erdeem":d6363 said:
ddma":d6363 said:
I think as they get older they don't eat as much.as to what age that is i don't know.
Is this true? My beardie is about one year, she just had a major shedding and hasn't been eating well lately. She is still active though. I'm not sure that this is due to shedding or she reach "that" age. Anybody know what age usually they starting don't eat as much?
As I mentioned in my above post, between 1 and 2 years is a transition time for dragons. It's not that they don't eat as much per se, but they do back way off of live feeders in favor or a largely vegetarian diet. If they have reached good length and weight by a years time, you can start pulling back on live feeders, gradually. By the time beardie is a full adult (2+ years), the diet should consist of 75% veggies 25% live feeders, which of course is a reversal of 75% live feeders 25% veggies they consume when they are babies, albiet happens as part of a gradual process. But the process does depend on beardie's growth rate/age. Our girl for instance is just about 1 year old, however she got off to a VERY slow start due to a poor
UVB bulb, so her "adjusted age" is more like 8-9 months. She has been growing like crazy in the last several months, making up for lost time, so sometime in the next 2-3 months, we''ll likely reassess the "2-3 times per day as many as they can eat" for live feeders, tip the balance in favor of veggies if you will... but again, it will be a gradual process.
That said, she herself has pulled back on live feeders lately. ?? She still has big days (75-90), but more often she's settling on 45-55 which is new. She is shedding lips, nose and around the eyes right now, and is getting ready to shed her tail, so it's hard to tell if this is just discomfort causing a temporary wane in appetite, or if it's a natural progression of her slowing growth. She's 16+ inches and much more robust these days, but my feeling is that she is still definitely growing, so I wouldn't want to pull back on live feeders just yet, and not until I know she's really ready for it. (I will likely hit up Tracie or Diane [or Vicky or Denise or... :mrgreen: ] for advice on how and when to go about starting this transition, given that our beardie was in a delicate way as a youngster.) :wink:
I think beardies do tend to vary on this, as some would be happy to continue eating as a youngster and not experience a natural waning in appetite, and therefore need a bit of "tough love" so as not to become over weight/develop fatty liver disease... but I imagine there must be many beardies who naturally do happen to back themselves off the live feeders in favor or less "fattening" food. :wink:
Hope that helps!
Em