New Baby Feeding

[BabySmaug]

I just got my little guy Smaug and wanted to double-check and make sure I had the right food sources for him. I don't know exactly how old he is, but he is only 6 inches from head to the end of his tail.

The pet store I got him from told me to feed him meal worms and that he was a little low on calcium so they supplied me with several dozen little mealworms. He's eaten a few already but not immediately and only when they cross him.

What -should- I be feeding him and how often? My local pet store runs out of crickets quiet often....

 

[NegativeCreep]

Don't feed him mealworms, whatever you do!
The petstore is wrong. Mealworms will impact a baby that small.

The best thing to do is order your crickets online. There are many, many online retailers who can send you crickets in 250, 500, or more. You can get 250 for $20; you just have to have something to house them in. premiumcrickets.com even sends out 110, they are the only place I have found that will ship so little. But, trust me when I say that your baby can, and likely will, eat 50-100 a day!

Just remember to feed them insects that are smaller than the space between their eyes.

Also, check out the care sheets for more information about feeding, supplements, husbandry, etc. Odds are, the petstore told you a lot of things wrong!

But don't worry! You came to the right place. There are a lot of people here that are nice and willing to help you out!!

hmm.. I wonder what he mean on a "little low on calcium." Do you give him calcium supplements? Our petstore told us that we only needed multivitamins; which that is dead wrong.

 

[BabySmaug]

It wouldn't really surprise me if the pet store was wrong.

Thanks for the warning, I took the mealworms out of his tank. They also told me to keep him in a calcium substrate - but he's so tiny, I was worried that would impact him, which I read somewhere.

Would it be better to get the 110 or 500? I'd rather not to ordering crickets several times a month, to save on shipping but I don't have many means of keeping that many crickets. I assume most people would have a separate house for their crickets?

 

[NegativeCreep]

It wouldn't really surprise me if the pet store was wrong.

Thanks for the warning, I took the mealworms out of his tank. They also told me to keep him in a calcium substrate - but he's so tiny, I was worried that would impact him, which I read somewhere.

Would it be better to get the 110 or 500? I'd rather not to ordering crickets several times a month, to save on shipping but I don't have many means of keeping that many crickets. I assume most people would have a separate house for their crickets?

I house 500 at a time in a 10 gallon tank. It's probably worth investing in one, if you plan on using crickets for a main staple.. at least for now. A lot of people are moving away from crix, but I still use them.

Anyways, it will really be based on his appetite. I hate to tell you to order 500 and they grow too large before he can eat them all. would start with 250 IMO. Do you have anything else that would eat them, if they did get too big?
I order mine about half the size she can comfortably eat, that way they have some growing room... But, beware, pinheads are tiny, tiny. Some petstores call their small crix pinheads.

But, you likely won't want to order more than 500 at a time, they will probably die and grow too large before you can feed them off.

BTW, good for you for not putting your baby on that nasty old sand!!
The mealies have too hard of an exoskeleton (chitin), which is why they are dangerous. They don't have any real nutrition anyways.

 

[BabySmaug]

I might stick to the 110 for now, just to see how much he'll eat per day and what his habits will be. I used to have another beardie - Kain - who was twice as big as Smaug but he died of impaction and dehydration (I went on vacation, and my boyfriend forgot to take care of him... ). So no, nothing else to feed off the crickets.

Smaug is tiny himself - just barely six inchs from tip of his nose to tip of tail so the pinheads might be okay for him - I might get some 1/8ths in the same shipment just in case they're too small.

 

[NegativeCreep]

Yeah, impaction can be really bad I'm sorry for your previous loss.
I know some owners use different substrates, but many of us choose not to risk anything. I'm sure you will be extra careful..
Also, if you are worried about hydration, be sure to let your baby (throughout it's life as well) have baths. I give my little one a warm bath every other day, but some soak theirs every day, and other once a week. Mine does not drink..

Also, since Smaug has been eating the mealworms, a good warm soak a few times a day would be a good idea, just in case. Pay close attention to his pooping habits for a few days.

You may check into phoenix worms, they are really high in calcium, easy to take care of, small enough and soft enough to be safe, and most beardies love them.

 

[BabySmaug]

Your help in this was greatly appreciated and your advice will be put to quick and good use!

I worry a lot more right now since we just got him and the pet store was vague as to his habits - not that they would have been able to describe much to me. It's always better to view their habits yourself than have a previous owner/supplier try to explain it.

Thanks again for the help! My baby Smaug will definitely be getting regular baths and I will check into phoenix worms.

 

[LJean]

You can go a long way with his health if his temperatures and lighting are correct too.
Do you have a UVB light?
What are his basking temps and cool side temps?

Phoenix worms are a good staple for baby beardies, but can get expensive. They have a good amount of calcium. Are you supplimenting with calcium and multivitamin?

I too would suggest giving the baby a warm bath once or twice a day to keep him hydrated.

 

[BabySmaug]

I've been giving him a bath - he just had one today. Really hard to give him a bath when he won't lift his head up. I get worried he'll drown!

Gave him some crickets and waited around a bit but he didn't touch any of them. He actually eyed them and let them walk all over him!

As for vitamins and calcium - the crickets are dusted with calcium

His basking temps today are 100 and 85 on the cool side.

 

[LJean]

It can be hard when they don't hold their heads up. What I do is hold the dragon in my hand with only their bottom half in the water.

My youngest would not eat for the longest time while we were looking. It's silly really, but true. I would then put her in the tank with the cricks and walk off for a few minutes. I would peek around the corner so she couldn't see me to see how things were going. It took some time for her to start eating as many as she should.

Hang in there! Smaug will come around.

PS: Now my youngest dragon actually swims! It's fun to watch.

 

[BabySmaug]

Smaug clings to my fingers, so I held him there. It's so cute that yours swims!

I figured it might be a people-watching thing - he seems to be very shy about almost everything. I'll just chalk it up to new housing. I had to leave him alone for several hours today because his daddy (my boyfriend) is sick (and we don't live together). So I put in the crickets, saw he wouldn't eat, and left him alone.

I hope to see crickets missing when I get back!

 

[LJean]

I hope the crickets were gone when you returned.

It is cute to see them swim. I hadn't seen it at all with Oscar. He hates a bath, LOL

Oscar and Calypso are total opposites.

 

[BabySmaug]

I called my aunt to check in with my baby. >_<''' She said none of the crickets are gone as of an hour ago. Smaug acts like he's afraid of them.

Would it be a good idea to take the crickets out - or just Smaug since there are so many to catch - and put him in his mobile home to try and feed him one at a time that way?

 

[NegativeCreep]

Yeah, it's a good idea to chase them down and remove the crix. They run around at night disturbing it's sleep, plus they can nibble on them an cause sores (in fact, they will go after his eye for moisture..).

A lot of folks feed outside of their main enclosure so they don't have to chase down uneaten crickets. Blaze still refuses to eat crickets in front of me, so I don't have that luxury!! :lol:

 

[BabySmaug]

XD He sleeps so much - they won't have a chance to get to his eye!

But I will definitely remove the crixs and try to get them to Smaug slowly.