How many times a day/ week should he be fed?

[Dunc]

was told by my store that i sld feed him every other day mon/wed/friday etc..... is that right cos i've heard people saying you sould feed him 2-3 times a day.
Also how many crickets sould he be eating, he only has about 5 or 6 at the mo, he's 3 months old.
Can he eat apple?! so many questions!! :?

 

[Chryss]

I am real new at this also, but what I have read about on this forum and what I do is this: I have a 3 month old and I provide him a salad (fresh greens) all day and I feed him crickets 2X per day - all he can eat in 15 minutes. When I first got him, he was only eating about 7 a day. Now he is up to eating about 30 a day. Be sure to read everything you can as it does also depend on their lighting and tempature as to what appetite they have.

I am sure someone with more experiance will add to this but hope this helps until then.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello,

Chryss is correct...for a 3 mo old, he should be fed crickets 2-3 x a day, all the crickets he can consume in a 10-15 minute period of time. The fresh veggies/greens should also be offered daily. Here is a list of foods to feed and not to feed your beardie http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Make sure you are also dusting his crickets with calcium w/vitamin 3D(or without 3D if your are using a MVB) and multivitamins. Calcium 5 x a week(only one feeding a day) and Multivitamin 2-3 x a week(only one feeding a day).

Please don't worry about asking too many questions. Everyone here is more than happy to answer them

Dawn

 

[Dunc]

that's great guys thanxs alot I shall give it a go!

 

[Embee]

Also how many crickets sould he be eating, he only has about 5 or 6 at the mo, he's 3 months old.

Just wanted to be clear, is this how many he will eat, or how many offered? The reason I ask is, a young beardie of that age should be wanting to consume more per feeding, as many will consume up to 50-100 live feeders a day. What size crickets are you using? Also, what type and brand of UVB light. Heating? What are temps in the tank like and what are you using to gauge them? What is your beardie's size at present, tip of nose to tip of tail?

Just a few questions that will give us a better idea if indeed, there is something we can suggest that can help stimulate his appetite.

The best,
Em

 

[Dunc]

Hey Em, that's how many he'll eat, yesterday he wld only have 4, the crickets vary a bit in there size some are really quite small some are prob size between his eyes maybe little bigger, I've got a 36" repti-glow 10.0 uv in there but ordered a repti-sun 10.0 so just waiting 4 that. Temps in the tank range from around 100-110 f in the hot end(I have a basking bulb as well as a heat mat thermostatically controlled) and around 80-84 the other end, I use those stick on thermometers but i'm going to get a better 1 as I've heard those aren't to good.

 

[LJean]

It can take some time for them to be comfortable enough to eat around us. Once they get going, then they eat more bugs than you expect, LOL

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

At your beardies age, you need to try to be really careful with the size of the live feeders. Remember nothing bigger than the space between his eyes. I'd hate to see your little one become impacted

Dawn

 

[Dunc]

What happens to them when they become impacted and do they recover from it?

 

[crazymum]

just so you know the repti-glo 10.0 is a good bulb. I talked to the owner of a little family run pet store here where i live and he phoned the manufacturer. It is actually called Hagen the company but they use other names i guess. But there was a bulb taken off the market from another company about a year or so ago BUT it WAS NOT Repti-Glo

 

[beardie parents]

When they become impacted, they can't poop and that can cause them to be sick and, eventually, die. As to can they recover, it depends on how serious the impaction is. It's tuff sometimes, but a good soaking and massaging on the right side of the beardie, on their belly, will help a small impaction, you can always use sugarfree apple sauce, apples, diluted apple juice, and a few others I can't think of right now. Sometimes they can't but that's usually because they were housed on calci sand (death sand) or crushed walnut shells and it was let go too long.

I hope this helps you understand.

Lori

 

[beardie parents]

just so you know the repti-glo 10.0 is a good bulb. I talked to the owner of a little family run pet store here where i live and he phoned the manufacturer. It is actually called Hagen the company but they use other names i guess. But there was a bulb taken off the market from another company about a year or so ago BUT it WAS NOT Repti-Glo

Actually the independent tests one on the repti-glo 10 indicate that they don't give off good uvb. To not to damage to the beardie's eyes it needs to be at least 10 inches away from them and at that distance the uvb they give out doesn't do any good. I've read more posts about the problems beardies have had on those bulbs that stopped as soon as the bulb is taken off them and changed for another one.

 

[Embee]

just so you know the repti-glo 10.0 is a good bulb. I talked to the owner of a little family run pet store here where i live and he phoned the manufacturer. It is actually called Hagen the company but they use other names i guess. But there was a bulb taken off the market from another company about a year or so ago BUT it WAS NOT Repti-Glo

Actually the independent tests one on the repti-glo 10 indicate that they don't give off good uvb. To not to damage to the beardie's eyes it needs to be at least 10 inches away from them and at that distance the uvb they give out doesn't do any good. I've read more posts about the problems beardies have had on those bulbs that stopped as soon as the bulb is taken off them and changed for another one.

Yes, second this, beardie parents. The ReptiGlo 10.0 tube has been known to cause issues with beardies, including (but not limited to), lack of appetite, slow growth, and eye problems. Here is a link that explains more: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=101703&p=793076&hilit=ReptiGlo+10.0#p793076

Dunc, the reason I asked about UVB is precisely because your beardie's appetite is quite low, which if it persists, can effect his growth and overall health. Excellent that you are swapping it out for the ReptiSun 10.0. There is NO substitute for quality UVB. Best of luck with it!

The best,
Em

 

[crazymum]

we have used a repti-glo 10.0 since the day we got our first beardie back the beginning of october 2008 and we have had no problems with her at all.

 

[Embee]

we have used a repti-glo 10.0 since the day we got our first beardie back the beginning of october 2008 and we have had no problems with her at all.

This is extremely good news to see, and I realize you are not alone. However, there have also been too many problematic incidents with this light to ignore, their unpredictability being one of the issues.

I believe Tracie summed it up very well in the thread I linked:

While it is true that if used properly, meaning, mounting them at least 10 inches away with a bright white light directly beside it they should be fine. However, what is not being mentioned is that it is a very poor quality of UVB light. This light emits LESS UVA which means it is much harder on their eyes than the Reptiglo 8 & the Reptisun 5 & 10. This light emits low wavelength frequency of UVB, which is very close to UVC emissions. It is not a favorable wavelength for D3 synthesis. They used the incorrect phosphor coating on this bulb which allows the UVC or low wavelength to filter through.
There have been no long term studies on reptiles for prolonged exposure to radiation. So, I do not recommend the use of the at all until they fix the problem & there has been enough testing done on them to deem them safe.
There have been an increasing amount of dragons getting metabolic bone disease early on. That is telling us that most of the lights out there are not emitting adequate enough UVB emissions to help maintain bone strength. Alot of times, it wont affect them until a little later on into adulthood while other times, it will affect them early on as a juvenile.

The best,
Em