5 min rule

[dylankw]

I have always heard that I should allow my dragon to eat for 5 min so she gets enough and does not gorge herself. Well I have a question. I allow her to eat in a separate, small enclosure with no furniture or anything so she does not have to hunt down the crickets at all. She just kinda stands there and enjoys a moving buffet, so she is pretty much eating for 5 straight minutes with no time spent chasing. Should I still let her eat for a full five minutes or should I stop her when she begins to slow down? I don't want her eating too much and not eating her veggies. Thanks for any advise.

Regards,

Dylankw

 

[Beardednoob]

I have heard this rule @ 10-15 minutes, if you are allowing her to eat for 5 minutes, is she getting a lot? Feed Salad in the morning and 2-3 other feeding sessions of feeders after she has eaten her salad. If she is under 1.5 years of age then chances are she will not eat her salad as often as she would feeders.

 

[dylankw]

She eats a TON! . . . Afterward she is super fat lol! She is about 4 months and usually is good about eating veggies as long as I give her carrots. I still have not found anything else she will eat. I have tried blueberries, strawberries, kale, dandelion greens, and some other things. I cant remember it all right now. I am gona try collard greens soon. When should she start moving to mostly veggies?

 

[Beardednoob]

She eats a TON! . . . Afterward she is super fat lol! She is about 4 months and usually is good about eating veggies as long as I give her carrots. I still have not found anything else she will eat. I have tried blueberries, strawberries, kale, dandelion greens, and some other things. I cant remember it all right now. I am gona try collard greens soon. When should she start moving to mostly veggies?

~1.5 years of age :wink:

 

[randommonks]

At 4 months old, she should still be eating mainly crickets, and maybe nibbling on her salad every now and then. How much is a ton? Darwin used to eat around 40 small crickets daily at that age (~20 per feeding), and I let him eat as many as he wanted, and it normally took him about 10 minutes to get full. They're growing at that age, and like teenagers, will attempt to eat you out of house and home.

Darwin likes to chomp on large pieces of turnip greens. He also likes carrots, but I've read that you should only give those as a treat. He likes it if I give it to him in larger chunks, about the size of his head, so he has to bite it a couple of times to get it down. Normally if I'm not home to watch him eat, I'll cut the pieces smaller just to reduce the choking hazard. He also has a liking for attacking an entire turnip green leaf, which is more than 3 times his size, and hilarious to watch.