Lazy

[chillinspike]

Well ive had my bearded for 3 weeks now, and ever since ive had him ,he seems lazy when it comes to feeding lol, sometimes he will chase a cricket down and grub on him, but most of the time, hes on his rock and waits for them to come to him, and then he lundges at them, sometimes missing lol, my question is, i went to a local pet store which has 3 bd's in a cage, 2 are 6 months and the other is about 9, i got to see them feed them the other day and when they let the crickets go, the dragons would chase them down, one even chased one up to the top of the branch in the enclosure, once mine gets older, will he chase them and or will he always be lazy and wait for a easy meal lol, any info would be much appreciated :!:

 

[NegativeCreep]

Well.. there is always the case of the lazy beardie.
How many crickets does your guy eat in a day?
What kind of UVB source do you use? (name brand, type, and number)
What are your temps? (basking area and cool side)
How are you measuring your temps? (digital therm w/ probe, stick on, dial therm, or temp gun)

My biggest guess would be cage conditions not being just right..

 

[chillinspike]

Not sure of the temp, i need to get a gauge, um well in a day that depends lol, sometimes if they are a bit bigger criks than others he may eat 5-10, if they are small like when i first got him, he ate like 2 dozen in a day lol, had to go to the store the next day lol, and the lighting is a 75 watt basking light, its above his basking rock on the hot side, and on the other side of the cage, i have the water bowl, and a peice of pertified wood, im not really worried about him not eating enough, he eats carrots also, its just he doesnt run after the criks, just watches them and waits til they come to him, i think he is gana be lazy tho lol, he is pretty active in his tank, sometimes runs around, tries to get out by jumping on the glass, im not sure what the brands are for the light and the bulb, i think the light was from like r-zilla or sumthin and the bulb may have been the same, the pet store told me i would need that, so i had to wait til one came in, in the mean time i had a household bulb til i got him his basking light, anythong to be worried about or is he just lazy

 

[NegativeCreep]

Well, the type of UVB light is important and measuring the temps is VERY important. It's quite likely that his 'laziness' is due to the temps not being correct. Get you a thermometer at walmart for $12 - an accurite brand with an indoor/outdoor temp reading with a probe at the end of a long wire. This kind of thermometer will allow you get to an accurate basking temp and cool side temp in one.

12 crickets in one day is not nearly enough!! My beardie eats a modest lunch of live feeders with as much salad as she wants then eats at least 50 crickets for dinner. She normally gets 5 butter worms or apx 25-30 phoenix worms at lunch. (today she got about 15 butter worms though, because I felt bad because I missed dinner last night - I ended up being gone all night, unplanned. Then she still ate about 60 crickets at dinner)

Also, carrots aren't the best veggie to offer as a staple. You should look into offering a dark, leafy green like collard, turnip or mustard greens and/or squash. You can supplement the veggies with carrot, but it has too much vitamin A.

 

[chillinspike]

How can i tell what the uva light is? ive looked on the wire and it doesnt have the rating, and 2morrow my mom is gana get me sum kale at the store, im def gana get a gauge to tell the temps, hes small only 7 inches long, about 3 months old, how much should he be eating a day, how old is yours, must be a little older if it eats 50 criks n a sitting lol, i love waching spike eat criks, and im def gana get him some kale, are sweet potatoes good for them, ive read that it is something they will eat but is it nutrious for them? thanks for your help btw im new to this, ive done alot of reading up tho :study: , thats how i found this site, and im very happy that i have :mrgreen:

 

[NegativeCreep]

uvA light comes from just about any light, so it's nothing to worry about. uvB light is what is so important. If you have a decent, reputable bulb, it should have the brand name and rating on the bulb itself. Your UVB light source should come from a long, florescent tube light (compacts/coils are dangerous!) or from a Mercury Vapor Bulb (which put out light, heat and UVB from one source, but must be used in a large enough enclosure).

50 crickets in one feeding is very TYPICAL. It has nothing to do with size or age (with the exception of an adult). If his/her temps aren't good, then his appetite will reflect this. His size of only 7 inches is also an indication that his temps/feeding is not good.

I don't want to scare you, but I think there is something very wrong.

 

[chillinspike]

He seems to be growing very fast, he is also gettin fat, and the bulb i got was from the pet store, they said i has to have it, and the reptile specialist told me i needed it, i will get a gauge to check the temps, the themps for him should be what 105-115 degrees, i hope nothing is wrong, he seems fine

 

[NegativeCreep]

7 inches is very small for 3 months.

Also, pet stores (even the ones with reptile specialists!! - I'm assuming you went to petco or petsmart) are generally incorrect.

 

[chillinspike]

Could my bd eat worms yet, i wish he would eat more

 

[chillinspike]

7 inches is very small for 3 months.

Also, pet stores (even the ones with reptile specialists!! - I'm assuming you went to petco or petsmart) are generally incorrect.

I went to a mom/pop type store but is a HUGE version of one, im not really sure if he is 3 months, ive had him 3 weeks, and he was around 2 months old when i got him, he also just shed like 3 nights ago, im buying a gauge 2morrow, i went to petsmart and wasnt really amused with what they had, plus it was a bit over priced, they also didnt have a single bd there, which surprised me, and there is no writting on the bulb of the light, on the surface i can see, its on right now

 

[NegativeCreep]

Stay away from meal worms all together. He can have Super Worms when he is 16" or larger.
Right now, he can have any soft-bodied worms, but finding them small enough for him is the difficult part.
Phoenix worms are your best bet; they are small, soft, and PACKED with calcium. They aren't commercially available at the big-box pet stores, though. You can find them at http://www.phoenixworm.com
I keep them on hand (even though they are a bit small for Blaze now) and she has about 25-30 at lunch (but she could easily eat 50+ in one feeding).

 

[chillinspike]

Stay away from meal worms all together. He can have Super Worms when he is 16" or larger.
Right now, he can have any soft-bodied worms, but finding them small enough for him is the difficult part.
Phoenix worms are your best bet; they are small, soft, and PACKED with calcium. They aren't commercially available at the big-box pet stores, though. You can find them at http://www.phoenixworm.com
I keep them on hand (even though they are a bit small for Blaze now) and she has about 25-30 at lunch (but she could easily eat 50+ in one feeding).

Wow thats alot man lol, i will check with the store i got mine from and ask the specialist, she has had 2 bd's one of which was like close to 20 years old :shock: some1 gave it to her, but im going to ask her, the other one that was in the same cage as mine is a little smaller than what mine is, and mine is def. fatter, longer aswell, im kinda freakin out here, i dont want to loose spike, ive been taking good care of him, btw the way i feed him this may be a reason, is in the morning i put about 10 criks in at one time, these are a bit bigger than the ones i started him off of, he wont even pay those attention anymore, sometimes he doesnt eat all the criks and they chill in the cage with him, i put in a toilet paper cardboard roll in there which is where they hang out at, soo my question is, could a reason why he doesnt eat as many as he should is because they are in the cage all day? i would think that if he was hungry he would just eat them when he wanted to? is this a bad thing, do i need to chage it?

 

[NegativeCreep]

Remaining crickets can stress him out, but more importantly, they will crawl on him and bite him causing sores. Any extra crickets should be removed, but many folks choose to feed in a separate enclosure/tub to prevent chasing them down.

I really think that he is small and eating so little because of the temps or lack of proper UVB exposure. UVB is extremely important. It allows them to metabolize calcium, which is essential in bone development/growth. Do you dust his crickets with calcium and vitamins?

 

[chillinspike]

Remaining crickets can stress him out, but more importantly, they will crawl on him and bite him causing sores. Any extra crickets should be removed, but many folks choose to feed in a separate enclosure/tub to prevent chasing them down.

I really think that he is small and eating so little because of the temps or lack of proper UVB exposure. UVB is extremely important. It allows them to metabolize calcium, which is essential in bone development/growth. Do you dust his crickets with calcium and vitamins?

Ya i get the criks dusted everytime i get some, and i just took out the extra criks that where in his enclosure, i will find out what the temps are, do you think a 75 watt is good enough, i got the one they told me i would need, i should have kept the box

 

[NegativeCreep]

There is no way to say yes or no on the bulb wattage. Everyone's conditions vary so much. The only way to tell for sure is to take proper temps.