Is this possible?

[Chunka]

The person I got the Beardie from said born/hatched about 2/25/09.

He/She is so small though..

today weighed about an hour ago 10.1g and length is just over 6.75"

Seems like this would be closer to a 2 month old.

Is this helathy? What can I do to "Beef" up..or should I question intestinal parasites?

I offer greens/fruits daily all refused. It's been eating 8-16 crickets daily, same w/ mealworms. and deficating every other dayt or once daily...in its water dish.

 

[jscott]

hello and welcome.

i would remove the water dish if he is pooping in it. if he does that when your not home then decides to drink from it he could get sick.

try offering water through a clean dropper or feeding syringe instead; that way you know how much water hes getting everyday and you know its clean.

to troubleshoot, it would help if you let us know a little about your setup; light bulb wattages and brand names(how old too), do you use sand/carpet/tile, heat rocks or heat pads, nightlights, vitamins/calcium... any of that stuff? try to be specific about everything in the cage. that will help us figure out what(if anything) might be the matter.

 

[spurlee01]

It's typically not recommended to feed dragons mealworms, especially when they are this small. They have very little meat on them compared to the amount of shell. Too many shells can cause impaction (meaning your baby can't poop). In addition to the information the above poster asked for it would help to know what the basking, warm side, and cool side temps are and what type of thermometer you use (stick-on, digital w/ probe, temp gun)

 

[zebraflavencs]

Both above posters are correct. Here is a link to a great list of foods that will help you feed your dragon a varied diet that is healthy for him/her :

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Now the size dragon you have does indeed sound like a 7-8 week old.
You should be offering prey insects dusted with either calcium or vits depending on the day (first feeding a day only) as much as he/she will eat 3 times a day for 15-20 minutes. Make sure that the insects are no longer than the distance between the dragons eyes to prevent impaction (baaaaaaaaaad). You will find that shortly your little Master is growing and eating you out of house and crix !
Hope this helps out !
Janie.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

We do need to know what type & brand of UVB light you are using? Is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light? Are you using a bright white basking light or a colored light?
What type of substrate are you using, sand, tiles, paper towels?
What do you use to measure the temperatures with? A round analogue stick on, a digital probe or a temp gun?
As stated above, for a young baby dragon, mealies are not recommended on a regular basis because they can cause impaction.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Chunka]

Sorry for the delay my computer has a trojan and so far no anti-virus has been successful in removing it.

Since Friday he's gained 1 gram and 1/4"

He's been eating crickets mostly, since I've introduced them to him. He wants them alive only and I dust them in the morning.
He does not like any greens veggies or fruit yet and won't take anything from a dropper. To avoid the pooping in water I put water in when I'm there, remove it when I"m not and I soak the pumice stone etc I'm getting the Mega Ray light, right now it was the Power Sun 100w light (I've read the threads on Power Sun and am aware of all the issues with it.) I also hsve an infared ceramic light....Sun Glo or something like that 100w

Temps I've gotten 78-80 at night 110 on log, 95 ambient cool side 88-90 I have three thermometers in there, a stick, probe and I use an infared gun.

I hope I answered all questions, I do see him shedding on his head some but no where else. Since getting him last week he's definitely settled in and had become so active.

 

[Chryss]

One thing I can tell you is your's is definately small if he/she was really born on 2/25. Alvin was born around the same time and he is now 12.5" in length. He was actually 6.25" when I got him. He also started out eating about 6-7 crickets a day but has increased to about 30 a day. It wasn't until after I got the T-Rex UVB bulb did he start to really eat though.

 

[Chunka]

My computer has officially died.

I'm at work on break and wanted to mention that he/she is eating about 25 crickets a day (Small ones) , the cricketse could be a little larger but I rather not see how large he/she could safely go so I'm sticking with small ones.

He/She started with just a few at a time and so I've seen a huge difference, I definitely make sure the light is on for at least additional two hours after eating.

Very tame and up 2 grams in 2 days!!

Now if I could just get going w/ plans on building a larger enclosure before he/she grows outof this 30 gal one he/she is in!

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

It is possible to have a runt in a clutch. I have 1 in every clutch I have that just doesnt seem to grow like its siblings. Once the pooper has its own space and food source with no competition for it the growth takes off and they tend to catch up fast. Yours does seem on the tiny side. but based on the growth your reporting I think your off to a good start in catching him up.

 

[Chryss]

Yea!! I am glad he/she is chowing down. It won't be long now. It is so comforting to know that they are healthy and eating

 

[Chunka]

Absolutely so happy he/she is healthy, growing thriving. I don't care of the end size in contrat to having the world's largest/smallest beardie. I just want to ensure I am having him/her in the healthiest environment. Such a good lil lizard, hunting his crickets down etc...I feellike I need to breed crickets with how fast he's killing them off!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great to hear that he is eating well now. He must be feeling good.
Make sure you get the Solar Glo instead of the Sun Glo because the Sun Glo is just a basking light while the Solar Glo is the mercury vapor bulb. The Megaray, The T-rex, & the Solar Glo are the 3 mercury vapor bulbs that I recommend.

I hope your computer get revived! You need to get a firewall installed, it helps tremendously.

Tracie