Beardie Refuses to eat Roaches

[tj]

Draco is about 10 months old. Until about a few months ago he was eating mealworms (vita-worms) and crickets. Then I read that mealworms were not good for him, but that was all he wanted to eat. He started refusing to eat any crickets eventually, and would go days without eating. I read about the dubia roaches so I ordered a colony and it is thriving; however, he won't eat the roaches either, unless he is absolutely starving.....and then i have to feed him one at a time on my bed. I have a set up with a low clear plastic container that he is able to climb into and out of, so I would put 10 small to medium roaches in there and he would just sit there and let them crawl all over him and then jump out. So I would put one roach at a time, same thing would happen. This is been going on for about a month and it is driving me crazy!! I have all these roaches and he won't eat them. I was thinking he might be wanting to do the hibernation thing, so I would offer the roaches but not really spend an hour trying to get him to eat them for a few days, but soon as i offer him the mealworms he gobbles them up in a matter of seconds. He has to eat these ROACHES, Geez ..... I spent money and a lot of time raising these Roaches. Anyone else have this problem? I am desperate for solutions. I feed my roaches a combination of ground up dog food, oatmeal and cricket (calcium) feed. They also get slices of oranges every other day or so. I was putting reptical calcium on them and thought maybe he didn't like it, so i tried feeding them to him without the calcium sprinkling, but still no go.

[zebrajanie]

Honestly, I think he is "addicted" to the worms.. Persistence is what is called for here.. keep offering those roaches.. eventually your headstrong dragon will get the idea...
Hope this helps.

[zebrajanie]

I also want to say... some dragons won't recognize anything as food, but one feeder type...
Are the mealies the only worms he will eat ?  You can also try super worms...
Just make sure to use calcium on them to balance out the Ca:P ratio..
Hope this helps.

[ladyknite]

Some dragons just don't like roaches.  You're not alone.  I have one too.  Annoying as that is, we work our way around it.

You have a few options.  You can keep trying the roaches.  Slip one in here and there.  But for a staple feeder, my guess is that it's not gonna work for you.

You can try some silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, wax worms, superworms even phoenix worms to offer him a good variety.  Works for me.

[tj]

Thanks so much for the replies.  His destiny is to drive me nuts. One day he will eat 10 roaches and Greens, the next day only vita meal worms, the next nothing but greens. Most the time he will only eat what I actually try to feed him (vs him just diving in on his own). I suppose he is a bit spoiled, but if I don't hand feed him, he simply will go days without eating. I am patiently working with him everyday to be a little more self reliant, because at the present time, he will let no one else take care of him. He has NEVER even pooed in his cage, he will only take a dump on the windowsill, which is fine and a easy clean, but what is that about??
Did i mention I bought him as a Christmas Present for my 15 yr old. I bought two at the time, because I read that they need company. Well his companion didn't make it past 2 months. He spends half his day on my window screen when it is sunny, and when I take a nap, I'll wake to find he has gotten under the covers next to me to sleep. I do believe he needs another companion, but I've been told not to get another male and that a female companion would have to be at least 3 yrs old. Meanwhile my Roach colony is multiplying like crazy, today I got the last 10 roaches out of the colony that is the only size he will eat, about 1/2 inch long, he is scared of anything bigger. I've got at least 300 babies and the rest are going to continue to grow and mate, I guess it will come down to me selling these roaches, so I can buy silkworms or phoenix worms.
I researched reptiles before I bought him and nobody mentioned anything about this much trouble. He is so sweet and loving, but my concern is that I can't see myself going on vacation or a cruise and leaving him behind for someone else to care for him.
Thanks for any suggestions.

[mtardiff]

Hi tj,  When I go on vacation for like a week or two he doesn't have much interest in anything!  Including food!  My sister comes and watches him.....she said he barely eats anything at first, but with some TLC he gets more comfortable and eats.  Not very much though, he eats like a starving pig when I get home!    I dont know how long you would go away for, but as far as I know they can go safely for awhile without eatting.  Do you have someone to look after him?  It was easy for my beardie to get used to my sister taking care of him because she comes over all the time to begin with.  So I had her practice holding him, bathing him etc... He's a mommy's boy, but he still lets others do stuff with him like feed him when I'm not there.  If your guy gets hungry he'll eat!