Here is the link of the new feeding method which severely restricts the amount given to baby beardies and the rationale behind it.

[AHBD]

This new method is being touted as the healthier way because the old method was power feeding which itself definitely could lead to health problems. This method swings so far the other way that it may also cause health problems, if not deprive a baby animal the food it craves and needs. They claim that at 30 grams you should only feed your beardie insects every other day. Have a listen and see what you think.

 

[NickAVD]

I saw this interview and I am wary of it. I see 30 years of experience with dragon holders whose beardies life expectancy exceeds 10 years. This video contains ideas that are not supported by experience or scientific research. So I would be very careful with this advice. It is possible that after these tips, dragons will live no longer than 4 years, just like in the wild. But I think the problem is actually deeper. Something has been happening lately with young dragons, they have started to get gout more often, many of them hardly eat greens. I think people are starting to look for the reason behind all this, which is why these guys have a lot of followers.
I personally am wary of using their advice. I prefer to get information from this forum and from a veterinarian I know.

 

[AHBD]

I agree. In the wild who is telling the baby dragons to only eat 5-6 bugs and that once you hit 30 grams you need to skip insects every other day ? Even though the nutrition is taken in differently in our care, who decides that that tiny amount of food is sufficient and are these people hatching babies and raising them this way , doing so for many years to see the benefits ? I do understand and believe that the " feed all they can eat for 10 minutes 3 X a day" method was excessive but to come back with this severe dietary guideline seems rash and probably there will be many stunted babies who may never reach their full potential and grow to be healthy.

 

[NickAVD]

Here is an interview with a veterinarian from Australia that this channel refers to.

if you open the comments, you will see that the researcher himself says that male dragons live in the wild for 3.5 years, females - 4.5 years. 98.4% of baby dragons die in their first year of life. It was very strange after that to advise doing what we see in the wild.
dragon holders have been looking for conditions of detention for a long time to create ideal living conditions, I think we shouldn’t give up this experience.

 

[NickAVD]

But we must give credit to the Australian veterinarian. He did a lot of work researching temperatures, UVI coefficients and the lifestyle of beardies. It was interesting to see how they live in Australia - they build holes, climb trees. How baby dragons hunt by jumping from bushes to catch prey, the interview is long, but worth watching. For myself, I found a convenient way to check the warming zone by measuring the temperature on Foxy’s back. it really works and does not depend on the platform material, besides, an IR thermometer for people is suitable for this

 

[AHBD]

Yes , and years back when he showed that they DO live in loose sand in many areas [ as well as hard packed soil ] I was glad to see it being shown in the wild. As for the high mortality rate being mostly due to predators there's still far too much to know about the little guys in the wild .
As far as a good estimate of how much to feed babies a good number I'd estimate would be in the 12 to 20 range daily , varying of course and careful with the sizes as the dragons grow . Lots of greens in between.

 

[NickAVD]

I agree with you. Foxy ate 15 crickets a day until he was a year old and was full after that. He somehow regulated this amount himself, you said about 12-20 insects a day and I immediately remembered what happened a year ago. I think this is a good number to recommend.
You are also right about mortality from predators. This greatly affects mortality in the wild, but I think low immunity and hunger also contribute.

 

[xp29]

I went and watched that video. I lit him up in the comments, he'll probably just delete it but maybe some folks will see it before he does. I wasn't nasty but I was very direct.
Pretty much all the problems he trying to blame on over feeding comes right back to piss poor husbandry. People are to lazy to research and/or to cheap to get the lighting right. Period. I have quite realistically rescued two beardies with mbd. One was friggen paralyzed the other trembled so bad she couldn't eat. Both were severely emaciated. Now they are thriving. Ruby has regained use of her legs (but she is still shakey) bless her heart she couldn't even lift her tail when she pooped, she just had to set in it, that's not the case now, and I only see the trembling if Sweet Pea is super focused on her intended bug.
They recovered because I gave them optimal lighting, calcium , multivitamins AND food. Lots of food. They are both at a healthy weight. That didn't happen by friggen starving them. Feeding insects DOES NOT cause calcium deficiency as he out right says (assuming one offers calcium) chity keepers cause it with bad care.
We don't need to be nasty with people like him, it just makes them look like the victim, but we do all need to firmly correct them every time, and we need to articulate why what they are saying is wrong, and how dangerous it can be for the beardies. After all at the end of the day, even the misinformed truely only want to take care of their beardies as best they can.
We just need to help them understand how to do that.
That is why I spend so much time here, I seriously doubt there is a more informed or knowledgeable group of keepers anywhere. 10 years later and I still learn new stuff and better methods all the time.

 

[xp29]

I agree with you. Foxy ate 15 crickets a day until he was a year old and was full after that. He somehow regulated this amount himself, you said about 12-20 insects a day and I immediately remembered what happened a year ago. I think this is a good number to recommend.
You are also right about mortality from predators. This greatly affects mortality in the wild, but I think low immunity and hunger also contribute.

Dehydration I'm guessing also.

 

[NickAVD]

I went and watched that video. I lit him up in the comments, he'll probably just delete it but maybe some folks will see it before he does. I wasn't nasty but I was very direct.
Pretty much all the problems he trying to blame on over feeding comes right back to piss poor husbandry. People are to lazy to research and/or to cheap to get the lighting right. Period. I have quite realistically rescued two beardies with mbd. One was friggen paralyzed the other trembled so bad she couldn't eat. Both were severely emaciated. Now they are thriving. Ruby has regained use of her legs (but she is still shakey) bless her heart she couldn't even lift her tail when she pooped, she just had to set in it, that's not the case now, and I only see the trembling if Sweet Pea is super focused on her intended bug.
They recovered because I gave them optimal lighting, calcium , multivitamins AND food. Lots of food. They are both at a healthy weight. That didn't happen by friggen starving them. Feeding insects DOES NOT cause calcium deficiency as he out right says (assuming one offers calcium) chity keepers cause it with bad care.
We don't need to be nasty with people like him, it just makes them look like the victim, but we do all need to firmly correct them every time, and we need to articulate why what they are saying is wrong, and how dangerous it can be for the beardies. After all at the end of the day, even the misinformed truely only want to take care of their beardies as best they can.
We just need to help them understand how to do that.
That is why I spend so much time here, I seriously doubt there is a more informed or knowledgeable group of keepers anywhere. 10 years later and I still learn new stuff and better methods all the time.

I read your comment. You said everything correctly and I will put my signature under every word you say.

 

[xp29]

I read your comment. You said everything correctly and I will put my signature under every word you say.

Thank you

 

[AHBD]

I didn't watch the almost 4 hour video, I'm sure there's some good info but there are just a few main things that we can all do to try to keep our beardies healthy. Don't over feed them but don't underfeed them. Over feeding is the practice of " all they can eat in 10 minutes 3X a day" for for babies + juveniles with some eating over 60 a day. Something I never did or never promoted myself. That is how some owners raised them and it led to many overweight dragons and contributed to or caused health problems. One thing to notice in the shorter video that I posted first is that they show a 10-11" dragon, not a hatchling, eating a dubia the size of the dragon's head. That size is just on the brink of being too large which if it WERE too large could cause impaction. But anyway, a beardie very well would be filled up by 4-6 of those huge dubia but not everyone can get those. To make up for it [ and to use bugs that are a a safer size ] a person might offer 10 -12 or so medium crickets or large bsfl. So the TYPE of insect also matters. If you can't have dubias, the other insects are going to be the staples and you might need more. Superworms and mealworms are not too good for beardies, especially if fed in more than 2-3 at a time, so they are not a good choice as a staple feeder for babies. Going back to hatchlings and up to a month old, they need VERY small bugs, no larger than 1/4" [ even slightly smaller ] for the first few weeks and then 1/4 to 3/8 size crickets for a month old, allowing them to eat twice a day about 10-12 at each feeding. Shredded greens should be offered first, before the insects. Once a dragon is in the 10" and larger, one feeding of insects a day is fine, about 10-20 is good depending on what size the bugs are. If they're a bit on the small side you give them the higher number. Dragons that are in the 15 + range can handle larger prey items and the number can lessen to 5-10 a day, again depending on the size + type of insect. Adult dragons are the ones that only need either a few large insects per day or 5-6 every 2-3 days. Last but not least, my 2 boys are in brumation as they do every year and will be 12 this spring. They are neither overweight nor underweight and eat both insects [ including superworms as adults ] as well as greens and have done so all their lives.

 

[NickAVD]

One thing to notice in the shorter video that I posted first is that they show a 10-11" dragon, not a hatchling, eating a dubia the size of the dragon's head. That size is just on the brink of being too large which if it WERE too large could cause impaction. But anyway, a beardie very well would be filled up by 4-6 of those huge dubia but not everyone can get those. To make up for it [ and to use bugs that are a a safer size ] a person might offer 10 -12 or so medium crickets or large bsfl.

You raised the topic of the size of bugs for feeding our dragons, I would like to clarify once again which dimension is involved in choosing the size - length or width.
I always believed that the length of an dubias (for example) should be no more than the distance between its eyes.
Here it is recommended to measure the width, is this also incorrect information or have I been wrong all this time?

Maybe I didn’t quite understand the author of this channel, could you clear up my doubts?

 

[AHBD]

For babies it's very important that to safely feed insects you go with insects that are no longer than the space between their eyes. By babies I mean hatchling to probably 6-7 ". A larger baby/juvenile such as shown in the first video can get away with the rule being bent , using larger insects, but care must still be taken.

 

[NickAVD]

For babies it's very important that to safely feed insects you go with insects that are no longer than the space between their eyes. By babies I mean hatchling to probably 6-7 ". A larger baby/juvenile such as shown in the first video can get away with the rule being bent , using larger insects, but care must still be taken.

Does this mean that an adult dragon can eat 5-6 adult dubia without harm to health? Even when the cockroach's length is greater than the size between its eyes?
PS: Now I try to feed Foxy(he is now 17 months old) with dubia nymphs that are no more than an inch in size.