Beardie wont eat out of a bowl??

[Mowgli1111]

I believe I've finally found a solution to this that worked for me! It has been a month trying to figure out my beardie. Mowgli is 8 months old and his appetite had suddenly diminished to about 5 crickets in the morning, a few bites of greens, and nothing else. I took him to the vet and they said the husbandry looked pretty good, his bloodwork came back good, so she wasnt entirely sure why the low appetite.
So basically one day he became too stressed out in his separate feeding bin, to the point he wouldnt eat. It took me a while to realize that stress could be the issue, so i went back to feeding him in his enclosure. He wouldnt eat from his bowl, and rarely from the tongs. I learned he would only eat if he could hunt down the bugs in his tank. However there are simply too many decorations and hiding places in his tank for that to be the best solution. (First time beardie owner, wouldve simplified his tank had I known) so I'm like boy, I NEED you to eat from this bowl!! I tried to train him to eat from the bowl again by simply leaving the roaches in the bowl in his tank until he ate them. Well 3 days went by and my conscience couldnt let my boy starve like that. So finally I thought what if I put something really special in his bowl? So i added a variety of bugs like crickets, a horn worm, superworm, as well as the roaches. I held the bowl right up to him and FINALLY he ate everything out of the bowl! I mean, at least he finally got it in his head that the bowl=food. So the next step is to get him to come to the bowl on his own. I also started using a glass bowl so he can see the bugs crawling around from far away. I'm really excited that I finally found any solution to get him to eat a normal amount, and hope this helps somebody out there. Basically I just added a variety of bugs in a glass bowl and held it right in front of him. After all this time that's all it took for him LOL....... not every beardie has the same problem, but figured I ought to share a solution out there. Good luck y'all.

 

[Sadie]

I believe I've finally found a solution to this that worked for me! It has been a month trying to figure out my beardie. Mowgli is 8 months old and his appetite had suddenly diminished to about 5 crickets in the morning, a few bites of greens, and nothing else. I took him to the vet and they said the husbandry looked pretty good, his bloodwork came back good, so she wasnt entirely sure why the low appetite.
So basically one day he became too stressed out in his separate feeding bin, to the point he wouldnt eat. It took me a while to realize that stress could be the issue, so i went back to feeding him in his enclosure. He wouldnt eat from his bowl, and rarely from the tongs. I learned he would only eat if he could hunt down the bugs in his tank. However there are simply too many decorations and hiding places in his tank for that to be the best solution. (First time beardie owner, wouldve simplified his tank had I known) so I'm like boy, I NEED you to eat from this bowl!! I tried to train him to eat from the bowl again by simply leaving the roaches in the bowl in his tank until he ate them. Well 3 days went by and my conscience couldnt let my boy starve like that. So finally I thought what if I put something really special in his bowl? So i added a variety of bugs like crickets, a horn worm, superworm, as well as the roaches. I held the bowl right up to him and FINALLY he ate everything out of the bowl! I mean, at least he finally got it in his head that the bowl=food. So the next step is to get him to come to the bowl on his own. I also started using a glass bowl so he can see the bugs crawling around from far away. I'm really excited that I finally found any solution to get him to eat a normal amount, and hope this helps somebody out there. Basically I just added a variety of bugs in a glass bowl and held it right in front of him. After all this time that's all it took for him LOL....... not every beardie has the same problem, but figured I ought to share a solution out there. Good luck y'all.

Has his appetite increased? What are you using for a UVB ? and his basking temps? what are they and how are you taking them?

 

[Bailey]

My boy is so prissy I have to bring him his food on tongs or put it on a plate in front of him lmfao. God forbid he take 5 steps to his food bowl smh

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

I believe I've finally found a solution to this that worked for me! It has been a month trying to figure out my beardie. Mowgli is 8 months old and his appetite had suddenly diminished to about 5 crickets in the morning, a few bites of greens, and nothing else. I took him to the vet and they said the husbandry looked pretty good, his bloodwork came back good, so she wasnt entirely sure why the low appetite.
So basically one day he became too stressed out in his separate feeding bin, to the point he wouldnt eat. It took me a while to realize that stress could be the issue, so i went back to feeding him in his enclosure. He wouldnt eat from his bowl, and rarely from the tongs. I learned he would only eat if he could hunt down the bugs in his tank. However there are simply too many decorations and hiding places in his tank for that to be the best solution. (First time beardie owner, wouldve simplified his tank had I known) so I'm like boy, I NEED you to eat from this bowl!! I tried to train him to eat from the bowl again by simply leaving the roaches in the bowl in his tank until he ate them. Well 3 days went by and my conscience couldnt let my boy starve like that. So finally I thought what if I put something really special in his bowl? So i added a variety of bugs like crickets, a horn worm, superworm, as well as the roaches. I held the bowl right up to him and FINALLY he ate everything out of the bowl! I mean, at least he finally got it in his head that the bowl=food. So the next step is to get him to come to the bowl on his own. I also started using a glass bowl so he can see the bugs crawling around from far away. I'm really excited that I finally found any solution to get him to eat a normal amount, and hope this helps somebody out there. Basically I just added a variety of bugs in a glass bowl and held it right in front of him. After all this time that's all it took for him LOL....... not every beardie has the same problem, but figured I ought to share a solution out there. Good luck y'all.

Enjoyed reading your post. lol Good idea on the glass bowl and bug variety. Kudos! My guy thankfully never had an issue eating from his bowl. He does however prefer to be the ol' mighty hunter and chase down his prey. lol When I let him out to explore we start off by me putting some dubia out so he can chase them down (One by one, of course. Don't need those freaky things running lose in my house).

 

[Julee1971]

I believe I've finally found a solution to this that worked for me! It has been a month trying to figure out my beardie. Mowgli is 8 months old and his appetite had suddenly diminished to about 5 crickets in the morning, a few bites of greens, and nothing else. I took him to the vet and they said the husbandry looked pretty good, his bloodwork came back good, so she wasnt entirely sure why the low appetite.
So basically one day he became too stressed out in his separate feeding bin, to the point he wouldnt eat. It took me a while to realize that stress could be the issue, so i went back to feeding him in his enclosure. He wouldnt eat from his bowl, and rarely from the tongs. I learned he would only eat if he could hunt down the bugs in his tank. However there are simply too many decorations and hiding places in his tank for that to be the best solution. (First time beardie owner, wouldve simplified his tank had I known) so I'm like boy, I NEED you to eat from this bowl!! I tried to train him to eat from the bowl again by simply leaving the roaches in the bowl in his tank until he ate them. Well 3 days went by and my conscience couldnt let my boy starve like that. So finally I thought what if I put something really special in his bowl? So i added a variety of bugs like crickets, a horn worm, superworm, as well as the roaches. I held the bowl right up to him and FINALLY he ate everything out of the bowl! I mean, at least he finally got it in his head that the bowl=food. So the next step is to get him to come to the bowl on his own. I also started using a glass bowl so he can see the bugs crawling around from far away. I'm really excited that I finally found any solution to get him to eat a normal amount, and hope this helps somebody out there. Basically I just added a variety of bugs in a glass bowl and held it right in front of him. After all this time that's all it took for him LOL....... not every beardie has the same problem, but figured I ought to share a solution out there. Good luck y'all.

Hi; Gr8 to hear that u got him to eat. Beardies love things that move; they won’t eat dead proteins or pellets from a jar; plus it’s not recommended to feed dead ones. U can also place a bit of water so the proteins swim and Beardie grabs it & gets his water intake too. There are flat reptile plates at petco or Petsmart they have a teeny ridge around the rim but it’s a plate not a bowl. Beardies have a hard time getting into a bowl. Attached is a pic of mine. Also, Have u tested his decal matter ( a Stool sample) at a local reptile vet to test for Coccidia. That could be the culprit if his poop is runny/smelly & not solid. Google it to learn more & see photos. Also, A few tips ; give superworms & hornworms after he turns a year old. Their digestive tract can’t handle it any sooner. And at 8mnths old he should be eating 15-20 large crickets per day or a mix of them and Dubias. Alongside a fresh plate of greens/veggies; yellow squash has lots of calcium & butternut squash is gr8 too to add in the mix. Also blueberries/mangoes as treats a few times a week.