Baby Bearded Dragon and Mealworms?? Help!

[Beccablue]

Hello, I just got my beardie this Friday, his name is Pico! He is only a little baby, maybe a few months old. The past two days I’ve been feeding Pico mealworms twice a day (about 7 or 8 at a time) as well as kale and carrots. Pico has not pooped since I got him, so I looked it up and found out that mealworms are very bad for baby beardies, and now I am very worried he will get impaction. I also own a leopard gecko who has no problem with mealworms so I made the mistake of feeding it to the beardie thinking it was fine, will he be ok?

 

[Emjay22]

When did you get pico? And how hot is your basking area?


Mj

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Beardies and leos are quite different, one can handle certain food items without problems while the other can't.

Can you go over his setup/care with me?

What tank size does he have?
What substrate/bedding does he have?
What brand of UVB does he have (Exo-terra, Reptisun/zoomed, all living things ect)
What type of UVB does he have (coil, compact, tube, MVB)
Is the UVB a 5.0, a 10.0, a 12% or a 14%?
Is the UVB a T5 or a T8?
What is the basking temp?
What is the warm side temp?
What is the cool side temp?
What is the night time temp?
What are you monitoring the temps with? (Digital temp gauge, stick on, temp gun)
Do you have a calcium supplement?
Do you have a multivitmin supplement?
How many days of the week are you using each?
How does he get his hydration (Other than his food, water bowl, misting, bath ect)


Here is a feeding guide for you.
All life stages eat 10-20 bugs a feeding.
1-4 months 3x a day.
4-12 months 2x a day.
12-20 months once a day.
20+ months twice a week at the least, every other day at the most.

Staple feeders - Crickets, locusts, grasshoppers, silkworms, black soldier fly larvae, dubia roaches, turkish roaches, possibly earthworms.

Treat feeders - Waxworms, hornworms, superworms, mealworms, butterworms.
Wax worms - once a week, 4-5 max.
Hornworms - every other day to every two days, 4-6 max.
Mealworms - every other day to every two days, 5-10 max. Only for beardies above 6 months.
Superworms - once or twice a week, 3-4 max. Only for beardies above 12 months.
Butterworms - once or twice a week, 3-4 max.

Daily greens- Turnip/collard/mustard greens, endive, and kale if added to a mixture of the other staple greens mentioned.
Fruit once or twice a week - Banana, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, red raspberries.
For more food items -
http://www.thebeardeddragon.org/bearded ... ta.php#veg
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

You want two supplements at the very least, a calcium and a multivitamin.

Generally beardies below two years need calcium 5x a week and multivitamins 2x a week.

However beardies above two years or at two years of age need calcium only 1-4x a week with
multivitamins 1-2x a week.
This depends on how your adult beardie is with diet, health, just laid eggs, is laying eggs, etc.

 

[Beccablue]

Thank you for your replies!! I got Pico two days ago. He is about 8 1/2 inches from head to tail.

He has a wooden/glass enclosure, about 3.5ft wide 2ft deep and 3.5 ft high, so I tried to give him a range of temperatures. He has a basking area of about 100-110f, a warm side of high 80s( area near basking light), a warm side of low 80s( a raised platform), and a cooler side of high 70s (area under platform). At night I turn off the lamps and the enclosure is about 70-72 degrees. I am thinking of putting in a small heat pad to turn on at night.
He has tile substrate. For heat and uvb I use a reptisun 160 MVB(basking light) as well as a low 50watt bulb over the platform. I use a digital thermometer for the basking temp, and then stick on thermometers for all the other areas.
I have both regular calcium and then calcium with D3, which I had dusted the mealworms with. I used the regular one yesterday, and the one with D3 today.
He gets his water from his bowl, and today I gave him a bath.

 

[Beccablue]

I’m just really worried that he will get impacted from the mealworms I fed him, what should I do if it becomes a problem?

 

[Emjay22]

Are you sure he’s drinking from the bowl? Bearded dragons don’t usually like standing water. He could be drinking from it though. Is pico acting sluggish and tired?

 

[Emjay22]

Is pico acting slow and sluggish? This is usually a sign of impaction. Is he resting in his water bowl a lot?

 

[Beccablue]

No, he has been running and jumping all around his tank!

 

[Emjay22]

I don’t think he has impaction then..... beardies usually act tired when they have one. Since you just got him, he could be a little stressed and still be getting used to his new home. If he starts acting tired all the time, then take him to the vet. Best of luck!


Mj?

 

[Beccablue]

Thank you!!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, if he's active then he'll likely pass a poo pretty soon. A few things can help. you never really need a vet. Try any or all of these natural laxatives.....canned pumkin, baby food squash, prunes , sweet potato, applesauce. A few drops of olive oil [ on it's own or added to the food ] Then a warm bath for 10 minutes [ stay with him the entire time ] You can also offer water dripped/sprayed on his snout. Be sure that your basking spot is at least 105. He should be fine though.

 

[ncc74656]

if your beardie has problems going poo i find letting them swim around in warm water and using a bit of olive oil around their shunt is a good way to help them pass when impacted. gentle massaging of their under side is also an option and you can use a cotton swab to pull back their poop shoot, in the same way you would get a fecal smear at the vet. this is almost 100% guaranteed to induce a bowel movement in them