bfeg272":179g7mhl said:
Oh okay! Quick question then. How much should he be eating a day and how many times a day? I’ve seen so many different opinions from people so I’m not sure. I have crickets as well as wax worms I used to feed my box turtle. When should I try to hold him and take him out of his cage? How often should I give him a
bath especially with him being in shed. So many questions I don’t want to mess up
It's hard to say how much he's supposed to eat a day because how much he eats depends more on him. I'll have had Lyrica for a full week on tuesday and she's over her appetite loss from the relocation stress. She started out eating only five or six small dubia roaches. The next day she ate about ten, then around fifteen the day after that. Now, she's eaten over twenty today alone. I offer her live food three times a day.
I recommend offering Leo live bugs at least twice a day and leave him some fresh veggies for him to munch on whenever he wants. Spray the veggies with a little water to make sure they don't dry out and leave them in a shallow bowl or dish on the cool side of your tank. Don't spray them too much or else the humidity in Leo's tank will rise, although if his terrarium is well ventilated then it shouldn't be a huge issue.
There will likely be days where Leo might eat more bugs or less bugs. Offer as much as he wants within ten or fifteen minutes until he is about six months old. My girl will ignore the dubia roaches when she's finished so I imagine Leo will turn away when he's full as well. Remember to let him warm up for two hours before feeding him in the morning and feed him no less than two hours before you turn his lights off to allow him to digest his food. As long as his poops are normal, then he's doing fine. His appetite should increase as he settles into his new home.
Also, remember, wax worms are really high in fat. They're like candy to a bearded dragon so don't feed them to him very often. A feeding of wax worms once a week is fine. Dubia roaches and phoenix worms are some of the best feeders for a bearded dragon. Crickets work if your options are limited but one dubia roach has the nutritional equivalent of about five crickets and their meat to shell ratio is much better. Phoenix worms are packed with calcium and they are nice and soft. If you can get your hands onto either dubia roaches or phoenix worms then I highly recommend them.
I'd say wait at least a week(starting from the day he came home with you) until you start handling him. You can pick him up to put him in a
bath or something, that's fine. But minimal handling is best until he gets used to being in his new home and learns to trust you. If he's still a little skittish after the week has passed then don't worry. He's still a baby. As friendly as Lyrica is, she still flinches at my hand movements sometimes. Bottom line is simple, she's still very young. She doesn't mind me holding her but if I move to do something in her cage, like clean it or something, then she'll watch me with a bit of a nervous expression.
Here's what I'm going to try with Lyrica. After the first week is over with, which will be on Tuesday, I'm going to take her out twice a day for five minutes at a time every day for the next week. I'll let her rest on my arm or shoulder and interact with her. Maybe give her a few pets and talk to her calmly. Then after that second week, I'm going to handle her much more often. I'll let you know how it goes.
As for the
bathing, once or twice a week is fine. Maybe an extra
bath while he's in shed will help. My Lyrica was in shed when I got her. On the fourth day I gave her a
bath and that afternoon she shed most of her skin.
Try not to worry too much about messing up. I know, kind of hard to tell you not to worry, right? :lol: Every beardie owner is a worrier, especially if it's their first beardie. Either way, try not to panic. If Leo seems like he's doing alright then you're doing fine.
Oh, and if you see Leo bulge out his eyes like a frog(yes they can do that) don't worry, that's just him trying to break the shed free from his eyes. Scared the heck out of me when Lyrica did that a few days ago.