Eating EVERYTHING!

[Celeste]

Been a while since I last posted anything, but I have a major concern about my little (who is not so little anymore) Levi.
She is 5 month old, eats all her veggies as well as 60 - 100 crickets a day. She really eats a lot, and is slightly obese :shock: (according to the vet and other beardie owners) Her temps, viv etc. are fine, and I am keeping her on newspaper until I put in tile. She mostly eats leafy veggies like dandelion, hibiscus, mustard greens and watercress (she doesnt like anything that isn't green)...and that is the problem. My room is green, as well as alot of my clothes. She tries to eat EVERYTHING!
My clothes, scarves, towel, pillow, blanket...even the rings on my finger and my hair!! Is this normal behavior? I am scared to take her out of her viv, because she runs around trying to chew everything! This morning i had to pull her of the curtain coz she wouldn't let go, and in the process she bit my finger! (which has never happened before, because she doesnt really bite and is very tame)
I dust her cricks with calcium, mist her veggies, and give her baths every second day.
For a dragon that eats ALOT 3 times a day, I dont understand why she is doing this?
I would understand if she tried to lick everything (which is where it started)
Has anyone seen this behavior from their dragons, or any suggestions?
Thanx!

 

[Gail]

Can you post a picture? I've never seen a fat 5 month old before.
Are you using multi vitamin dust too? If not the get some and use it twice a week. How big are her crickets? Is it possible to move up to the next size so they fill her up faster? How much greens is a lot? 1 cup, 2 cups? There really shouldn't be a problem with her eating all the greens she wants, especially if she is that hungry.
Have you had her checked for parasites recently? I don't know if that would cause excess hunger but you might want to check that.

 

[Celeste]

I will post pic as soon as I get them uploaded
I forgot to mention the vitamins, she gets them too.
She eats about a cup of veggies every day, as soon as she finishes them, I give her some more. So she always has something to eat incase she is still hungry. The cricks are medium size (fit between her eyes/the width of her mouth) I tried large cricks, but she struggles to swallow them, and chocked on them, so Id rather stick to the safe ones for now ...Checked for parasites, nothing there either!
She is very lively and healthy, i just dont understand her huge appetite!

Will post pics asap! thanks for the reply

 

[jreed]

we have five little ones 1 is about five yrs old others just over a year old and they all seemed to go through this stage as a matter of fact are oldest still is kinda doing the same thing the others seemed to have grown out of it dont think you have anything to worry about just keep a eye on her and make sure she dont eat any thing she shouldnt once she gets to sub adult around 9 to 12 months old she should slow down on eating

 

[sassyglizzard]

This is the opposite problem everyone else seems to be having!! At least we can be happy she's eating her greens!

 

[ziggy23]

As far as her trying to eat everything that's green. That's a common behavior with several reptiles. They associate a particular color with food, and are willing to try everything of that color. Green is the most popular due to it being the main color of their diet, but you occasionally see other colors. There's a member here who's dragon likes red.

With my animals, they calmed down after a while.

 

[lauraj1055]

I have to get in here because I want to see what an obese 5 month old looks like lol

 

[thanybeauty1]

My youngest, Spirit, is almost 5 months now and she eats sooooo much! She will eat about a cup of salad which consists of greens and yellow squash. It takes her about 5 minutes to clean her plate, then about 3 hrs later is lunch time and she will get 40-50 crickets which she will eat within 5 to 8 mins. Around 6 hours later she will get about 30 more crickets. She does not hesitate to show me she's hungry. She will bite her plate and try to move it across her viv. I have to capture this on video next time she does it lol. Anyway my point is at this age they do eat a lot and they do think they are hungry all of the time and as one other poster said your baby is probably associating the color green with food lol. Maybe change the color of your room?

 

[Celeste]

Thanks for the reply. Im still struggling to get the photos off my phone
I cant change my entire room and wardrobe, so I guess Ill have to live with it for a while

I am going to post some photos though, I would like to know if Levi realy is fat, or just happy and healthy

 

[Celeste]

a month ago....and much smaller

Levi is my first bearded dragon, so I wouldn't know.
Is she too fat?
Somehow I don't believe that animals would eat more than they need...but if the vet says she a 'glutinous eater'?

 

[lauraj1055]

How old is she? She's the same size as my 7 month old. I don't think she is too fat at all.

 

[jreed]

i dont think she is fat she looks very healthy and happy and as long as she is pooping good i wouldn't worry she is still growing and will level out soon enough

 

[lauraj1055]

this is fat:

LOL

 

[jreed]

i would call that fluffy not fat lol

 

[lauraj1055]

i would call that fluffy not fat lol

LOL.. but I like to call him Phat Phred.. Fluffy Phred doesn't have the same ring to it.. :lol: