Hey guys!

[willTmarques]

Hello everybody!
My name is will, I'm 16 and I got a baby beardie a little over a month ago. I had a large beardie a few years ago but this is my first Juvenile and im a bit confused as to some aspects of him. For one he eats ALOT of veggies and meal worms every day(he gets 36 crickets twice a week since the closest pet store is to far away to get there often) but he doesn't seem to get any wider. Im afraid I may be stunting his growth but dont know how to fix it as he is fairly skinny still. Also he is about 7 or 8 inches long from his nose to the end of his tail. is that a good size for his age? If someone could answer these questions i would be VERY grateful. I want the little guy to live a long happy life.
Wonderful forum you guys have going here, i look forward to meeting you all
Ill post pictures once my dad brings the camera home.

 

[Claudiusx]

Welcome to the site!!

About the mealworms, I wouldn't recommend anyone feed them. Especially to a young dragon. Reason being is they are not very nutricous, and they have more chitten (outer shell) then meat. The chitten has been known to cause impactions in dragons.

Some better feeders would be, crickets, dubia roaches, silkworms, hornworms, Pheonix worms/Reptiworms/BSFL, butterworms, and turks.

You will learn a lot of things about what is good, and what is not good for your dragons by reading around these forums! It will be worth your time! Plus, its fun to read about them IMO :mrgreen:

I can't wait for the pictures! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[zillathakilla]

The first thing that jumped out at me was the fact that u feed him only twice a week?although u give him more than he needs,try to keep the crickets in a container with holes and spread them out,10-15 a day would be much better than 2 large feedings, and mealworms are not an ideal source of protein b/c they have a much harder shell than crickets which makes them harder to digest,and crickets are much cheaper,also beardies grow long then fat,once there about a year or so they'll get fatter, i know mine did. All beardies vary in size but i think yours is doing well as far as size goes,psot pics plz

 

[willTmarques]

The first thing that jumped out at me was the fact that u feed him only twice a week?although u give him more than he needs,try to keep the crickets in a container with holes and spread them out,10-15 a day would be much better than 2 large feedings, and mealworms are not an ideal source of protein b/c they have a much harder shell than crickets which makes them harder to digest,and crickets are much cheaper,also beardies grow long then fat,once there about a year or so they'll get fatter, i know mine did. All beardies vary in size but i think yours is doing well as far as size goes,psot pics plz

no no haha, i feed him everyday. Just i can only get him the live crickets twice a week. every day he gets some greens and meal worms. And thanks for the advice! ill pick up one of those cricket container things so i can spread out the crickets over the week ^-^
Also thanks for the advice on different feeders Claudiusx, ill look into getting him some of those as soon as i can
pics soon haha

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Babies are little pigs - they'll eatandeatandeatandeat...
Any photos? (We always like photos. Plus it gives an idea as to how your dragon is doing)
Silkies are super tasty if you can get them. Waxworms make a nice treat and will help put on more weight, but be warned, they're VERY fatty.

However - in your circumstances, I SUPER-Recommend Butterworms. You can keep them in a ventilated box in the fridge for up to FOUR MONTHS. I get 250 superlarge and when combined with other feeders, they keep my gang going for ages Plus, they're quite high in calcium, brightly coloured, wriggly... and they smell fruity!

Regarding his size, how old is he?

 

[willTmarques]

thanx ill look into getting some of those ^-^. i assume you have to feed them something to keep them alive that long?

This is what the little guy looks like as far as i know he is about 2 1/2 months old. I got him from petsmart so they didnt know a lot about him

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

That's the beautiful thing with butters - they go to sleep in the fridge and perk up again when they warm up out of it. You don't need to give them a THING whilst they're in there!

(I think your pic is broken. Try again?)

 

[willTmarques]

Oh wow thats great! thanx for the information
and darn :/ I have to get to school now, ill try and post it again when i get home.

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

Instead of cricket container I suggest Rubbermaid cut the lid and put like that screen stuff 1 you can hold more 2 a lot easier get a tiny box pick up egg carton shake some in and put them in with your reptile instead of some little pen I will be switching over and do u have any pics

 

[willTmarques]

Here he is
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[Zeusmybeardie]

Aww he's so cute

 

[willTmarques]

Thanks

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

I'm loving the wriggly stripes - more pics!