feeding twice daily until....

[jacody]

wondering at what age other people decided to stop feeding twice daily and switched to once.. Crixus is around 8 weeks old and still eating two times each day, I did the same with Omni, but such a long time ago I'm not sure when it's ok to stop....

 

[sweetiepie9]

Two times a day until about 9 mo old, then you can switch to daily. Depends on how fast he grows but until he's at least 6-9 mo you want to keep feeding twice a day. That means he'll grow well.

 

[jacody]

Thanks, I would never have fed that long twice daily, but I'll def. take that advice and go w/ it... so far he's doubled his weight since he came home and is in a back-to-back shed for the first time..

 

[Katie007]

Does this depend on the weight of the dragon? My Norbert has been upwards of 500 grams since we was 9 months old and at 10 months a breeder advised me to start feeding every other day. I didn't completely follow this advice, but I did cut down on protein and he's now at 560 grams at 11 months (and still gaining even through a semi-brumation) and he eats once a day. So I guess what I'm asking is should a 8-9 month old still be fed twice a day if they weigh 500+ grams?

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

Does this depend on the weight of the dragon? My Norbert has been upwards of 500 grams since we was 9 months old and at 10 months a breeder advised me to start feeding every other day. I didn't completely follow this advice, but I did cut down on protein and he's now at 560 grams at 11 months (and still gaining even through a semi-brumation) and he eats once a day. So I guess what I'm asking is should a 8-9 month old still be fed twice a day if they weigh 500+ grams?

I would say if the dragon is still growing significantly in length then keep offering food twice per day. Once they really slow down on growing lengthwise is when I would switch to once per day. Generally though, most dragons seem to know when it's time to slow down on eating & just kind of do it on their own. Of course, in some cases dragons can be overfed but I personally think it's pretty obvious when a beardie is getting a bit too chunky lol!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I agree with Christina, your dragon will slow down on feeding when he/she feels the need. I always found between 6-9 months they slowed down, but it depends on the dragon. Most dragons reach at least 17-18" if not longer by 9-10 mo old, so you can decide at that time, but that's when I tapered bugs down to once a day & started bigger salads.

 

[Katie007]

Thank you for the advice! Norbert's past that 9 month-ish point now, but I have another little one that will get there eventually so it's good to know.

 

[mommisgurl]

That's interesting! My big guy just went through that too! When he was around 5 1/2-6 months old,he completely stopped eating crickets and started downing his greens..He is now 7 going on 8 months,and I'm feeding him every other day with great success,though there are still days where he won't eat his live food and only his greens! I thought I was the only one who had that event happen :lol:

 

[sweetiepie9]

It's not unusal for big dragons to stop eating some bugs & wanting other types. But at 7 mo old, eating bugs every day would still be a good idea, he's got a good 4 mo of growing ahead of him, plus they grow somemore during their 1st year. They're full grown at 2 yrs old! But if that works for your dragon, so be it, it's their decision after all. We don't have alot of control once we offer, if they don't want the food what can you do! So Happy New Years to you and yours!

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Feeding]