New baby beardie issues

[T&KBrouse]

We had a brand new baby beardie given to us last night. We have an adult beardie, but she was full grown when we got her, so I have no experience taking care of babies, whatsoever.
I tried giving him very small (3/8) crickets today and he just freaked! He didn't want anything to do with them.

Any beardie folks have hints for getting the little guy to eat?

 

[Euphoric]

I would handfeed so the crickets don't move as much, but maybe just leave a couple in there and he may figure out he can catch them.

He looks skinny so I suggest waxworms right now too. Dont forget the greens, rip up in tiny tiny shreds. Don't use iceberg lettuce the nutritional value is very low you want dark leafy greens.
I had a baby that would only eat worms and greens for a long time that small.

Also, if he is in a large cage it may hinder him too. A ten gal would be great for his size, but if he is in a twenty catching food can be real hard on him.
I know you have to uprgrade up and up soon but if your good at it, if you keep the tags on the tank you can bring them back to the store and exchange them (shhh I used to work at petsmart. Just a small secret)

 

[clear]

I would handfeed so the crickets don't move as much, but maybe just leave a couple in there and he may figure out he can catch them.

He looks skinny so I suggest waxworms right now too. Dont forget the greens, rip up in tiny tiny shreds. Don't use iceberg lettuce the nutritional value is very low you want dark leafy greens.
I had a baby that would only eat worms and greens for a long time that small.

Never feed waxworms, they are very fatty and some dragons once they eat them will not eat anything else! Also if you just got him, give him a few days to settle down then try to feed him. Crickets should be any larger than the space between his eyes. You can try softbody worms like silkworms and hornwoms. Mealies, wax and butters are bad for dragons. Also do you have a UVB for him?

 

[Euphoric]

IMO you can feed waxworms. I have helped my baby dragon in the past and my leos fatten up using waxworms, and they were happy to transition to mealworms. And mealworms you do have to crush the head to feed but I have never experienced any problems.

 

[T&KBrouse]

Thanks for the tips. He's in a 10 gallon currently, as thats all we had on hand last night when he showed up.
I still have to go get him a UV light. Matt called to see if we would take him and showed up 30 minutes later with him, so we are having to make it up as we go until Tuesday morning when I can get him better situated.
Do you think he could take Beardie Bites? (I believe they are made by Nature Zone)

 

[Kristi23]

I started mine on phoenix worms and then moved onto roaches. I tried crickets in the beginning, but it never worked out too well. He did eventually learn how to eat them, but I didn't like having them around. I do remember that mine didn't eat for about 5 days after I got him, too. Make sure the temps are all correct or he might not eat.

 

[clear]

IMO you can feed waxworms. I have helped my baby dragon in the past and my leos fatten up using waxworms, and they were happy to transition to mealworms. And mealworms you do have to crush the head to feed but I have never experienced any problems.

You can feed them but they are not recommended, also mealworms are a big no-no for baby beardies also, baby beardies have a tightly squeezed intestinal track that the shells of the mealworms get caught in. This is a reason why you shouldn't feed superworms until at least 16" of length. Crushing the head of a mealworm or superworm is a myth.

A great forum for beardies is http://www.beardeddragon.org

 

[Euphoric]

I heard about not giving mealworms to babies but I didn't know about that!

 

[Echostatic]

id have to recommend www.bearded-dragons.com but i can tell you that you dont want to feed a mealworm to a bearded dragon. not only are they hard for a bearded dragon to digest, but they have a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1:25. all that phosphorous is going to render the calcium useless. the only staple feeder worm that is acceptable is silkworms. otherwise you can use crickets or roaches.

you dont want to fatten a dragon up on fatty worms. a dragon eating as many crickets roaches or silkworms as it wants will gain weight naturally. as for its refusing to eat crickets, this is normal for getting him so soon. relocation stress will cause them to get off their food. i would say you should leave it alone to allow it to get used to its surroundings, but a 10 gallon tank is going to be too small to get an acceptable temperature gradient. a minimum size is a 20g long tank.

beardie bites are a pellet food right? unfortunately those arent a suitable replacement for live food.

edit: oh yeah, theres a great list of what foods are good and bad for beardies and why, found here. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html i would definitely go by that for feeding.

 

[Lena]

Crickets, Roaches, and Silkworms are really the only acceptable staples for bearded dragons.

Definitely check out bearded-dragons.com. Great place to have all your questions answered.

Personally, I love silkworms, they're just pricey. When my dragon was a baby and wasn't doing to well (He came form poor petstore care), I feel that feeding him silkworms contributed a lot to his recovery.

 

[T&KBrouse]

Well, the little guy is eating crickets now. We added one or two at a time to his enclosure so he wouldn't stress so much, now he's chasing them down like a champ!

Thank you all for the great tips. We're moving him in to a 20 gallon with a UV light today.

Its just amazing how tiny he is!!

 

[Echostatic]

thats good just feed him as many as he will eat until he wont eat anymore 3 to 4 times a day. bathing him daily in warm water up to his shoulders is going to help him too. he may be tiny now but with time and proper care he should grow like a weed.

 

[clear]

the only staple feeder worm that is acceptable is silkworms.

Not true, horn worms, phoenix worms and once your dragon is over say 16" super worms.

 

[Kristi23]

Superworms are not a good staple for bearded dragons.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutritionframeset.html

 

[Echostatic]

superworms are way too fatty for a bearded dragon to eat as a staple bug, they get overweight and can get addicted to them.

horn worms dont have enough protein and are full of water which helps with hydration but not nutrition.

phoenix worms are too small to be cost effective for feeding beardies, plus they may be too high in calcium. yes its possible there hasnt been enough research done on phoenix worms to safely say they are a good staple feeder.

 

[Sunshine State Exotics]

I must be doing something wrong then. Here are my tips and what I have been doing for years and have had great results. Other big dragon breeders I know do the same.

1) First, make sure your temps are good. Dragons will not eat if cold.
2) We feed fly sized crickets and 1/4" to babies.
3) Other live feeders we use are small mealworms and roaches.
4) Scrambled eggs. Great protein source.
5) chopped romaine, mustard or collard greens, chopped broccoli, frozen peas, carrots and corn. They love hibiscus flowers and leaves too.
6) We soak babies every couple days. Mist nose daily. Many will drink from a dish if you splash the water.
7) We do not use UVB. We are in Florida and our dragons stay on our lanai during the day.
8) We do not feed supers to hatchlings. After a few weeks they can have small supers or a half one.

The key is variety. No you cannot only feed mealworms. But including them into their diet is fine. They can also be a great way to get a picky hatchling to eat. I've had some that just refused to eat anything. Feeding them mealworms stimulated their appetite. After a few days they usually start on crickets.

 

[Sunshine State Exotics]

Well, the little guy is eating crickets now. We added one or two at a time to his enclosure so he wouldn't stress so much, now he's chasing them down like a champ!

Thank you all for the great tips. We're moving him in to a 20 gallon with a UV light today.

Its just amazing how tiny he is!!

That's great! That's another point I forgot to add. Do what you did, only one or two at a time.

I would actually keep him in the 10gallon for a few weeks. It will be easier for him to catch his food. Otherwise you could try and feed him crickets in a smaller container.

 

[Lena]

Everyone has their own opinions and things can get very controversial.

In the end, the choice is yours, just do your research and draw your own conclusions.

 

[clear]

Everyone has their own opinions and things can get very controversial.

In the end, the choice is yours, just do your research and draw your own conclusions.

Agreed, I have been feeding super worms for 2 years and my dragon is actually on the light side.

 

[jmlslayer]

Crickets, Roaches, and Silkworms are really the only acceptable staples for bearded dragons.

No i fed my baby phenoix worms till she was big enough to eat supers and she grew freaking fast iv had her 3 months. When i got her she was 5 inches and now she is 18 inches so i knw phenoix worms are good...oh and she also ate small horn worms so that also could have made her grow fast.