Special Diet For a One Eyed Bearded Dragon?

kingofnobbys":35rrlpyj said:

Ashame he's lost one eye in an attack.

I'd avoid giving him mealworms , superworms and other low quality worms.

BSF maggots are an excellent staple feeder insect who will not travel or move fast, as are silkworms ( at his age he'll do really well on small (1.5" long) silkworms and can handle a couple of medium (2" long) silkworms without any problems , they also wont crawl off and hide or move very fast.


Try him on small (1/3 sized) crickets , and see if he can nail them , he may be able catch them as they crawl past him especially when basking.


Lizards can compensate for the loss of an eye.

Can you give us a run down on the basking spot temperature, cool and warm zone, substrate (bedding) , size of tank (dimensions) , your feeding schedule (when and what), lighting (UV source - exactly what it is and it's UVB rating) and lighting schedule.

Tips
basking spot temperature , aim for about 40degCelsius

cool zone not cooler than 28degCelsius during day, not colder than 21degCelsius overnight for a young hatchling.

substrate - NO particulates (no sand of any kind for a hatchling , no sawdust, no husks , woodships) avoid anything that's indigestible and THIS INCLUDES CALCISAND (that stuff is lethal when ingested).
tank - a young beardie can be raised in a tank about 100 LITRES capacity until it Is about 12months old

feeding schedule - a very young hatchling like yours needs a MINIMUM of TWO LIVE insect feeds per day ( THREE IS EVEN BETTER if you manage it ) , offer greens and grated salad veg but many very young beardies as hatchlings will not show an interest in the greens and salads - if they do it's a bonus.
As many insects per feed as he's eat , offered a few at time so he's not overwhelmed.

Handfeeding is OK and may be necessary with your little disabled hatchling, is a great way of forming a tight trusting bond with your new spikey child.

UV source should be rated at least 10% UVB and supply about 30% UVA too.

Lighting schedule , invest in a household digital 24hr timer, I recommend about 15 hours of lights on per day for a beardie.

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JadeDragon23":iido9wmt said:

kingofnobbys":iido9wmt said:

Ashame he's lost one eye in an attack.

I'd avoid giving him mealworms , superworms and other low quality worms.

BSF maggots are an excellent staple feeder insect who will not travel or move fast, as are silkworms ( at his age he'll do really well on small (1.5" long) silkworms and can handle a couple of medium (2" long) silkworms without any problems , they also wont crawl off and hide or move very fast.


Try him on small (1/3 sized) crickets , and see if he can nail them , he may be able catch them as they crawl past him especially when basking.


Lizards can compensate for the loss of an eye.

Can you give us a run down on the basking spot temperature, cool and warm zone, substrate (bedding) , size of tank (dimensions) , your feeding schedule (when and what), lighting (UV source - exactly what it is and it's UVB rating) and lighting schedule.

Tips
basking spot temperature , aim for about 40degCelsius

cool zone not cooler than 28degCelsius during day, not colder than 21degCelsius overnight for a young hatchling.

substrate - NO particulates (no sand of any kind for a hatchling , no sawdust, no husks , woodships) avoid anything that's indigestible and THIS INCLUDES CALCISAND (that stuff is lethal when ingested).
tank - a young beardie can be raised in a tank about 100 LITRES capacity until it Is about 12months old

feeding schedule - a very young hatchling like yours needs a MINIMUM of TWO LIVE insect feeds per day ( THREE IS EVEN BETTER if you manage it ) , offer greens and grated salad veg but many very young beardies as hatchlings will not show an interest in the greens and salads - if they do it's a bonus.
As many insects per feed as he's eat , offered a few at time so he's not overwhelmed.

Handfeeding is OK and may be necessary with your little disabled hatchling, is a great way of forming a tight trusting bond with your new spikey child.

UV source should be rated at least 10% UVB and supply about 30% UVA too.

Lighting schedule , invest in a household digital 24hr timer, I recommend about 15 hours of lights on per day for a beardie.

Click to expand...

Thank you to everyone for your input, it's helped a lot. I've ordered some BSF maggots and tried ordering dubia roaches, but I live in Florida and was told the roaches are illegal here. I have smaller crickets but he refuses to eat them because he's gotten spoiled on mealworms. Even when I hold them in front of him, he just stares. I've switched to superworms dusted with calcium until the BSFL arrive.

His tank is circular with a dome lid, 18 inches in diameter and about 20 inches high. I use the Exo Terra Solar Glo all in one bulb for UVB and also a halogen flood for the basking spot because the Solar Glo doesn't achieve enough heat on it's own. His warm spot stays between 98 and 101 degrees during the day and the tank is between 78 and 82 degrees at night (degrees in Fahrenheit). I try to stick pretty closely to a 12 hours on, 12 hours off lighting schedule. Which seems to work well for him, waking up and going to sleep around the same time each day.

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