Why wont my beardie eat crickets?

Question

my beardie wont eat crickets she only eats meal worms she almost a year old any tips

Answer 1

ur beard is called beardie thats wierd and u feed ur beard ur creepy but dont worry so am i hahahahahah anyways i dont think its smart to put crickets or worms in ur beard

Answer 2

i have exactly the same problem with one of mine

hes 3 years old now and the only time he ate crickets is when he was a baby

he also wont eat worms

so i just feed him on locusts they are much more nutritious than other bugs

i give him wax worms now and again as a treat

and keep trying to feed him crickets but he just wont eat them

so ive just stuck with locusts and wax worms

and give him his greens everyday

i also give him 2 pinkie mice a month

at 3 years old he seems to be doing okay

so ive just stuck with that diet

my female was really skinny when i got her she was given a diet of just crickets

she wont eat her greens

but she is on the same diet as the male now

and shes doing great and is putting on weight

:)

i take them both to the vets 1nce every 6 months for a checkup

and the vet says they are both doing great

Answer 3

Dnt worry. she just needs 2 get used 2 it. My lizards wouldn't eat 4 a while. then some time later i looked at their cage, and BAM, they were gone. just leave the crickets in the cage. she'll eventually eat them.

Answer 4

cause he joined PETA

Answer 5

If she is otherwise healthy, I would start with the following 2 causes:

1. the enclosure is too small or not comfortable

2. she got too spoiled and lazy.

Her main diet should consist of crickets and greens. Mealworms should only be used as occasional treats.

Stop giving her mealworms for a while, offer her only crickets and greens for a few days. When she gets hungry, she will go after the crickets.

Prey items should be dusted once a day with a calcium/vitamin D3 supplement such as Rep-cal makes. All prey items should be dusted once a week with a multivitamin supplement such as Herptivite, also made by Rep-cal.

Best of luck!

Answer 6

Don't panick.  Reptiles which aren't exposed to insects seldom know what one is later, when tossed into the habitat.

It will just take some time for your bearded dragon to realize the crickets ARE, in fact, food.  You can ease her into this fact by (I know, sounds gross) killing the crickets immediately before you offer them to her.  Just place them on TOP of her fruit, or vegies, where she can eyeball the new food source, and be sure its not moving.  Eventually - she'll give it a try.  After developing a taste for a few fresh killed ones, she'll get the idea that the little hoppers are yummy things!  You can further ease the process by removing the hind legs from the crickets when you offen them live, so they aren't so spastic/hoppy, and don't intimidate your Beardie by just "being a cricket in escape mode."  She already knows her worms do NOT act that way!  lol

So, patience is the key here.  And of course, be sure the crickets are the proper size (as wide as the lizard's head, or smaller).

Just in case, here's a recipe for gut loading your insects:

GUT LOADING CRICKETS for REPTILES:

The number one problem:

Dried up and malnourished pet store crickets and mealworms. These food items are essentially useless. A dehydrated and unfed cricket contains almost no nutrients at all; refrigerated mealworms are even worse. A lot of the variety in nutrients found in wild insects is actually in the stomach content - usually plant material. We need to duplicate this to provide the best for our reptiles; without the risk of illness/disease/parasites which can result from feeding our pets wild insects.

Please note that wax worms, while fattening, are not nutritious.

Basic Dry/Staple Cricket Food:

Equal amounts of dry Iguana food, dry dog food, chick starter mash, oatmeal (you can add dry baby food wheat/rye/barley, etc. as well; even shredded wheat - no sugar).

Grind these items together.  Place in a small lid/bowl for the crickets to eat.  Store the unused portion in the refrigerator or freezer, until needed.

Supplement daily with one of the following: sweet potato, bananas, zucchini, oranges, carrots, strawberries, assorted squashes (acorn, yellow, etc.), grapefruit, green beans, apples, kale, spinach, cactus pads, and just about any other nutritious item you can think of (do not use white/yellow potatoes - these are starchy and only good if used as a moisture source during shipping, and NEVER use Avacado - it's poisonous to most animals).

Provide the dry food and kale at all times (kale is readily available during the winter months, too), rotating the other food items through in succession. The key is variety, and to provide an assortment of varying nutrients. What you are trying to do is offer your reptiles crickets with guts 'loaded' with fresh foodstuffs.

The crickets should be gut loaded for 2-3 days prior to offering them to your reptiles.

Also, provide fresh clean water in a lid/bowl, adding a sponge or folded paper towel to prevent drowning.

  

Don't offer more crickets than the reptile(s) will consume within: 1.) a few hours if it’s a lizard, salamander, frog/toad, or 2.) a few minutes, if it’s a water turtle, so you know the crickets will still be full of the good stuff when eaten.

Be sure to remove any uneaten crickets so that they do not soil your pet's environment/water or bother your pet, once it is full.  Crickets CAN turn the table - and feast upon your pet! Or aggravate them, causing stress and even cessation of eating.

Also, I've posted a few sights below you might want to take a peek at, but please note my disclaimer.

I hope this has been helpful, and enjoy your pet!

Answer 7

Maybe cause he doesnt like crickets???

Answer 8

try force feeding so she gets the taste of them. then see if she wants any more. if not stay with meal worms.