Feeding Problem

[tbelanger]

Hey, so this is our little girl's info:

Age: 4 months
Length: 11 1/2 "
Cool Side: 79.9
Basking: 103.0 (basking spot is a piece of twisted drift wood set vertically, so she can go up or down however much she needs to, to get the proper temp)
Lights: Reptisun 10.0 and floodlight as heat lamp
Substrate: paper towel
Baths: bath given couple times a week
Pooping?: Daily
Vitamins: Calc with D3 5-6 days/week, multi-vitamin 3 days/week
Greens: collards, sometimes apple, squash, or mustard greens

So previously (about two weeks ago), this little girl was eating around 100 small crickets daily (crickets no larger than distance between eyes). She probably could have eaten more. Some local person with beardies told us we were overfeeding her (said 25 cricks per day), but from my reading on here, I know that's not true. Right? Anyway, about two weeks ago we introduced her to our other female (5 months). My b/f and I each took one of the girls and we sat on the couch next to each other, they never touched, we just let them look at each other. Neither showed any distress, no bearding, no stress marks, or anything. Only about ten minutes. Neither of their cages were in view either, it was essentially a neutral environment. Neither was ever allowed in the other's tank. Anyway, after that the little girl stopped eating. We've managed to get her to eat a max of about thirteen crickets per day and we're getting worried, because she's still not eating like she used to. She's too young to go into brumation from what I've heard and she's really active too. In the morning she wakes me up becuase she's glass dancing for the first several hours or trying to attach to the lid of her cage from her driftwood. This behavior is really unusual for her and erratic. She was never very easy to handle b/c the breeder didn't really handle the babies much, but now she's more edgy and gapes more when I try to pick her up. Sometimes she even hisses audibly at me. Anyways, our other girl is eating great and not having any problems. It seems to me that this meeting scared our little girl, but I'm not sure how to correct it. I don't want her to lose weight or start getting sick because of not eating. She used to munch on greens in the morning but she doesn't seem to do that anymore either. I'm ready to go get baby food to try and keep her healthy, but I am hoping someone has a way to get her back on cricks.

She did get to try dubia and wax worms in the past (only one waxie per day as a treat), but she went back on crix just fine. So I don't think it has to do with wanting the other ones. But she does seem to be repulsed by the crix. Half the time I can only get her to eat them by holding them up to her mouth for a long time so that she get's annoyed and gobbles it down. But that only works for the first two to three.

If anyone has any tips that'd be great.

 

[Elora]

Hmm not really sure. In my opinion I dont think her not eating as much has anything to do with a brief controlled meeting with the other female. Does she eat her greens? Is he about to shed? My beardies are really aggravated and angry when they are about to shed, also they dont eat as much. Hopefully more people will offer their opinions.

 

[smaug85]

Hey, so this is our little girl's info:

Age: 4 months
Length: 11 1/2 "
Cool Side: 79.9
Basking: 103.0 (basking spot is a piece of twisted drift wood set vertically, so she can go up or down however much she needs to, to get the proper temp)
Lights: Reptisun 10.0 and floodlight as heat lamp
Substrate: paper towel
Baths: bath given couple times a week
Pooping?: Daily
Vitamins: Calc with D3 5-6 days/week, multi-vitamin 3 days/week
Greens: collards, sometimes apple, squash, or mustard greens

So previously (about two weeks ago), this little girl was eating around 100 small crickets daily (crickets no larger than distance between eyes). She probably could have eaten more. Some local person with beardies told us we were overfeeding her (said 25 cricks per day), but from my reading on here, I know that's not true. Right? Anyway, about two weeks ago we introduced her to our other female (5 months). My b/f and I each took one of the girls and we sat on the couch next to each other, they never touched, we just let them look at each other. Neither showed any distress, no bearding, no stress marks, or anything. Only about ten minutes. Neither of their cages were in view either, it was essentially a neutral environment. Neither was ever allowed in the other's tank. Anyway, after that the little girl stopped eating. We've managed to get her to eat a max of about thirteen crickets per day and we're getting worried, because she's still not eating like she used to. She's too young to go into brumation from what I've heard and she's really active too. In the morning she wakes me up becuase she's glass dancing for the first several hours or trying to attach to the lid of her cage from her driftwood. This behavior is really unusual for her and erratic. She was never very easy to handle b/c the breeder didn't really handle the babies much, but now she's more edgy and gapes more when I try to pick her up. Sometimes she even hisses audibly at me. Anyways, our other girl is eating great and not having any problems. It seems to me that this meeting scared our little girl, but I'm not sure how to correct it. I don't want her to lose weight or start getting sick because of not eating. She used to munch on greens in the morning but she doesn't seem to do that anymore either. I'm ready to go get baby food to try and keep her healthy, but I am hoping someone has a way to get her back on cricks.

She did get to try dubia and wax worms in the past (only one waxie per day as a treat), but she went back on crix just fine. So I don't think it has to do with wanting the other ones. But she does seem to be repulsed by the crix. Half the time I can only get her to eat them by holding them up to her mouth for a long time so that she get's annoyed and gobbles it down. But that only works for the first two to three.

If anyone has any tips that'd be great.

You don't need the calcium with D3 supplement. The UV-B light is to help your beardie produce the vitamin D3. Change it to your normal phosphorus free supplement.

Hmm not really sure. In my opinion I dont think her not eating as much has anything to do with a brief controlled meeting with the other female. Does she eat her greens? Is he about to shed? My beardies are really aggravated and angry when they are about to shed, also they dont eat as much. Hopefully more people will offer their opinions.

My beardie also tends to be a little aggravated when he's about to shed. Does your beardie's tail look pale? Thats usually the first sign of shedding

 

[tbelanger]

Hmm not really sure. In my opinion I dont think her not eating as much has anything to do with a brief controlled meeting with the other female. Does she eat her greens? Is he about to shed? My beardies are really aggravated and angry when they are about to shed, also they dont eat as much. Hopefully more people will offer their opinions.

She eats her greens in the AM typically - after they've dried out from the previous morning. She doesn't eat much of them, but will munch on them once a day. She has stopped doing that from what I know. She usually wakes me up in the morning because she's so loud munching those crispy greens, lol. But she hasn't seemed to do it lately. She just went through and finished her shed and I would say she is probably going through another soon except she hasn't been eating and doesn't look like she's getting pale. She never changed her eating habits when she shed before either. So ... I know that can change, but I don't think it has to do with shedding, at least not at the moment because she doesn't look like she's going to. I mean she's definitely been pissy, so that's probably why she's not eating, but why she's pissy I can't say.

You don't need the calcium with D3 supplement. The UV-B light is to help your beardie produce the vitamin D3. Change it to your normal phosphorus free supplement.

From what I've read on here, the D3 is necessary unless you have an MVB, which we don't have for our 4 month old. Can anyone confirm this?

My beardie also tends to be a little aggravated when he's about to shed. Does your beardie's tail look pale? Thats usually the first sign of shedding

Nope, she just shed her tail last week fully. She might be starting to go through another one but it doesn't look like it. She has shed alot because she used to eat so much, but she hasn't been eating too much lately so she hasn't been growing like before. Maybe she's just going through the teenage "angst"?

Thanks for your guys comments, anyone else have any insight? Do I just have a crabby beardie?

 

[raleej337]

You don't need the calcium with D3 supplement. The UV-B light is to help your beardie produce the vitamin D3. Change it to your normal phosphorus free supplement.

I disagree, even with the reptisun 10 you still need the Calcium with D3. If you are using an MVB then you don't need the D3 since that bulb emits enough UVB (source of Vit D) to help your beardie absorb the calcium.

 

[smaug85]

well my UV-B light is an Arcadia D3+ fluorescent tube

Vitamin D3
Vitamin D is required for a variety of functions including the formation of strong bones by aiding the absorption of dietary calcium. Basking bearded dragons can make vitamin D3 with unfiltered sun light. The ultraviolet radiation from the sun acts like a catalyst, which converts a substance known as pro-vitamin D3 into pre-vitamin D3. In turn, this pre-vitamin D3 is converted into vitamin D3, which binds to a blood protein and then can be transferred to the liver via the bloodstream. This activated form of D3, then can be utilized to influence the metabolism of dietary calcium and phosphorus.

So how can you supply this crucial vitamin to your bearded dragon? You can supply vitamin D3 by purchasing the correct light. There are many so called reptile lights on the market. Many of them only produce a spectrum of light known as UVA rays. Although UVA rays are good for increasing appetite, improving general fitness, and inducing reproductive behavior, they do not produce the necessary vitamin D3. That can only be found in light rays referred to as UVB. One of the best UVB-producing lights on the market today (by opinion) is the MegaRay by Mac Industries, Inc. A good quality UVB-producing light should be considered a necessity when configuring your dragons dietary needs.