Overfeeding a baby bearded dragon?

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meddings

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Help! I need advice. My baby bearded dragon is about 2.5 months old (7 inches long). I'm feeding him extra small (.25") dubia roaches (he won't touch any worms or veggies). I feed him about 3 times per day and feed him one at a time with tongs until he's full (within a 10-15 min period). Typically he has 15-20 per meal. But yesterday he was eating a bit more and then this morning for breakfast, he ate 40 extra small dubia roaches!!! Needless to say, his belly is very full (as usual). But I'm worried if I should have cut him off at a certain number? I've read and heard from experts and breeders that babies should eat as much as they want in a 10-15 min period, but 40 roaches?! He is passing them just fine (HUGE poops though, lol)

I should note that he's towards the end of this parasite medication process (concentration meds given by the vet every 2 weeks, 3 times). He was heavily infested with coccidia, pinworms, and hookworms and found out 10 days after I brought him home :( The first week and a half, I had to feed him critical care food by syringe since he refused to eat. He's been eating on his own again for a week and a half. So not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Any advice would be helpful! Just need to really know if I should be cutting him off at a certain point. Thanks!!
 

kyleena29

Sub-Adult Member
He sounds fairly small for his age, which is probably from the coccidia, and is probably starting to catch up. The fact you are feeding him one at a time with tongs is good and he's not just eating that much in one setting. As long as he's not having problems with it I say let him eat, he needs it. This is his critical growth time.
 

meddings

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kyleena29":5o7h5h4k said:
He sounds fairly small for his age, which is probably from the coccidia, and is probably starting to catch up. The fact you are feeding him one at a time with tongs is good and he's not just eating that much in one setting. As long as he's not having problems with it I say let him eat, he needs it. This is his critical growth time.


Thanks for your reply! Yes, he is pretty small for his age. He was very heavily infested the vet said :( He's done 2 rounds of meds and his 3rd and hopefully last round this week. He's definitely been grow even just this past week with all the food he's been eating. I'll continue to keep an eye on him and let him eat as he pleases as long as he continues to pass the food without problems :)
 

kyleena29

Sub-Adult Member
With his appetite increasing it's a very good sign he's getting over the parasites. I would make sure you give him some probiotics as well. Don't forget to keep the cage clean so he doesn't get reinfested. A lot of people are having trouble with getting their beardies appetites back after meds so I would be very happy about yours :D
 

meddings

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Original Poster
kyleena29":19zg88up said:
With his appetite increasing it's a very good sign he's getting over the parasites. I would make sure you give him some probiotics as well. Don't forget to keep the cage clean so he doesn't get reinfested. A lot of people are having trouble with getting their beardies appetites back after meds so I would be very happy about yours :D

Thanks! Yeah, I was doing a happy dance when he started eating on his own again! Lol! Syringe feeding is not the easiest. I have been giving him the probiotics and his cage was stripe down to bare minimum and paper towels the day I found out :) Today was actually the first day I put his wall and large branch back in. Still on paper towels though for another week or two to be extra safe. I really thought we were going to lose him. So happy he's healthy now!
 
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