4week old

how many crickets should i be feeding my 4week old dragon? the shop said 2aday? there only small crickets! i dont want to over or under feed!

Well, unfortunately petstores give lots of wrong info and they certainly were wrong about only feeding a 4 wk old 2 crickets a day. :shock: The poor little guy must be starving. When mine were babies, I would feed them all the crickets they could eat in a 10 to 15 minute timeframe 2 to 3 times a day and that's what just about everyone does here too. Babies will eat anywhere from 30 to about 100 crickets a day and that's because they need a lot of protein to help them grow properly. They will stop eating when they've had enough. Make sure the crickets are the right size though, no larger than the space between his eyes or it can cause an impaction. Also, here's a site that shows the best greens/veggies to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html Even though babies don't show too much of an interest in greens, it's still a good idea to offer fresh ones daily.

If you'd like, we can go over your setup with you, if you can give us the specifics of what you're using in the tank as I suspect the petstore gave you some other wrong info. Please let us know what size tank you have, what wattage basking bulb you're using, the brand & type of UVB, what your temps are, what type of thermometer you're using & what substrate do you have on the bottom of the tank. We want to make sure that your beardie has everything he needs. :wink:

when i put them in he isnt really that interested? he eats them in his own time i put 3 in this morning before work i will put some more in when i go home 4pm! When i was putting 12mealworms in he also didnt eat those! so i dont think he is staving! just a bit fussy? He is in a 3ft tank

If you just brought him home he may have relocation stress. It could take a few days or longer until he feels comfortable. Just keep offering them along with the greens.

Hi ,
yes just keep offering him crickets he will eat what he needs, also I personally would not give him meal worms at such a young age as they can cause impaction.

I agree that he really shouldn't be fed the mealworms due to the risk of impaction. So, you've had him for about 10 days now, right? He should be just about over the relocation stress then so he should be wanting to eat more than 3 or 4 crickets a day.

As I mentioned in my above post, I suspect that the petstore gave you some other wrong info and babies are very particular with their needs. Could you answer these questions for us so we can make sure that everything else is perfect for him? The answers to these are very important & will help us a lot.

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

Good news he shed his skin! and now he eating all the crickets he can! he has eaten 11today!!! I stopped the meal worms on sunday! so i can maybe stop worrying now thanks for every ones advice! x

honpup":30d5e said:

Good news he shed his skin! and now he eating all the crickets he can! he has eaten 11today!!! I stopped the meal worms on sunday! so i can maybe stop worrying now thanks for every ones advice! x

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That's good that he's eaten a little more. Hopefully his appetite will increase even more soon & he will start eating 30 to 100 crickets a day, as that's what babies can do. Good to hear that you stopped the mealworms. Sometimes their appetites will be affected by sheds.

Could you fill us in on the UVB light that you got at the petstore? There are some that are dangerous, so just want to make sure that you have a good one. Also, what type of thermometer are you using? If a type of stick-on, they can be off by as much as 20 degrees. And, please make sure that you're not using calci-sand or vita-sand as those are a major impaction risk. Babies can also get dehydrated very quickly, so bathing at least 3 to 4 times a wk is a good idea. Could you answer these questions for us so we can help your baby increase his appetite even more as these issues affect their total health.