsure about what to do next??

Can anyone offer some advice....please help us newbies

 

[Dave]

Hi there! Bab beardies don't eat greens, as babies/juvi's they eat 80% protein 20% greens and when they are older it changes. Just wondering what are "Slaters" I have no idea what they are... Just to make sure of your enclosure, how big is it? What are temps? (35-40c basking?) (20-25c cool end?) What substrate? And do you have uvb, growth formular is normally bad, you just need calcium and multi vites.

Dave.

 

[mike72]

I would not be too worried, i have found that the younger beardeds don't tend to be that into fruit and veg, il'd just keep offering them once or twice a week and eventually they should start eating them. Sometimes it helps to get the veg moving to spike some interest in the lizards, you can do this by adding maggots or getting one of thoes vibrating dishes. another thing you could try is starving them for a couple of days and then only offering fruit and veg. Generally all it takes is a bit of a taste for them to realise its edible and then they should go gangbusters for it every time.

 

[Dave]

I would not be too worried, i have found that the younger beardeds don't tend to be that into fruit and veg, il'd just keep offering them once or twice a week and eventually they should start eating them. Sometimes it helps to get the veg moving to spike some interest in the lizards, you can do this by adding maggots or getting one of thoes vibrating dishes. another thing you could try is starving them for a couple of days and then only offering fruit and veg. Generally all it takes is a bit of a taste for them to realise its edible and then they should go gangbusters for it every time.

What do you mean by maggots? Hopefully not wild caught as they can have parasites. I'd keep the veggies in all day everyday, mist every few hours so tehy don't dry up. Then put new ones in the next day. Or try getting some silks they will stick to the veggies and they will end up getting some in with it. Keeping them in all the time if they see them or want a snack they can have them.

Dave.

 

[Beardie]

Thanks Dave & Mike for getting back to us with some advice.
To answer some of your questions, Slaters are those little bugs you find in the garden that curl up into a really tight little ball when you pick them up and they are slate in colour also, with a hard shell - pet shop recommended them - would they be ok to feed??
Our enclosure is a 2ft glass and mesh top tank with 100w infared heat lamp and also reptile ubv fluro light. We are trying to keep the tank between 25-30oC and basking area between 35-40oC, although live in the Snowy Mnts of NSW with freezing temps at the moment so have been struggling a little to keep the temp regular. Have just ordered a thermostat for the tank to help with that.
The food mix suggested by the pet shop was a Rep-Cal mix called Juvenile Bearded Dragon Food (fortified daily diet growth formula) that we mix with some warm water to make up like a weet-bix consistency. We have also been adding a calcium pdr to coat the crickets.
He just seems very quiet and not as active in the enclosure as he was when we originally bought him home a week ago....maybe just settling in?? or missing all the activity of the tank which he originally came from that had about 10 in it??

anyway thanks again for the advice, much appreciated.
Kylie & James

 

[Dave]

Ok your temps and tank is good. The infrared is red light correct? They are bad for your bearded dragon, they thrive on bright light so that could be also a reason, but probably relocation stress aswell. Slaters are you buying them? There hard shell could be bad. I'd reccomend just keeping the crickets and ordering some silk worms. You need a UVB bulb. The best bulb is a Arcadia D3 should be 30dollars and then you'll need a light fixture for it which is 15 at a bunnings or a hardware store. Rep-cal is good, no idea about the stuff you have, but there calcium multi vites are the best ones available. I think thats all I need to say. If there is anything missing or want some further help give me a PM. I've learned alot from some great people, just to name a very good bearded dragon owner would be Kirby. I have learned some stuff from him in another forum. So either give me a PM or Kirby if you need any help.

Dave.

 

[Spikie wanna cricket]

i got mine to eat them by leaving greens in the tank then one day they walked past and tasted some and ate from then on

 

[dragon lady]

try to get a accurate temp measurement
a digital thermometer is a asset..$15-20

temps should be 23* cool end.......... 38-40* under heat light head height

no lower than 20* at night

what is the habitat made from?