Is my dragon eating enough?

[DovahDad]

I feel like I'm bombarding this board with questions, but I have yet another - is he eating enough?

He's about 3-4 months old and based on pictures of other dragons I've seen, he seems to be a healthy size. However, based on how much I've read they can eat, I feel like he doesn't eat enough.

He typically only eats 3-5 phoenix worms or 3-5 crickets at a 15-minute sitting, three times a day. Very rarely he'll pig out on 8+ phoenix worms. It doesn't matter if they're dusted or not. I can sometimes get him to eat a couple Nature Zone Bites on top of the 3-5 feeders, but not always. He simply will not eat greens (I've offered collard, mustard, escarole, arugula, and dandelion). I leave them in there to give him more time, but he never eats any.

Setup

Here's his setup:

• 40 gallon vivarium
• 24" tube UVB bulb (covers the two-thirds of the cage he actually spends time in) (I've also ordered a 36 inch T5 ReptiSun 10.0 and fixture)
• 150W basking lamp
• Ceramic heat emitter
• Driftwood log angled to within 8 inches of basking lamp
• Repti Hammock about 8 inches under CHE
• Reptile carpet
• Log hide
• Food dish
• Water dish

Despite his limited appetite, he still seems alert and likes to climb on us/objects and run around on the bed. He poops about once per day, dark green/brown poo with white urates. His coloring is pretty normal, with his underside mostly white most of the time. He seems like he's a good weight, with a little potbelly.

Am I overreacting, or should he be eating more? :?:

 

[CooperDragon]

Their appetites all vary, so it's hard to say what the golden number is. If he has adequate fat pads on the top of his head and his bones aren't sticking out a lot anywhere (especially base of the tail) then he is probably a healthy weight. If he has energy and is acting curious, and pooping regularly (not super smelly etc), then he's probably content food wise and will just eat at his own pace. It's not unusual for the young ones to ignore salad. Just keep offering it anyway so he gets used to it being available as a food source. He'll dig into it eventually. Keep offering as much as he wants to eat in 15 minutes or so as you're doing and that should be fine. He is probably just not a heavy eater at the moment which is OK.

 

[DovahDad]

Thanks - that does make me feel better. He looks alright to me, and definitely acts curious and interested in his surroundings. You're probably right that he's just not a heavy eater, though I'll keep an eye on his fat pads and the base of his tail.

I did get him to eat 6 phoenix worms on lunch - and lo and behold, a little piece of escarole leaf! I think the trick was to offer it to him first, before the protein. So yeah, I'm not too worried anymore.