ElliotBeansMom
Member
Hi, first time beardie mom here. Question about what we should be feeding at 4-6 months. Took my little man, Elliot, a 4 month old juvenile, for his first well visit to the reptile vet (excellent rep, 30 yrs experience). We got him from a breeder in CA a month ago and have been feeding him a mix of appropriately sized dubia roaches, crickets and Phoenix worms (20-30 a day, approx 10 given 3x a day) and collard greens, a little carrot and watercress by hand before he gets any insects. When we got him he was 26g. At the vet this week he was 55g.
The vet said we should only be feeding him ~12 dubias every 5 days because the high protein will hurt his liver and kidneys. This seems to disagree with alot of what I've read so we are pretty confused but the vet was adamant. I'd love to hear from other vets on here. At the vet appointment, Elliot was found to have round worms and was given Panacor(sp?). He had 2 loose poops after that but is now pooping normally and eating an increased variety of greens and veg and some Phoenix worms because I didn't want to reduce the protein too fast. Today I weighed him (4 days later) and he was at 44g. A pretty big drop for a little guy so I'm concerned.
Also, we only have repticarpet on the bottom of his viv. The vet suggested placing alfalfa pellets (rabbit food) on one side of the tank as a substrate into which he can burrow which we did yesterday. We watched him closely and he tasted it and clearly didn't like it. Is this ok?
His viv: 30 gallon tank, temps 110-115°F for basking, 80°F cool side, ceramic heat emitter for at night, Reptisun 10.0 florescent UVB, he's got a rock cave, a blanket to snuggle in and a branch to relax on and let his cares drift away.
He's the sweetest little guy who has captured our hearts. Before bedtime he snuggles up on my neck and falls asleep. When he's walking around out of the tank, he's up high on all fours but drops low to the ground to go under a chair that has 2 feet of clearance - my husband says he does not lack confidence in his size! He looks like a deep thinker and at times can get a bit judgy with his looks. And he wins every starting contest!
The vet said we should only be feeding him ~12 dubias every 5 days because the high protein will hurt his liver and kidneys. This seems to disagree with alot of what I've read so we are pretty confused but the vet was adamant. I'd love to hear from other vets on here. At the vet appointment, Elliot was found to have round worms and was given Panacor(sp?). He had 2 loose poops after that but is now pooping normally and eating an increased variety of greens and veg and some Phoenix worms because I didn't want to reduce the protein too fast. Today I weighed him (4 days later) and he was at 44g. A pretty big drop for a little guy so I'm concerned.
Also, we only have repticarpet on the bottom of his viv. The vet suggested placing alfalfa pellets (rabbit food) on one side of the tank as a substrate into which he can burrow which we did yesterday. We watched him closely and he tasted it and clearly didn't like it. Is this ok?
His viv: 30 gallon tank, temps 110-115°F for basking, 80°F cool side, ceramic heat emitter for at night, Reptisun 10.0 florescent UVB, he's got a rock cave, a blanket to snuggle in and a branch to relax on and let his cares drift away.
He's the sweetest little guy who has captured our hearts. Before bedtime he snuggles up on my neck and falls asleep. When he's walking around out of the tank, he's up high on all fours but drops low to the ground to go under a chair that has 2 feet of clearance - my husband says he does not lack confidence in his size! He looks like a deep thinker and at times can get a bit judgy with his looks. And he wins every starting contest!
