Hungry Juvie

[MoonsAreBlue]

I've got a 4/4.5 month beardie. She hit 13 inches about a week ago. I would say that 3-4 weeks ago, she started getting lazy and when I put crickets in her cage. She wouldn't go out of her way to chase them down so she ultimately started eating less. I decided to try some superworms. I only gave her a couple the first day, which she gobbled up, and she has been digesting them perfectly since she's been eating them.

The more I read on supers though, the more I'm learning that she shouldn't be eating them as a staple because of the high fat content. I currently give her 6 a day (3, twice a day, at least 3 dusted with calcium). When I fed her 7 in a day, she threw part of one up, so I cut back to 6. I keep a few Flukers freeze dried crickets in her food dish, and she eats one or two every few days. She gets a salad of collard greens, mustard greens/turnip greens, parsnip, and green beans in the morning. If she finishes them by second feeding, I give her more. She's getting older, so she's been eating a lot more greens lately.

I'm just wondering what I should start feeding her to better balance her diet. Like I said, she got lazy about hunting down her crickets, so I'm switching to worms. I have a thing about roaches, so I don't want to feed her any dubias if I can help it. I've heard good things about butterworms, silkworms, hornworms, and phoenix worms. I have no idea about amounts of these worms to feed her, and I don't even know if she likes them yet. Could anyone give me some kind of rundown on worms? I've read a lot of different articles saying a lot of different things, and I just want to make sure my beardie grows up big and strong.

Also, does anyone know of a site where I can get a small variety so I can see which worms Parthy likes?

 

[brittani299]

You can feed pheniox worms, horned worms, or silk worms as a staple. Wax worms and butter worms should only be a treat. I would order a few and see which ones she likes best

 

[MoonsAreBlue]

Thanks. I just ordered some pheonix worms. I'm a little concerned because for the past week, she's been sleeping a lot more than usual.I'm wondering if she isn't getting enough to eat since I'm trying to limit the fat from the superworms (as in, not feeding her 10+ of them in a day).

 

[brittani299]

That could be one of the main reasons why. What is the basking temp at? And what brand of UVB are you using?

 

[MoonsAreBlue]

Basking temp is 110-115. I use a reptiglow 10, 26 watt compact bulb but I keep hearing the compact bulbs are bad, so I'm not sure if I should replace it with something else

 

[CGuzmanReptiles]

Yes they are bad because they give eye problems to beardies. The one everyone here recommends as best are the Reptisun 10.0 or the Arcadia 12% TUBE.

 

[MoonsAreBlue]

Guess I should probably replace it then! Thanks

 

[brittani299]

Yes I would replace it with the reptisun 10.0 tube bulb. Mount it inside the tank using a under the counter fixture and command strips.