Need Advice on 3 dragons of different ages....

[DaddyGeek]

Scroll to bottom if you don't want to read a novel lol



So I have been looking over the site and once again I am confused on some things. Currently my dragons are all eating different feeders and I would like to simplify that because frankly it is getting expensive. I can afford to keep going this route if I need to but I'd rather not. All of them get fresh salads daily but only Bevo seems interested. This will be a long post so please bear with me as I want the best care possible so I want to be as thorough as possible.


First up is Bevo...

Bevo is 17 inches and loving his supers. He won't even touch a cricket anymore He will eat dubia occasionally but does not go after them as enthusiastically as the supers. I plan to keep him on supers with dubia when he will take them but was wondering what was a safe amount of supers a day for him. I searched through some other threads and some caresheets and found some people saying five or six a day not to exceed 35 a week but that seems a little small to me. He has not shown any problems with digestion. As I said he is 17 inches long and somewhere around a year old. When I got him the previous owners were unsure and told me nine months and I have had him for at least two months now.


Next we have Rory...

She is at least 3 months old and about 12 inches last I measured which was a week or so ago. She is eating dubia and will eat crickets occasionally. Today all she would eat was dubia though. She had a butterworm the other day and seemed to enjoy it so I was wondering about supers for her as well. I have seen some people say they feed medium supers to dragons around this size and wanted opinions on this because the caresheet I see floated around say not until 17 inches should they have these. Anyone have any ideas on this? Also today and the last few days she would only eat around 10 dubia in a sitting and only once a day. She was uninterested after that and let them just run past her when I tried to do a few more feedings on those days. How many dubia daily should she be eating? I assume if she turns them down she is full and I shouldn't worry.

aaaaand Peach...

I think I have peach figured out. I didn't feed Rory any dubia when she was that age but that is all Peach is getting. She is eating well on dubia. She'll tear in to them for a minute then run off to a corner. She does this a few times daily.


Bevo Questions:-17 inches/Approx 1 year old
1. Can supers be his staple with the occasional dubia?
2. How many daily/weekly?

Rory Questions-12 inches/Approx 3 months
1. Can she eat medium/small supers?
2. Currently eating dubias but will only eat about 10 once a day. Is this normal?

Peach Questions-8 inches when I got her/8 weeks old
1. Can dubia be her staple?
2. How many is normal? She currently eats maybe 15 small a day but has more than that offered to her.

 

[BeardieGrandma]

Bevo Questions:-17 inches/Approx 1 year old
1. Can supers be his staple with the occasional dubia? - at 1 years age he is still growing, supers can be a staple, some say it's ok to feed everyday, others advise to limit to 35 a week given the high fat content. If you offset feeding with a couple dubia here and there you should be ok.2. How many daily/weekly?

Rory Questions-12 inches/Approx 3 months
1. Can she eat medium/small supers? Many advise that you shouldn't feed supers until they are 16" long, given the higher chitin levels in supers. Dragons digestive track has a 'kink' in it that straightens out when they get to be about 16" long. I have read on the boards people feeding small supers to the younger ones. Be careful and watchful on digestion if you choose to try it out. Keep in mind supers are yummy. Once introduced in the diet, sometimes hard to get them to eat anything else...keep the variety up in an attempt to keep them from getting picky.2. Currently eating dubias but will only eat about 10 once a day. Is this normal? Rory should probably be eathing more depending on the size of dubia you are feeding. There is more 'meat' on the roach than a cricket so she may be filling up on those just fine. I once weight equivalent supers to crickets to give myself some sanity check on volume of food equivalents. I would weight them all weekly as they grow and make sure they are putting on weight and growing steadily. Dragons seem to differ on appetities, growth rate, so it's hard to say whether Rory is normal or not. At 3 months, she should be eating 2X a day though. Go through your husbandry checklist (temps, lights, etc.), keep her hydrated with baths and/or misting, and if her appetite drops and it's not associated with shedding, then go for the fecal check.
Peach Questions-8 inches when I got her/8 weeks old
1. Can dubia be her staple? Absolutely. Dubias have a high protein content and are better feeders than crickets. they are cleaner, aren't as smelly. Feed her as many as she'll eat in a 10-15 period, sticking with the 'space between the eyes' rule for size.2. How many is normal? She currently eats maybe 15 small a day but has more than that offered to her.[/i]

 

[DaddyGeek]

Thanks for the reply I've checked over my husbandry and it all seems fine. Temps on the basking side in the low 100's. Temps on the cool side in the low to mid 80's. They each have their own 4x2x2 enclosure as well. They get a bath daily and misted a few times throughout the day because I definitely worry about dehydration.


I think Rory not wanting crickets may be appetite loss because she is in shed right now, actually all three of them are in shed lol They also have just been relocated in to their new enclosures so the appetite may also be down due to the change in that area. I think I may stick with supers/dubia for Bevo, try dubia/small supers for Rory and do dubia for Peach and when she gets larger try the dubia/small supers for her as well. Peach seems a little on the small side but I think that may be because of her diet from before I got her. All that of course with the treat insects such as butterworms thrown in sometimes and a fresh salad everyday.



Thanks again for the reply