Swallowing crickets

[NathanNatalie3002]

Hello, I realise this may not suit being in the ER section, so it can be moved if people feel appropriate I just didn't know where to put it.

My 6 month BD Xena, who is growing very fast and is now 31cm seems to have an issue.

Well, I do not know if it is an issue, I just want to know if people have the same experience. For those of you who know me I had Chacoby who vomited and this is where all her problems began and unfortunately she didn't make it so I get worried very easily!

Xena is currently on standard crickets, and locusts (dusted everyday alternating between calcium and vits. The crickets are mainly smaller than the space between her eyes and sometimes around the size of the distance between.

Sometimes, whilst eating she will partly regurgitate the crickets as if she is choking or it has gone down the wrong hole. She will keep doing this and re-chewing until it has gone down fully. Then carries on eating as normal, she does this at least once every other day. I don't know if it is the supplement making the odd cricket a bit too dry, the way she caught it, or if she shouldn't be doing this. She poops fine every day, just once, although this used to be twice when a baby.

Temps are currently: 82.9f cold, 104f basking. I did just open the tank so this usually maintains at 2-3f hotter in both ends.

So am I just overreacting? Is this like when we have the odd bit off food go down wrong?

Thankyou!

 

[NightFury]

Yes I do remember you, Is this something she has always done for a long time or just recently. It could be that you have to downsize the food a bit.

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

She has done this for around a month but I got told it was normal, it happened ever since I changed to bigger brown crickets which are the perfect size and any smaller doesn't work, the next size down is stupidly small for her, she never seems to
Do it with the locusts, and the locusts are bigger...

Thank you

 

[NightFury]

How big is the space between her eyes? You could buy crickets online in certain sizes like 3/4 inch,1/2 inch and 1 inch long. For this age period 1/2 inch is prob the best size to go

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

I will measure tomorrow she is asleep at the moment. The crickets are the size between her eyes I always check before I feed and I pick out ones that have gigantic legs and that are bigger but there's never many of them.

 

[diamc]

The crickets back legs are the hardest part for them to get down so that could very well be what is causing the problem if you are picking the ones with the largest legs. You could either go down a size on the crickets and go to 1/2 inch size as NightFury suggested or remove the back legs before feeding. That's what we do because our adults don't chase crickets anymore and it helps slow them down plus makes it easier for them to get down.

Moved here from ER forum since it is not an emergency but a feeding issue instead.

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

yes I don't give her ones with big legs. Is this normal for a dragon to do though? I was convinced they were the correct size but it must be the legs! I will get some slightly smaller. When i have done this in the past when I couldn't get bigger she wasn't interested in them. Seems like she wants the larger ones, but she never gets them any bigger than the space between her eyes.

 

[diamc]

It's really not unusual. You might want to try removing the back legs of the ones you have since they seem to be the right size and see how that goes, see if they go down easier.

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

Thank you, I will try this! I get very weary of things like this. Also, my vet told me that I should dust the crickets everyday with calcium carbonate and the next day vitamins, 7 days a week alternating. I do this and sprinkle her veg also, but how long do i do this for? Until she is around 1 year old?

 

[diamc]

I can understand you getting nervous about it since you had a problem previously, I'm sorry about your loss.

It's best to continue dusting with calcium 5 days a wk, but only 1 feeding a day and then to dust with vitamins, 2 days a wk, one feeding a day. Beardies continue to grow until about the age of 2 yrs but their intake of protein lessens as you know so is a good idea to continue with dusting that way until about 1 to 1 1/2 yrs old, then you would cut the dusting back to 2 to 3 days with calcium and one day with vitamins per wk.

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

Okay thank you, and yes I miss her very much

Oh,I am confused now- my vet said you can rarely overdose on calcium and everything she eats should be dusted. He says the single most frustrating thing he see's is BD's with MBD as it is preventable. He stressed calcium very much.

 

[diamc]

Well, you can tell if their bodies are getting too much calcium so if you would rather go by his suggestion, watch for a yellowish urate or one that is hard like chalk, if you see those signs, then your beardie isn't able to process so much calcium and you could cut it back one or 2 days. Does that help? If I were you, I wouldn't dust more than one feeding a day though especially if you are going to be dusting with calcium 7 days a wk.

Are you using the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent tube? What distance do you have it?

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

Yes that is brilliant help, unless you think this is a bad suggestion?

 

[NathanNatalie3002]

I will cut back to one feeding then, she has 2 per day and her veg. No, I have been dusting day one calcium, day 2 vits, 3-calcium, 4-vits etc...

 

[diamc]

Are you using the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent tube? What distance do you have it?

I certainly don't want to say anything negative about a vet that I don't know. MBD is a big concern for sure but I have discovered that I can tell when their bodies are getting too much or too little calcium just by looking at their urates, etc. Years of having beardies has taught me this. :lol: