At what age do eating habits change? & His weight?

[Dreamwritten]

Hey all,

I've had my beardie Slim for a little over 6 months now and I'm assuming he's around 9 months old.

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that he has taken little to no interest in his feeders (mainly, superworms). He may eat one or two per day, but for the most part, he's interested only in his salads.

This wouldn't worry me ... I know that they go mostly veg as they age... except that he's only really eating like, once per day. Is that normal?

Some days he won't even eat at all, which worries me.

My setup is all okay, he's been treated for (and cured of) pinworms and coccidia, and his poops are fairly regular and look perfectly fine. They don't smell terrible either.

To make sure he's at his best health with his low appetite, I prepare his salad as follows:
Handful of chopped escarole
Dollop of squash baby food
Sprinkle of calcium powder
Sprinkle of bee pollen (for his immune system)
A few freeze-dried crickets and beardie pellets for some protein
A few drops of Acidophiluz+, because I really can't deal with him getting parasites again
And a spritz or two of vitamin supplement.

I prepare it this way daily, with one or two days sans calcium/vitamins.

All that being said (I know this post is long, sorry!), do you think it's normal for him to be eating so little? Here's a picture of him I just took. Does he look like he's a healthy weight for his age? I don't have a scale so I'm going by appearance.

He's about 18 inches long:

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Slim looks good for his age. He has good fat pads on top of his head, too.
I am glad he is all clear of parasites & worms now that is great!
His supplementation looks good. He could be going through a slow down period that many go through. Have you tried others feeders to see if he just wants something different? A lot of times, they will change their preferences for awhile around 9-10 months.
At his age, it is normal for him to slow down & curb his eating of insects & go to more greens & veggies. Though he will still gain more weight. You can offer him bugs a couple of times per day to give him the opportunity to eat even if he doesn't eat at both feedings.
Did he do a winter brumation/slow down this year or no?
At his age, he will continue to fill out well into his 2nd year & add girth & thickness to his tail, etc.
Overall he looks good for his age. He has great markings & color, too.

Tracie

 

[Dreamwritten]

Tracie, Thank you so much for once again saving the day! I feel much better now.

Where exactly are the fat pads? I don't know what those are but I hear everyone talking about them.

I havent tried other feeders really... I did notice that he eats hornworms voraciously and was only slightly interested in silkworms, but i'm kind of low on money right now, so i've been sticking to supers and freeze-dried crix. I'd get him some live crickets.. I know he loves the chase.. but I'm just scared that he'll get coccidia again.

He didn't go through brumation from what I can tell, as he was only a few months old through the dead of winter.

Thanks again! I was worried cause everyone's beardies look so nice and round and chubby, and Slim's a little skinny boy compared to them, haha.

 

[tazznzeppelin]

I agree with Tracy, they seem to go through a strange period at about the 9 month mark. It's perfectly normal and I have experienced it with all of my dragons, especially my male Zeppelin. Don't get too worried. When you have the money you could get a different feeder to offer him, but this is probably just a phase he will grow out of. He is gorgeous by the way!
Amy

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The fat pads are found in several places. The predominant areas are the pads on top of the head on either side of the eyes, under the arm pits, the hamstrings & the base of the tail. Those are the most commonly looked at areas in which to gauge a good weight & water/fat retention.
Probably the head & the tail are the two best areas to look at.
Just keep the crickets very clean & he should be fine. You could try breeding them on your own to insure that they are very clean.

How is mr picky today?


Tracie

 

[BrendaKay]

Sorry for the intrusion, but i seem to still have the same concern. About how long does it last? Zilla got picky around November at 9 months old and he's still barely eating. I've posted about it before, but not recently. I even did two stool samples, one at vet and one at home because I didn't believe the vet when they said no bugs. Lol

I thought for sure he'd be back to being a little pig by now.

 

[tazznzeppelin]

Brenda,
When was the last time you changed your uvb bulb and what type do you have? Also what are your basking temps? Those play a very large role in appetite.
Amy

 

[BrendaKay]

I changed it a few weeks ago, it was around 5 months old. I use a MVB and I also recently put his Reptisun10 bulb back on. Both sit on top of the screen, unfortunately.

He has a few basking heights but the one closest to the mvb is right around 104-105. Checked with the probe thermometer.

I found a trick: use yellow tongs to wiggle supers, and he'll eat three. He'll also do one lunge at the salad bowl and get one bite and then snub it. Bt not everyday. ::scratching my head::

 

[Dreamwritten]

Thanks guys! Tracie, he's doing okay. He's eating a few bites of salad and a few worms per day on average. I'm going to get him some crickets from Petland today to entice him to eat a bit. I also gave him a few wax worms as a treat the other day, just to get him to eat something.

I'm also getting my new Reptisun in the mail today... I'm thinking that since I have to keep it above the screen (as we discussed in PMs a few months ago) and it's already 6 months old, he may not be getting enough UVB and that could be the problem.

Thanks for all your help!