feeding you beardie pinkies

[306Beardie]

are they healthy for them?
how often should we be feeding them pinkies?
what about live mice?

 

[Livey]

Pinkies shouldn't be fed to beardies,
They can cause the risk of impaction..
Its just not worth the risk if you don't need to feed them.

Olivia x

 

[DragonsNDoodles]

Pinkies actually don't cause impaction- their bones are not solid bone yet... they are cartilage. However, the reason pinkies should not be fed to healthy bearded dragons because they are so high in fat and protein that most dragons don't need.

Pinkies can be fed to underweight dragons that are large enough to eat the pinkies. The same space-between-the-eyes measuring rule applies.

 

[306Beardie]

well leeroy loves them and we give one to him every third or so day. My b/f would also like to try live mice, cuz we heard you can do that to im just skeptical on whether the mouse will attack him or something.

and how are they bad for them if they eat them in the wild? our local pet store said it was good for them to give them a variety

 

[Livey]

well leeroy loves them and we give one to him every third or so day. My b/f would also like to try live mice, cuz we heard you can do that to im just skeptical on whether the mouse will attack him or something.

and how are they bad for them if they eat them in the wild? our local pet store said it was good for them to give them a variety

Because we have control of what they eat in captivity,
They should only be fed to gravid females,
ALOT of people on this site would advice against it

 

[BeardedDragon6]

i don't think that pinkies or any mices are good for beardies, Who knows what bacils the mices have what causes worser problems for your dragons stomach , i will only feed my beardie a pinkie when they won't have any crix or mealworms for around 2 weeks what won't happen, im not going to risk my dragons health

 

[catUK]

Pinkies actually don't cause impaction- their bones are not solid bone yet... they are cartilage. However, the reason pinkies should not be fed to healthy bearded dragons because they are so high in fat and protein that most dragons don't need.

Pinkies can be fed to underweight dragons that are large enough to eat the pinkies. The same space-between-the-eyes measuring rule applies.

I agree that they are very high in fat. Lots of articles state that they don't cause impaction and lots state that they do cause impaction- it may just be cartilage but cartilage is still tough. I don't think it is worth the risk to feed them to your beardie. there are lots of other choices for variety e.g. crickets, locusts, roaches, butter/silk worms, phoenix worms, supers.....

 

[306Beardie]

well we are currently out of crix till thursday, the local store supply doesnt come in till thursday, and he seems to highly enjoy them. Which is good cuz its the only way we can get any sort of vitamins in them, cuz he wont eat the coated crickets for the most part at all and wont eat any greens unless we purray them and put them on his nose

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

And we highly enjoy a good greasy burger with chili cheese fries and a big old milkshake, but it isnt something that we should have....lol
This is the situation with pinks. It is a case of what we KNOW now vs what we KNEW then.
10 years ago it was standard practice to fatten up a beardie with pinks, however long term tests have show and proven that they will shorten your dragons lifespan. The dragon does not utilize most of the nutrition from a pink because it is mammal protien ect ect. The dragon ends up storing this protein in its liver and over time will develop fatty liver disease. There is truly no need to feed your animal pinks. ANd before you go into thats what they will eat in the wild. Their lifespan in the wild is only half what it is in captivity.

 

[Delshara]

We don't feed pinkies to our bearded dragons. We were at a reptile show on Sunday and brought Nero with us. Everyone complimented Nero on how big and healthy he is... "wow, my bearded dragon is nowhere near that big... I feed mine pinkies, do you?" and we told them no. I have no idea if pinkies negatively impact the growth of a bearded dragon or what, but you certainly don't have to feed pinkies to have a healthy bearded dragon.