80/20 Adult Feeding HELP

[Slave2Scarlett]

Ok so every since Scarlett hit Sub-Adult/ Adult her eating has slowed tremendously... She started eating more veggies than worms but now she's not eating a whole lot of anything... If she does eat her worms I basically have to tong feed them to her.. I've got her some new feeders ordered in hopes that her eating habits will b rejuvinated.. She's still gaining weight but it still worries me.. My question is.. how many live feeders do your adults usually eat every day along with their veggies? Anyone have any tips or advice on how to get her excited about eating again? lol

 

[GFdragon]

Are we talking mealworms, superworms, waxworms? Normally crickets are what is considered the staple as far as insects go. As an adult, your dragon should be eating more veggies then insects, but when it comes to the insect part, gutloaded crickets are really the way to go. Also, I feed my dragon 20-30 dusted crickets three days a week, veggies everyday, and a prey item treat on the weekend. Hope this helps!

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

I gave crickets up a long time ago...lol I usually feed her a mixture of supers, reptis, butters and horns.. I know that they start preferring veggies more but I was just curious on average what everyones adult dragons will eat in one day of live food...

 

[catUK]

My beardie is 14 months and considerably slowed down on her eating between 11-12 months. She too was gaining weight but not eating much...i figured she was having a growth spurt as they fill out more as adults. She has got back to eating more again but still less than she used to. i put 7 dusted superwoms in a bowl for her to pick at during the day and feed her about 4 locusts when I get home- some days she'll eat them all, others she'll eat less or sometimes nothing. Crickets are good for babies but adults eventually go off them in a lot of cases. Most people use crickets as they're cheaper but there's lots of other good staples. Beardies like a variety so she may like a change e.g. locusts, silkworms, dubia roaches, butterworms etc are good feeders- some of which can be fed as staples. I think its good she's eating more veggies...they know what their bodies need where as we eat what we fancy. Its natural at this age to slow doen on feeders, nothing to worry about. I've read that when they reach adulthood at about 2 years old then they can be fed once per day or every other day.

edit: sorry poted this the same time as you

 

[Mistyck]

Iccarus used to eat anywhere from 10-15 supers every 3 days, along with as much greens as he could eat. He's on the skinny side right now, so I'm feeding him more often. So right now he gets 15 supers every other day along with all the greens he can eat. Once he gets bigger, I will cut him back on protein to every 3 days.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

My beardie is 14 months and considerably slowed down on her eating between 11-12 months. She too was gaining weight but not eating much...i figured she was having a growth spurt as they fill out more as adults. She has got back to eating more again but still less than she used to. i put 7 dusted superwoms in a bowl for her to pick at during the day and feed her about 4 locusts when I get home- some days she'll eat them all, others she'll eat less or sometimes nothing. Crickets are good for babies but adults eventually go off them in a lot of cases. Most people use crickets as they're cheaper but there's lots of other good staples. Beardies like a variety so she may like a change e.g. locusts, silkworms, dubia roaches, butterworms etc are good feeders- some of which can be fed as staples. I think its good she's eating more veggies...they know what their bodies need where as we eat what we fancy. Its natural at this age to slow doen on feeders, nothing to worry about. I've read that when they reach adulthood at about 2 years old then they can be fed once per day or every other day.

edit: sorry poted this the same time as you

Thanks for the reassurance! Sounds just like what Scarlett is doing.. So I won't really worry too much :laughing6: lol

Iccarus used to eat anywhere from 10-15 supers every 3 days, along with as much greens as he could eat. He's on the skinny side right now, so I'm feeding him more often. So right now he gets 15 supers every other day along with all the greens he can eat. Once he gets bigger, I will cut him back on protein to every 3 days.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[ziggy23]

I offer mine feeders every other day. Some days they'll eat a lot 10-15, some days they'll eat only one or 2.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

I offer mine feeders every other day. Some days they'll eat a lot 10-15, some days they'll eat only one or 2.

Thanks Ziggy that makes me feel TONS better

 

[ziggy23]

I offer mine feeders every other day. Some days they'll eat a lot 10-15, some days they'll eat only one or 2.

Thanks Ziggy that makes me feel TONS better

np. And my dragons are a pretty good size I should add. I don't have any recent pictures, but they still got their fat tails and buddha bellies.

 

[GFdragon]

Also, i have no idea if this could be the cause, but i was in my basement the other day with my beardie, and i saw an escapee cricket crawling across the floor. i set her down to eat it, but she just refused. i then picked the cricket up and dustes it with calcium powder, set down in front of her and SNAP! i dont know how often you dust your dragons prey items, but what i mean is they all have their different food preferences. its the same some lizards will lick calcium from a dish when they know they need it or a female dragon who lays infertile eggs will sometimes eat them since she lost so much calcium during the process.

Lastly, if you want to feed worms thats cool too, but may i suggest trying superworms if you can get your hands on them. the nutrient chart on the beautiful dragons website and several breeders ive met say theyre an excellent staple or alternative feeder. Good luck with your dragon. you can also try putting the feeders in her veggies, that may entice her.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

She doesn't like the calcium powder lol...I dust her worms once a day but if I try to dust her salad instead she won't touch it.. I've actually been feeding supers for the last couple of months and I think she is bored with them so I ordered her the reptis again and a few treat worms.. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[GFdragon]

im sorry i didnt mean superworms i meant silkworms. sorry for the typo

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

im sorry i didnt mean superworms i meant silkworms. sorry for the typo

She likes the silkworms but I can't see to keep them alive... I usually order them from mulberry but they don't ever do well for me..

 

[GFdragon]

are you feeding them mulberry leaves? that may be the cause as they can only eat mulberry leaves. you can usually order them offline if you cant find a nearby tree with the leaves

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

are you feeding them mulberry leaves? that may be the cause as they can only eat mulberry leaves. you can usually order them offline if you cant find a nearby tree with the leaves

Well Mulberry Farms has a special chow food that they send them in that they eat