Lack of protein affecting growth?

[Ethelia]

Hi guys,

Miso is around 12-14 weeks old, and has never really "gotten" the whole bugs thing.
She will eat salad until she is blue in the face but never showed any interest in locust or crickets.
I tried three feeding sessions in a seperate tub daily but nope. She ate one cricket then decided it wasnt for her.

Butterworms however seem to be the only thing she will even entertain.
She wont eat them out of a bowl and will only go for them if I drop them from a height so they roll away from her.
Some days I can only get one into her, some days its 4, some days none.
They are fat butters though.

I tried supplimenting her protien by offering her pellets.
Nope. Leaves the whole salad in outrage if i put them in.
So Ive started to grind them into dust and add them to her salad, but im talking 5 pellets max before she rumbles me.

Ive taken to giving her a feeding of babyfood a week with extra calc and vits to just desperately try to get something into her.
Im only doing this once a week because I know this is a dreadful habit to get into because they can get spoilt quickly so Im really trying to keep it to a minimum.

Obviously its not ideal and Im really starting to get concerned.


Miso is 12ish weeks old and at 8.5" with her tail nip. I estimate she's missing around 2 inches, so we are talking 10.5".
According to http://www.dachiu.com/beardeddragoncare/growthcharts.html this is ok, but Im worried.

So my questions are:
1. Is there anything else I can do to help get protein into her?
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2. Will her lack of interest in protein cause her to be stunted? or if she starts eating bugs as she gets older will she continue to grow without consequence?

Here are a few shots. As you can see she is perfectly plump, but Im still a worried momma!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Holly

 

[annieoakley123]

miso is very cute, so is her name. How long have you had her? did this just recently happen or always been an issue? The only thing i can think of is that she might not have the right temps or lighting? If it isnt hot enough they cannot digest, and if not proper uv source their appetite will diminish. But you say shes eating a bunch of salad. I would suggest maybe getting some bearded dragon bites. they are pink bite size squares and much like tofu. They also increase their appetite. I would also just feed her in her enclosure. I once tried to get my baby to eat in a tub and she got mad and just wanted out!! but thats when i just had her for a few days. I often just leave them in the enclosure....not too many but she eats them all up now (3 times daily) just make sure you take out the rest when its bed time. is she pooping often and looking normal?
Thats all i can think of, and i hope it helps!

 

[Ethelia]

miso is very cute, so is her name. How long have you had her? did this just recently happen or always been an issue? The only thing i can think of is that she might not have the right temps or lighting? If it isnt hot enough they cannot digest, and if not proper uv source their appetite will diminish. But you say shes eating a bunch of salad. I would suggest maybe getting some bearded dragon bites. they are pink bite size squares and much like tofu. They also increase their appetite. I would also just feed her in her enclosure. I once tried to get my baby to eat in a tub and she got mad and just wanted out!! but thats when i just had her for a few days. I often just leave them in the enclosure....not too many but she eats them all up now (3 times daily) just make sure you take out the rest when its bed time. is she pooping often and looking normal?
Thats all i can think of, and i hope it helps!

Thank you for her responce. Unfortunatly its not something as easy as temps and lighting (damn!).
She has a JBL Reptil-Sun tube (new bulb availiable in the UK which i have tested myself)
Her basking temps vary from 107-112 during the day, which are measured with a digital thermom. with probe.

She is pooping once or twice daily without any ill affects. She also gets a bath every day.

Yes she has always been like this.
I did give up feeding in the bin, but she showed no interest in the bugs in her viv either.

Ive tried pellets but Ive never heard of beardie bites? I'll definatley try them. Can you remember the brand?

Thanks alot and keep the input coming guys!
Holly

 

[annieoakley123]

I dont remember but they have them pretty much anywhere. they come in a box with a peep hole and they are pink. ill just send a link so you can see. When i first got my baby she was having relocation stress and i needed her to eat! so i just set some out on a little plater and when i came back she was for sure in them!!! Im stumped as well with whats going on. Hopefully someone can!!! http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=400 thats a plastic container one, same thing.

 

[MissT]

Holly, just an idea but have you tried anything other than butterworms and locusts?

Kazi has always been a salad lover, from he was 4 inches long he ate salad til it practically came out his ears. In his early days, he needed protein to keep his strength and the only thing I could get him to eat were phoenix worms. I went through hundreds of them every week but it was easy as I could just put around 30 in a dish in the morning and he eventually figured out that they were food and they were yummy. It was months before I got Kazi off them - he was completely addicted!!! He has never ate more than 4 butterworms in a day and he tortures wax worms. He eats locusts - but only if they are 'too small' for his liking then he goes on strike. I have had some success with crickets, on very rare occasions.... but then, they are gross.

Im just thinking, maybe what I have experienced will give you some ideas of what to try with Miso? Maybe leaving the worms in there for a while will allow her to 'get to know them' if you know what I mean??

 

[Ethelia]

Im afraid that link doesnt work for me.
Im in the UK btw


Thanks T. So far I havent been able to get hold of any pheonix's. Livefoods.co.uk and butterworms.co.uk havent had them in in a while I think.
Where do you get yours?

I have tried leaving them in a dish.
This is Miso's responce (there are about 4 worms under her)

As we speak though I am disinfecting a clear tub for her to try to see if she will go for them if she can see them wiggling more.



Holly

 

[annieoakley123]

silly girl, isnt it frustrating when perfectly good food is being ignored!!! thats how i was feeling this morning with mine. He better have eaten them all by the time i get back home! do a search for bearded dragon bites....they are made my nutri-something...

 

[MissT]

So far I havent been able to get hold of any pheonix's. Livefoods.co.uk and butterworms.co.uk havent had them in in a while I think.
Where do you get yours?

I dont think livefoods ever get them. They used to be supplied by pollywog as calci grubs but since butterworms.co.uk started getting them in, calci grubs disappeared!! I havent bought any in a long while - I only order them for Kazi's special occasions now as I would need far too many to keep him satisfied as a staple but I ordered some yesterday from http://www.butterworms.co.uk so they must have got them back in stock. They are super wiggly and very fast so if you were able to get her some they should catch her attention and make her realise that protein is yummy and comes in lots of different forms!!! I am a great supporter of phoenix worms... but its just not an option when you have a 19inch beardie with the appetite of a horse lol! Right now, im just thinking they MIGHT kick-start Miso's desire to eat!!

Next time you order the butters, if you can throw 100 medium phoenix worms on your order. Try giving her maybe 15 - 20 per day, in the morning, in a small but deep smooth sided dish (phoenix worms are excellent climbers). Place it somewhere where she will see it wherever she goes - somewhere so that when she is basking it will catch her attention down below her if you know what I mean. Just leave it in there all day and see what she makes of it. If she eats them, put some butterworms in for the afternoon feeding OR... you could buy size 3 (I know it seems large but they are soft bodied, I promise) locusts and see if she will take a couple of those??


I love the pic!!! Have to love how they sit on their important protein!!

 

[MissT]

I tried three feeding sessions in a seperate tub daily but nope. She ate one cricket then decided it wasnt for her.

Dont know how I missed this comment before but just thought I should mention, I had trouble feeding Kazi outside his enclosure as a little one. Why not set aside a little time with a box of locusts dropping 1-2 into her enclosure at a time - like Kazi, Miso doesnt like change so think about it, each time you put her in the seperate tub, its like a little bit of relocation stress all over again! So, if in her own enclosure, she may well be a little more interested in the crazy jumping bugs!!

 

[annieoakley123]

-just wanted to add in that miso's first pic with her belly pressed against that rock os sooooo cute!!! just like shes saying "hhheeeeellllooooooo" she looks happy and plump, maybe you can make her into a fat vegitarian hehehe

 

[Ethelia]

Woah when in the heck did they get pheonix worms back in?
I'll definately add some to my next order.

Thanks T. Im definately going to try the see-through bowl today and I'll put it somewhere where she can see inside it. Hopefully seeing the wiggling might attract her attention.
Alas T I only started trying to feed her in the seperate container when she refused bugs in her own viv, and after that i tried again. I tried adding lots at once to see if it excited her, and i tried just plonking one or two down infront of her. Diva never batted an eyelid :roll:

Thanks annieoakley123. She is lovely a plump even though she is trying to be a vegetarian hehe!

holly

 

[MissT]

Alas T I only started trying to feed her in the seperate container when she refused bugs in her own viv, and after that i tried again. I tried adding lots at once to see if it excited her, and i tried just plonking one or two down infront of her. Diva never batted an eyelid

Lol, typical diva!!! Dont give up on that tho - some day she might surprise you. Im trying to think of everything we did to make Kazi eat but that was 8 months ago :? and it appears that I have a short memory!!! But when he did start eating properly there was no stopping him.... at one point we were going through 2 salads, 50 phoenix worms and 30 locusts per day - sometimes I wished he would stop for just a day lol!!

If I think of anything else I will let you know.....

Let me know how the phoenix worms go if you get them!

T

 

[Ethelia]

Just an update.
I found "Nature Zone Bearded Dragon Bites" which look fantastic but Ive so far not found any web site in the UK that stocks it

Im currently waiting on an order of Phoenix worms so fingers crossed she likes them ^_^

Holly

 

[sunkist]

I hope she likes the phoenix worms. Depending on how fast she eats them the large are not that much bigger than the mediums.