young beardie not eatting much, help,

[tiny789]

hi, i have just got a 6 week old beardie, hes in a 40 inch tank. with cave and rocks, and branches, UVA lamp and UVB basking lamp, i turn them off at night and put on a heating lamp with no light, he seems active, but is not eatting well, only eats around 3 small locusts a day, do give him vegies but not taken much of that. he goes to the basking end which is 40c, and then goes back to the cooler end 25c, quite often during the day, what am i doing wrong as i know he should be eatting more, i do leave a couple of locust in there when i am at work, help i would hate to loose him due to him not eatting much,

[Insect Direct]

Very hard to say, as it sounds like you have things setup correct. If its eating something every day then I wouldnt stress too much.

Is he/she alert/bright eyed?

Maybe just sick of locusts, variety is key. I feed crickets as the staple. Also cockroaches, locusts or slaters atleast once a week.

Do you have a water bowl? does it use it? wouldnt hurt to mist once a day especially if its not eating much greens or bathing in the water bowl.

[Dragonz]

You mention the temps with an f? you are meassuring with celicius and not fahrenheit? If so the tank is way to cool. I asume though you do mean celcius as you have the temps sounding good. Whats the tank droping to at night in temperature? Is it staying even or dropping heavily?

If he is eating 3 locusts or similar a day it sounds like he is doing just fine. The stress of the move will also shake him up for a little while and it may take time for him to settle down again. Keep offereing finely grated carrot and mesculin salad. Its important to get them used to it, however at the moment the baby insects need to be the main part of their diet. But don't rush their growth by over feeding.....

A mist of the tank a couple of times a day helps, I keep my misting bottle on top of my tanks so the water stays warm, a spray with cold water im sure isnt the best way for them to start their day

[alanmin4304]

25deg F is freezing so I hope it is not that cold.

[Insect Direct]

i didnt even take note of the f :oops:

[tiny789]

hi its celsius, stupid me, did get the small crickets to day, he had 9 this morning and 5 this afternoon, he must like them better, fussy little devil,

so hes doing better, still wont touch grated carrot , or dandelion, i do mist him 3 times a day, and spray some of the rocks, i did read not to put a water bowl in there at his young age, is this right ?

thanks for your feed backs,

[phrog]

I don't have a beardie at the moment but am fully thinking of getting one, so have done a lot of research. Like everyone says, small live food are the most important thing for a small beardie. However, with the vegies, try putting a few mealworms (or even crickets if they will stay there) in the veggie dish so that they make the veggies move around, attracting attention. A lot of people say mealworms are hard to digest so aren't any good to feed to dragons. Make your own mind up about that one I guess.

[Dragonz]

Well I would have to disagree with your research, I have water bowls in the tanks and they seem to spend some portion of time sitting in it to absorb moisture and stay hydrated, they of course also drink from it. I would be putting a water bowl in smartly. And eating like that, he sounds fine. Just watch the crickets though, they can prey on the little lizard at night if there is enough of them left in the tank. Good luck

[Insect Direct]

Yes definitely want a water bowl. I actually use food dish's (zoo med i think) for the water bowl as theyre shallow so safe for young ones.

They sit in it daily, do number 2's more often than not. So clean and replace water daily.

In regards to crickets, im yet to see any damage to any of my herps. And Ive been using them for the past 3/4years, at times leaving many uneaten in tanks (not recommended). As long as you have a water bowl the crickets dont seem to cause any harm. Crickets imo dont go chewing on reptiles because theyre hungry or for the sake of it, more so as they need moisture/water to survive. So without a water bowl they will try ANY thing, to survive. Beardies salad also gives the crix something to nibble.

I dont recommend leaving any live food in the setup, just feed what they will eat. If you have bugs hopping around all day I find they loose interest. I chuck a couple in, if they eat, add more. If not try again in a couple of hours. But for my adults if they dont show interest then they dont get fed, until the next day (keeping in mind they have salad daily which they eat). Sounds harsh but dam my beardies are fast when they want to be. :lol:

[Tully]

Where can I buy cockroaches from, to add more variety to my dragons diet?

[alanmin4304]

I have beardies a bit younger than yours and I put them into an icecream container every morning and spray them with water until there is an excess and they are getting a bath as well. They stay in there while I make their salad and give them clean water. Then they get a swag of calcium coated neonate locusts so they are available 24/7. I also spray a little liquid vitamins on their salad every day. Most beardies do not recognise standing water and few will drink out of a dish (some will bath in it though)

[Insect Direct]

Where can I buy cockroaches from, to add more variety to my dragons diet?

best to stick to crickets and locusts.