Louie the bearded dragon

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decided id make a thread so i can share my beautiful girl.

Mabel came home with me November 13 2018
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she was 6 in. the store couldnt tell me her age, but i guessed she was around 2 months or less.
i have only had her about a month, but its been great.
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she started out in my old 55 gallon aquarium but i decided to get her a Exo Terra 40 gallon with doors that open in the front, i like the design a lot better. its much more convienient. now i just need to find the money to buy her some extras for her cage.
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this was about 2 days ago, shes getting big, she is now 11 in and weighs 73 grams.
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and this is her right now, December 19 2018, laying on her hammock with her grumpy face because shes shedding lol
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vrenee1018

Juvie Member
KarrieRee":2mrifwxb said:
It should be inside the tank approx 6-12 from where she sits w/ the reflector off the bulbKarrie

KarrieRee:

When you say the reflector should be off the bulb, do you mean the clear plastic cover that comes with most tube UV hood lamps? OR do you actually mean the reflector in the back of the light? I've seen this said quite a few times in other posts, and I'm not sure if you mean the first or the latter. Just making sure the newbies are getting the right information and that the reflector on the back of the bulb, connected to the hood lamp itself, actually stays intact, but that the clear plastic over the bulb should be what's removed.

I'm just seeking clarification on your post, not trying to attack or anything like that.

Thank you.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The reflector/cover over the light bulb- it should be off ---
Karrie
 

BeardedMabel

Member
Original Poster
i just looked at my light and i dont see anything thats covering the bulb, and i dont think there ever was? im confused.
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
BeardedMabel":wuuaz6fo said:
i just looked at my light and i dont see anything thats covering the bulb, and i dont think there ever was? im confused.

Then no need to worry. Some hood lamps come with a clear plastic cover over the UV bulb. Since your's doesn't have it, no need to worry. However, did you keep the reflector on the lamp? It's an aluminum or thin metal sheet that are placed behind the bulbs to maximize the most UV output.
 

BeardedMabel

Member
Original Poster
i just want to make sure that this amount of weight gain is okay, ive always let him eat as much as he wants. he always has salad in his tank even tho hes not that interested usually, i give him a bowl of bugs when he wakes up and he’ll eat them as he pleases, then ill fill it back up and if he ends up eating all of those then ill fit it up again. its feburary so hes now 5- 6 months old and hes about to go through another shed, 15.5 inches. seems like his growth has started to slow down and now hes putting on weight. the only thing ive changed is i introduced superworms into his diet for the past two weeks and he goes crazzzy over them. im going to try to get rid of crickets all together and just feed dubia roaches and superworms for the sake of my convience. but, he gained 100 grams in 12 days, a little alarming to me. am i doing anything wrong? too much food?
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vrenee1018

Juvie Member
Well I'm not surprised he gained so much weight. Supers are a very fatty worm and should only be given to adults as treats, and not as a staple...so a juvenile like yours will most likely put on weight super fast because he is growing. I would cut out the supers and try phoenix and silk worms instead. He already sounds like a big guy at only 6 months. Tampico is a year and 2 months and shes only 14 inches weighing in at 348 gms (give or take), but she's also female and EVERY beardie is different.
Also, you should be feeding him 2-3 times a day, as much as he can eat in about a minute period. Some beardies are gluttonous and will keep eating and eating because it's in front of them. Others eat only as their hungry. So the dumping food in his face constantly might also be a contributing factor if he's the kind that just wants to eat whatever is in front of him, not necessarily out of hunger, but because they're there.

Others that are more experienced can weigh in and give their advice, but I for sure advise to cut out the supers and go for a healthier worm.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I was going to say the same thing -- cut out the supers for awhile and only give maybe butter worms and horn worms but sparingly
Karrie
 

BeardedMabel

Member
Original Poster
well that sucks because i just got an order of 1000 superworms in the mail, i knew they were fatty so i shouldve known, dang. now i made him picky and he doesnt want to eat his other bugs, i guess ill cut the superworms out completely and he’ll start to eat the dubias once hes hungry enough. and hes definatly only one to eat when hes hungry, sometimes he doesnt even finish one bowl of food, it varies day to day.
if i cut out the supers should his weight drop? i just dont want to be worried if he starts losing weight.
also, ive fed him like this for his whole life so hes use to having the food in the tank and eating it whenever hes hungry. im not sure how hed respond to that being taken away and having to gobble it all down in a minute or he doesnt get to eat, idk. if its what i HAVE to do for is health then ill do it but my process has worked just fine for us until i introduced the fatty supers. would it be alright if i just cut down on filling the bowl back up? its not like hes eating 100+ bugs a day, he only eats around 60 at most.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
100 bugs a day? Omg! He needs to go on a diet- I would consult a vet on how to cut his intake-- weigh him and keep track of it- maybe someone else on the board has some ideas--
Karrie
 

BeardedMabel

Member
Original Poster
i said he doesnt eat 100 bugs a day. ?
hes still growing? everything ive ever read says they can eat however much they want. i want him to reach his full potential. i think he needs is to go back to his normal staple of dubias and crickets but idk about a diet... hes a juvinile and his belly doesnt even hang on the floor when hes standing. hes just my big boy. i never even thought he was fat, just gained the weight a bit too quick. ive always been told that he is a very healthy looking dragon.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Oops I am bad read wrong -- I apologize--- he doesnt look bad but does look healthy yes I would say go back to just the dubias and crickets-- have you weighed him - I weighed Hiccup at a year and he was 15.3 oz or 453 grams and is 20 inches long --
Karrie
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
I think he looks really healthy and his weight isn't bad at all, now that I see the current pic of him. He is just a big ol boy. Sometimes they go through crazy growth spurts. I would suggest buying phoenix and silk worms online. The phoenix and dubia you can actually purchase from the same site and they usually get dropped off within a few days. The site is rainbowmealworms and I've never had issues with any food I've received from them. As for the silk worms, I just received a pod from Coastal Silkworms and I received those in about 4 days after order. Dubias, silks, and phoenix are the best feeders you can give you big guy.
 
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