Am I feeding enough?

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Arcturus

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Hi everyone! I am a new bearded dragon owner. My baby Arcturus is about 4 months old right now I believe. I have been preparing small salads of collard greens, bell peppers, zucchini/or carrots every day in addition to some small superworms. What I'm confused about is that the breeder I got him from said he only feeds him 2 superworms a day and like only once a day. Is that even enough?? I've been feeding him a lot more just because he seems hungry, but I'm just afraid to feed him too much or not enough. He seems like he could eat more than what I give him.
Also, I know that at this young age they need mostly animal protein, but he doesn't seem too extremely fond of his greens. Today he only ate a couple pieces of collards. Is this enough, even at a young age?
So far his poop seems normal as well as his energy levels and basking and sleeping habits.
I'd really appreciate any tips on feeding young beardies such as how much you feed them, how often you feed them, and how much greens/bugs they should eat at a young age. I'd also like to know how your new young beardies were like when you first got them and how they have changed.
Thank you everyone for your responses! I want to make sure I take the very best care of Arcturus so I appreciate all the info. :)
 

fuchsiaSkies

Hatchling Member
Hi there!

Zombie is right, and so are you! He could definitely be eating more. Supers are not very good for little ones- crunchy, hard-to-digest shell can stop them up pretty easily, and their digestive tracts are still a little squashed up when they're small, so I'd lay off until he's much bigger, and then only as treats.

Crickets, black soldier fly larvae (a.k.a. phoenix worms, reptiworms, etc.), and dubia are all much better options. Just make sure the crickets and dubia are no bigger than the space between his eyes. My little guy at 4 months was also polishing off around 30-50 small dubia over 2-3 feedings a day, and not very interested in veg. (Though his newest phase is to only eat things that are green, aside from his bugs. So much for squash... :roll: ) If you wanna check out his progress, he's got his own thread called 'Like A Weed!'. :D

So go right ahead, give Arcturus as many (good) bugs as he'll eat in 10-15 minutes, 2-3 times a day, and all the salad he wants (if he'll even eat any of it! :p ) Fatten the little guy up and watch him grow like a weed, too!!

P.S. Got any pictures of him, and have you got a scale to keep track of his weight?
 

Arcturus

Member
Original Poster
Thank you both soooo much!!! You both have eased my conscience and made me feel a lot better. I know this whole question kind of sounds silly but I just want to make sure I do everything right. Today I fed him as much as he wanted, but he seems to stop himself after just a few. I will be buying some pheonix worms today to feed him. I've noticed anyways that the supers I have left are kind of big.
Here's his picture:
View media item 51793
Also, fuchsiaSkies, I checked out your thread. Thomas Patrick Phillips is adorable!!
 

fuchsiaSkies

Hatchling Member
Aww, pretty little thing! And that sexy leg!! :D

He does look a tad on the thin side, so keep up letting him eat as much as he wants, he'll gobble up those phoenix worms. They have a really good calcium content as well, and they're nice and squishy so very little chance of impaction. Any size are fine for him, too, since they don't have that shell to worry about.

I do want to mention that you need to be very careful with that hammock if you really want to keep it in there, personally I'm not sure it's worth the risk. It's fairly common for dragons, especially little ones, to get their claws stuck in the holes, and they can injure themselves trying to get free. You'd do much better with a hammock that is made of a solid material that Arcturus' claws can't get stuck in. You can make a really nice basking platform with rocks or bricks you find outside, just wash them really well with soap, then bake them in the over for 30-40 minutes at around 250 to kill off anything that may still be living on them. And as an added bonus, rough rocks and bricks will help him keep his nails filed down naturally. :)

Thomas says thanks, and he's looking forward to seeing Arcturus' progress, too!! :D
 

Arcturus

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for letting me know about the hammock! Now that you mention it, I did notice him get stuck when he was having a freak attack and wanted to get out. He seems to like the hammock a lot though. What would you suggest as a suitable material for making one? Would just normal sewing cloth be better? Or should I just do away with it?
Thanks for the suggestion on the bricks! I think I might try that. I like the idea that they'll help file his nails down but they'll also retain more heat when lights are off too.
 

fuchsiaSkies

Hatchling Member
Yep, the bricks keep the tank warmer for a little longer after lights off. :)

You can buy scraps of regular sewing /quilting fabric at fabric stores if you want to make a new hammock. Thomas likes his, it's a softer place for him to snuggle up when he's done with his rocks. I'd just ditch the mesh one. :D
 
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