Unhealthy Stubbornness - NEED TIPS/ADVICE!

[Jonathan_Gangl]

How picky, is too picky?

Hey guys, I haven’t posted on any forums of this issue here lately but I think now is the time to open up on an issue that has been stressing me and my loved one out. On early February, 2020 our bearded dragon, Castiel started to become noticeably picky with his selection of food. At that time he was at his wee age of 9 months. He did not eat our order of crickets and did not eat much of his greens for that few days. I thought it was completely normal because of his biological clock telling him it was ‘Brumation’ season, so the obvious laziness and casual judging stare of his food was normal. Later that month we moved and found him not eating even more! He touched his greens a bit and we introduced hornworms as a treat selection which he loves, KEEP THE HORNWORMS IN MIND AS YOU READ. But even then over the months his appetite would sizzle off to a few worms a week and barely any greens and a pellet or two. This was scary to us. We brought him to a vet who specialized in reptiles, he simply said “he needs more water and better uvb!” We executed that change instantly, with a new T5 UVB bulb in his 40 Gal tank and bathing him almost every day; we knew this would surely work. It didn’t, in fact at one point we would resort to force feeding because of his intense uninterested desire for food. But over time we realized he loved hornworms, the only worm that is virtually the most pointless worm in nutrients and many can say are like candy. Fast forward to today, as of May 21, 2020 Castiel has turned one year old (May 20,202) and was gifted an upgraded 75Gal tank with an updated UVB bulb to reach the length it needs with the proper amount needed, and tile flooring for his nails to be taken care of, and all his temp readings are digitalized. His obsession of hornworms is still present, I have tried to play mental games against him by teasing a hornworm and then hot-swapping a roach or some greens in front of him before he takes his bite, it works- but I believe he has become aware of this tactic and currently is protesting THAT.

So I reach out to you guys and ask what can be done to stomp out this unhealthy habit of being hungry for hornworms only. He needs his proper diet of greens, and other ACTUALLY nutritional worms and roaches. Would any of his tank items be of a problem (IE: improper lighting, heat, clutter, stressful environment, etc). Or is there a routine we can adapt to get our little bean to eat again, I worry that if this stays present. He will develop some nasty health problems. If you want photos of his setup, of him, of his food. PLEASE let me know and if I’m not the only one dealing with this- chime in!
Thank you and hope to hear from you guys soon

Stay toasty- Jonathan G.

 

[Jonathan_Gangl]

To keep
Up to date as well on him follow our Instagram for updates on Castiel

@castielthebeardeddragon

 

[Noella]

Hey guys, I haven’t posted on any forums of this issue here lately but I think now is the time to open up on an issue that has been stressing me and my loved one out. On early February, 2020 our bearded dragon, Castiel started to become noticeably picky with his selection of food. At that time he was at his wee age of 9 months. He did not eat our order of crickets and did not eat much of his greens for that few days. I thought it was completely normal because of his biological clock telling him it was ‘Brumation’ season, so the obvious laziness and casual judging stare of his food was normal. Later that month we moved and found him not eating even more! He touched his greens a bit and we introduced hornworms as a treat selection which he loves, KEEP THE HORNWORMS IN MIND AS YOU READ. But even then over the months his appetite would sizzle off to a few worms a week and barely any greens and a pellet or two. This was scary to us. We brought him to a vet who specialized in reptiles, he simply said “he needs more water and better uvb!” We executed that change instantly, with a new T5 UVB bulb in his 40 Gal tank and bathing him almost every day; we knew this would surely work. It didn’t, in fact at one point we would resort to force feeding because of his intense uninterested desire for food. But over time we realized he loved hornworms, the only worm that is virtually the most pointless worm in nutrients and many can say are like candy. Fast forward to today, as of May 21, 2020 Castiel has turned one year old (May 20,202) and was gifted an upgraded 75Gal tank with an updated UVB bulb to reach the length it needs with the proper amount needed, and tile flooring for his nails to be taken care of, and all his temp readings are digitalized. His obsession of hornworms is still present, I have tried to play mental games against him by teasing a hornworm and then hot-swapping a roach or some greens in front of him before he takes his bite, it works- but I believe he has become aware of this tactic and currently is protesting THAT.

So I reach out to you guys and ask what can be done to stomp out this unhealthy habit of being hungry for hornworms only. He needs his proper diet of greens, and other ACTUALLY nutritional worms and roaches. Would any of his tank items be of a problem (IE: improper lighting, heat, clutter, stressful environment, etc). Or is there a routine we can adapt to get our little bean to eat again, I worry that if this stays present. He will develop some nasty health problems. If you want photos of his setup, of him, of his food. PLEASE let me know and if I’m not the only one dealing with this- chime in!
Thank you and hope to hear from you guys soon

Stay toasty- Jonathan G.

He's not spoiled. Not in the least.

When was his last fecal? How many times a week do you feed hornworms? They get spoiled real quickly when they like something very much. Mine won't touch his greens while he's attracted to Waxworms. He will turn his face up at his greens. I'd give him greens, a sprinkle of bee pollen- it might interest him, and so yellow squash, butternut squash. They will be stubborn too.

 

[Silver dragons]

I agree he should be tested for parasites. Sometimes dragons are just very picky and can get addicted to certain things very quickly. How bad is his condition is he very malnourished?

 

[Jonathan_Gangl]

I agree he should be tested for parasites. Sometimes dragons are just very picky and can get addicted to certain things very quickly. How bad is his condition is he very malnourished?

we tested for any possible parasites with our vet.His results came back negative of any parasites. His fecal is healthy looking 90% of the time, and passes every other day. Im worried that my beardie has become a Hornworm addict, and there is no equivalent of AA for bearded dragons

 

[Jonathan_Gangl]

I agree he should be tested for parasites. Sometimes dragons are just very picky and can get addicted to certain things very quickly. How bad is his condition is he very malnourished?

He's not spoiled. Not in the least.

When was his last fecal? How many times a week do you feed hornworms? They get spoiled real quickly when they like something very much. Mine won't touch his greens while he's attracted to Waxworms. He will turn his face up at his greens. I'd give him greens, a sprinkle of bee pollen- it might interest him, and so yellow squash, butternut squash. They will be stubborn too.

I haven’t heard of Bre pollen yo go over his greens, I can give that a try! I’ll keep up with his daily intake of greens, even if he doesn’t touch them. He did get a new tank that’s much larger and has new surfaces, so any change im just gonna throw into the air as a “relocation stress” for now. I will report back with the added topping for his greens