Are you feeding your baby dragon enough...?

[Raicardso]

Nice! :lol: Those growth spurts are hard on the wallet. I remember when our Chief was like that, pounding 100 crickets a day, before we knew as much about feeder variety as we do today.

It sounds like your dragon is hungry with the volume he is eating. If he is in a growth spurt and not getting fat, you can give him a 3rd feeding; but make it less or even make it salad if you are concerned that he is getting fat and not just growing in a normal proportion. No dragon is the same, and you have to evaluate your dragon and work the diet out. Some of my dragons are pickier and don't like crickets, so they tend to eat much less on cricket days and more on worm and roach days.

We sometimes have a flexible feeding schedule, too. There are days that we will go get crickets for the babies for their lunch feeding and buy some crickets for the adults, too. The adults can eat more feeders than the babies, like superworms, so they get crickets less often. The adults will get crickets at lunch on those days. I think there is some benefit to varying your feeding times a little every once in a while. Not hours and hours off to where they are hungry, but a lunch feeding every once in a while is nice and with only a larger salad in the morning. Sometimes my year-old girls will chow on salad and ignore morning feeders for a few days.

It is helpful to weigh your dragon to get an idea of how he is growing, too.

He's getting pretty big! Sometimes when i wake up and go let him have his morning walk around the house i feel like he has been taking steroids behind my back :lol: The breeder we got him from says he has german giant genes so he'll be even bigger, but how true that is i'm not sure LOL. The problem is that i don't know how to tell how big is too big.I could include a picture of him tomorrow if that would help? He's big but he is a fast rascal and loves to run around the house. He doesn't eat much greens in the morning yet, but he has been starting to eat more greens as time goes on. We leave the greens in there for about 30 minutes then give him his crickets.
Also, at 4 months what kind of variety is available? I remember seeing somewhere that some kind of worms were bad for beardies. Maybe superworms? I don't remember. The only thing i can't handle are the roaches

 

[ynevar]

Growth spurts are so welcome!!! I didn't mind the hit on my wallet just to see them grow!

I am just happy that my guys are done with the coccidia and are growing!

I really recommend a scale too, to monitor weight.

 

[Kates]

This is a very interesting thread.

Did you feed them different amounts growing up or did you get the left beardie from someone?

 

[ShannyBeard]

Growth spurts are so welcome!!! I didn't mind the hit on my wallet just to see them grow!

I am just happy that my guys are done with the coccidia and are growing!

I really recommend a scale too, to monitor weight.

I totally agree if they have any parasides or protozoa getting them treated is important. They won't absorb all their nutrients and eat properly if the are sick. I'm glad yours are feeing better. We have also battled coccidia, ascarids and pinworms here with various dragons, but we caught it early with them, and treated it right away. Everyone is clean and doing well here now, but there certainly is a difference in their eating when they are healthy versus when they have parasites.

 

[ShannyBeard]

This is a very interesting thread.

Did you feed them different amounts growing up or did you get the left beardie from someone?

The big dragon is mine. I got her from the breeder when she was 2 months old and she is 5 months old now. The other dragon was given to us on 8/31.

 

[Kates]

This is a very interesting thread.

Did you feed them different amounts growing up or did you get the left beardie from someone?

The big dragon is mine. I got her from the breeder when she was 2 months old and she is 5 months old now. The other dragon was given to us on 8/31.

I figured. sorry if that was a dumb question.

 

[Raicardso]

You probably didn't catch my question in the middle of my paragraph, but i would like it answered please . Here it is again, "at 4 months what kind of variety is available? I remember seeing somewhere that some kind of worms were bad for beardies. Maybe superworms? I don't remember. The only thing i can't handle are the roaches "

 

[miloandrufusdragons]

I couldn't afford to feed a baby so I got two adult girls.

 

[ynevar]

I got two babies at once LOL sick I know... they eat better than we do! Just kidding, we have great food here. But they do have bug schmorgy borgys all the time!

I think my guys came to me with coccidia and I never knew any better about their pooh smell. Given their injuries stands to reason their stress levels were high etc. I HIGHLY recommend anyone with a beardie get a fecal exam done to make sure there are no parasites, as that can impede their growth as well. I had no clue about that at first.

 

[LaughingBuddha]

I've always fed mine twice a day. When I tried feeding it during the day she would eat then go off to her bed for the rest of the day and not come down until morning. Baby is 3 months and 2 weeks old now and is eating about 100-150 small crickets a day what a greedy beardie lol

 

[jsnsan]

Awesome post. Can't wait to see the progression.

 

[ShannyBeard]

You probably didn't catch my question in the middle of my paragraph, but i would like it answered please . Here it is again, "at 4 months what kind of variety is available? I remember seeing somewhere that some kind of worms were bad for beardies. Maybe superworms? I don't remember. The only thing i can't handle are the roaches "

I did catch your question, but my little brain just didn't answer it. LOL. Sorry about that. It isn't age that determines what they can eat, it is size! One size to consider is the length of the dragon and the other size is the space between its eyes. Dragons under 16" in length are not considered to have a mature digestive system and they have a 'kink' in their intestines that straightens out as they grow. This intestinal 'kink' is what contributes to impaction, as foods that are too large get stuck in that area and cannot pass, and food backs up behind it. Dragons under 16" should not be fed superworms. Usually at about the 6 month age they are 16" in length or quite close to it and can eat superworms. Spring started eating them a few weeks ago, but as you can tell she is a big girl.

Our very little babies, under 10", eat mostly 1/2" crickets. The very teensy babies under 6" get 1/4" crickets. Again, it's' that space between their eyes rule. They can also have baby roaches, either dubia or discoid depending on what is legal in your state. We raise silkworms in our home, so we feed very small silkworms to the babies in moderation. I also raise my own superworms, and the very small supers, called microsupers, are safe to feed in small amounts to babies in the 10-12" size range, but we don't advise that unless the keeper truly and honestly has accurate basking temps. The risk of impaction is too great, and that is why supers are usually not recommended to dragons less than 16" in length.

For soft-bodied worms, as long as they are small they are fine to feed. Waxworms are like bearded dragon candy bar, very high in fat, and can be given a few at a time as an occasional treat. Butterworms are naturally very high in calcium and are extremely good for your dragon, although they are quite expensive. I believe they are the most expensive worm available. Another worm, or larva to be exact, is the black soldier fly larvae or ReptiWorm/Phoenix worm. They come in very small sizes and can be left in a dish for all-day snacking. We do not feed them to small babies, but some people do. They are also naturally high in calcium and their constant wriggling does get their attention!

Hope this helps!

 

[ShannyBeard]

I got two babies at once LOL sick I know... they eat better than we do! Just kidding, we have great food here. But they do have bug schmorgy borgys all the time!

I think my guys came to me with coccidia and I never knew any better about their pooh smell. Given their injuries stands to reason their stress levels were high etc. I HIGHLY recommend anyone with a beardie get a fecal exam done to make sure there are no parasites, as that can impede their growth as well. I had no clue about that at first.

Yes I agree about the fecal exam, and I think the age of 3-4 months is a good time for that, or if there is a problem. All dragons naturally have the protozoa Coccidia present in them, and small numbers are not of any concern. It is only when the numbers reach moderate that it is treated, as that is enough to cause problems like lack of appetite/anorexia. Stress does increase parasite levels, as does dirty enclosures. In the wild, bearded dragons are not in constant contact with their feces, so leaving them in a tank with feces is also going to cause elevated parasite levels. Leaving feeders like crickets in a dirty enclosure makes the problem worse, as the cricket will eat the feces and then the dragon will eat the cricket. High pinworm counts are often attributed to crickets and dirty living conditions.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Awesome post. Can't wait to see the progression.

If my camera battery wasn't dead I would post a picture today. I checked my records and we actually got Aries on 8/29 and he was 60 grams. Today he had a bath and I weighed him and he is 100 grams. :shock: I have not been overfeeding him. He is eating just like everyone else here.

 

[jsnsan]

Wow! I'm so glad you took him in. It's so exciting to see these guys who come from poor conditions transform into beautiful, healthy, eating machines!