Eating too much?

[woodnt]

Hello,

We have an approx 5 mo beardie bought from a pet store in a very over crowded viv with over a dozen large beardies may approaching 2 dozen (terrible)!

I'm sure she had to fight (I don't mean with other beardies) for any live food items. We feed her out of her viv so we can keep track what she is eating. Day before yesterday, she ate 46 2/3" crickets. She has grown quickly and seems almost chubby about her torso and is developing some pockets around her neck that remind me of the fat pockets from overfeeding waxworms I saw on a not-for-sale adult beardie at a PetSmart before she was "rescued."

I've heard feed them as much as they will eat in 10 mins. She ate these rather large crickets in way less than 10 min. I'm wondering if she has learned to eat voraciously from the pet store.

We occly feed her a silkworm and even more rarely (not even once a week it seems) a waxworm. Her main staple is crickets (so nothing fatty with any regularity). We are growing a dubia colony and occly she'll get one of those, too, but we are reserving these until the colony has become more self-sufficient.

Otherwise, she seems to be a healthy, happy sweetheart.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Regards,
Nathan

 

[joehaggerty]

As long as she's happy and healthy rather than sluggish, how big is she?

 

[woodnt]

As long as she's happy and healthy rather than sluggish, how big is she?

That is the problem. She (we say she because the pet store guy said she was female, but I don't think he was very reliable as he also said she was 2 mos old, and she's much older than that) has only a fraction of the tail (we bought her that way).

This pic is from a over a week ago. She is standing completely on her legs which is cause her belly to seem much slimmer that it really is but you can get an idea of nose to vent. It also doesn't show the "pudge pockets" that I am talking about at this angle and that have developed much more over this past week.

 

[woodnt]

Some other shots.

One from above

One showing the pockets below her orange coloration and spikes. Hard to make out not in 3D.

And again, just "south east" of her orange and spikes.

 

[diamc]

Nathan, I think she looks great weight-wise. The pockets you're talking about are actually normal on a beardie. If she had such a large belly that she couldn't raise it off the floor when walking or very fat legs, or a very fat beard that just hung from fat, then it would be worrisome.

 

[diamc]

Here's a couple of pics of Angie and you can see the fat stores on her beard and the sides of her chest. She is not fat at all so completely normal and more noticeable as they mature.

 

[woodnt]

What a pretty Dragon! Thanks all. I'm glad she's normal. I'll watch for those other signs.

 

[diamc]

Thanks. She's very smart, very spunky and very spoiled. :lol:

 

[joehaggerty]

She looks great!