Questions about bearded dragon acclimation

[NathanV]

How long on average does it take for a new juvenile bearded dragon to eat after taking it home, i have one other that i got last year and he ate immediately. im just a wee worried because this is night 4 =[

[BPelizabeth]

hmmmmm....I have never had an issue...they always ate right away! Wish I could help you on this one. Are you offering the right size and not putting too many in...that can stress them out.

[NathanV]

Mhmm, i bought a small worm dish and have 5 small superworms and a few dubia nymphs in there

[BPelizabeth]

Lets wait for some of the really seasoned beardie owners to come on and see what they say. Have you tried just crickets?? What was the breeder feeding her

[cschneider]

I'm no expert with beardies but I have owned one for the past 8 months or so. How big is your "juvenile"? If he/she is more than a year old, it could be going thru brumation. If not, I would try to offer crickets, live or prekilled. My beardie loves the "Can-0-crickets" brand of prekilled crickets. Also, sometimes their feeding schedule can get messed up if the temps in your enclosure are too low, if you aren't soaking them a few times a week, or if you are using incorrect lighting. It would help if you could tell us a bit about your setup...

[maverickgtr]

When we first got our beardie as a baby, she ate the night we brought her home. But after we moved to our new apartment in the winter, she didn't eat for a couple days. Took us that long to realize this apartment has much lower ambient temperatures and once we got the temps in her basking spot and her ambient temps back up to where they should be, she started eating again. But because it's winter and she's older, she hasn't been eating that much.

[NathanV]

shes 5 months old and 11 inches, i tried just crickets the second night and nothing =[ i bought her a new bask light, a new UVA strip bulb every type of feeder around here, paneled out her cage and everything i could research. bask area is 110 cool is 80.

[maverickgtr]

UVA or UVB? Beardies need UVB the most and most UVB bulbs have UVA. What size enclosure is she in?

[NathanV]

UVB i meant* shes in a temprary 10 gallon to settle in

[Action Reptiles]

Hi there the 1st thing is a 10 gl is way to small as it prevents the dragon from thermal regulating which might be a reason she is not eating. For a juvenile that size you want at least a 20gl if not bigger. Are you feeding inside the 10gl tank?? This might also be leading to the not eating. If you are, try getting a bigger rubber maid or like container and try feeding her crickets in that. Sometimes if their enclosure is to small they will get stressed especially when you put feeders inside with them. Another trick is to try feeding in a different container but leave her alone for a little bit and see if she eats anything. Some beardies wont eat with you watching them(its weird I know lol) but have witnessed this for myself and have had others try this and it seems to work sometimes. Sometimes it takes up to a week for the dragon to get use to their new surroundings especially if they are moved to a smaller enclosure than they are use to.

I hope this info is somewhat helpful as these are just some possiblities and suggestions to help get your girl eating. I would continue to offer different types of food. I don't know if you have access or can get horn worms but they are my secret weapon for stubborn feeders as I have yet to find a dragon that doesn't go crazy for them...