New beardie baby question.

[roseplummer]

So we went to the pet store to get my daughter a hermit crab and while there found a baby bearded dragon on clearance because he had missing toes and tail. My hubby couldn't leave him there in that condition so we bought him. We have him in a 10 gallon (for now) aquarium with calci-sand and a basking light (zoo-med I think) water dish and a wooded log for hiding in and rocks for basking. He is a sweet little fella and very curious. We can't however figure out how much to feed him. He is 4 and a half inches long but would probably be 5- 5 and a half if part of his tail wasn't missing. Everything says they will eat until the die so hubby was feeding him 2 crickets a day but that doesn't seem like enough. Do we literally just dump a bunch in and let him eat for 15 minutes? Hubby is terrified of him eating to much and dieing. And how do we get small crickets? Ours are all different sizes. We are feeding the crickets these orange cubes of cricket food that is supposed to make them more nutritious.

We also offer veggies so far just shredded carrots. We have only had him a day and a half. Please help us keep Rango healthy!

 

[NFM07]

At the top of this page there is a caresheet that is very helpful. Also, looking around at other threads helps. Just saying because many people have answered the same thing over and over again.

Here is the link. http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/

Because I am still learning and sharing helps me learn faster I'll post here so no one else will feel the need to. I'll edit it in a bit with info.

Edited: Info.
First, toss the sand. That will kill it faster then over eating will. You'll need to get a UVB light, beardies need the UV rays to help make D3. If they dont get enough of it and calcuim their bones wont grow right. Rule of thumb, no food bigger then the space between his eyes and offer crickets for 15 mins. As many as you want and after 15 mins take out whatever he did not eat. Make sure to get them all or the crickets might make a meal of him. What are the temps under your basking light? Some pet stores have small crickets you can also order them online. Not sure about the orange cubes. Offer green veggies, not iceburg lettece though. You can also get worms, not mealworms though, again you can order them online and there are a lot. You'll need to give baths also, keep the water low enough that he cant drown. This will need to be every other day kind of thing.

I think that covers what you asked, Im sure that as I typed this someone else came in and answered also. ha ha ha

 

[roseplummer]

Thanks. I looked it up but got conflicting results. I really don't want to hurt him but I tend to be an over feeder. Hubby didn't want me feeding him to much. I will switch to the feed as much as he will eat method.

 

[NFM07]

This is also another very good site for info about food. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/home.html

 

[lauraj1055]

Definately ditch the calci sand.. like the previous poster said.. that is the #1 killer of beardies. They injest the sand, and it because hard in their stomach like a rock, and they can't pass it... So many bearides have died this way.. And you can't overfeed a baby. They know when to stop eating. They are not like fish.. LOL

A lot of babies will go through anywhere from 40 - 80 crickets a day... it's cheaper to order them online, otherwise you will go broke at the pet store buying them.

There are tons of other good feeders too:

reptiworms www.reptiworms.com
phoenix worms www.phoenixworms.com

and my favorite
dubia roaches (you can find a lot of members selling them in the for sale section here)

And make sure you have the proper UVB light.. reptisun 10.0 is the best, and cand be found at www.beardeddragon.co

Good luck and post pictures!

 

[randommonks]

A good rule for feeding is to feed as much as he can eat in 10-15 minutes, using feeders no bigger than the space between the eyes. Babies can eat as much as 20 small crickets per feeding, with feedings done 2-3 times daily. When Darwin was a baby, he ate around 20-30 per feeding, twice a day. They grow quickly so giving them as much as they want is the best way to go . I know you said you were worried about overfeeding, but what I've noticed is that no matter how many crickets I offer, I always have to take some out because he knows when he's full, and won't eat any more past it. You can ask for the small crickets at pet stores, and if they don't differentiate them (which they should if it's Petsmart or Petco), ask if they can try to get you the smallest ones. You can gutload with Fluker's, but I tended to use carrots.

I would get rid of the sand, it's really not good for him. Try getting reptile carpet or nonadhesive shelf liner. In the meantime, newspaper or paper towel would work. Ingested sand can cause him to get constipated, which is fairly serious for reptiles. I also agree that you need to get a UVB light, preferably one that is in tube form, rather than the compact/coil form. You'll also want to get him into a larger tank within the next month or so so he doesn't feel too cramped (they grow very quickly, Darwin 3 months ago was 6" when I got him, now he's at 15" :shock: ). Take a look around the site, and you'll find a lot of great info. Make sure that your basking temp is around 105F to ensure proper digestion. Congrats on your new beardie and I think it's awesome that you guys adopted him!

 

[roseplummer]

He ate 4 crickets last night and then refused anymore. This morning he completely ignored the crickets so now I am worried about the sand. I will get it out of his tank as soon as possible. He is really tiny.
This is a good size reference (Head rubbing puts him to sleep lol) He is very snuggly and loves to watch us and see what we are doing. He is missing most of his back toes and unsure how much tail is gone

In his tank. ( we plan to get a larger tank very soon)

 

[lauraj1055]

Oh he is just tooo cute!!!! I would get the sand out like yesterday...

 

[reddragon087]

I would toss the sand, when they are that small they are likely to ingest the sand which will only
lead to impaction and impaction can lead to paralysis of the legs or even death. I use a regular
bath towel in my cage, one that is kind of old so it isn't fluffy or tearing apart. Try to give him
variety, if he continues on carrots most likely he will stop eating them. You can use a variety of
greens such as mustard greens, kale, parsley, collard greens. You can also use a variety of fruits
and veggies: for instance, radishes, apples, pears. Cut them up small to where he can eat them.
I wouldn't dump a load of crickets in his tank, place I would say 4-5 in his tank and see if he will
eat them within a 15 minute period. If not, don't leave them in the tank because they will start
to feed on him. You can also try reptiworms, don't do mealworms.

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi Rose.

I wanted to add some info so that you don't get too worried.

Relocation stress happens to all beardies. It occurs when a dragon is moved to a new home, a new tank, or even new things are placed in the tank in some cases. This period of stress can last for a week or more in some dragons. During this time, the dragon will hardly eat, if eat at all. Usually, a dragon will eat the first day, then not the next day when the relocation stress starts to settle in. This is what worries a lot of owners. But don't worry, its just your beardie getting used to his environment. Once the relocation stress settles, the dragon will be eating you out of house and home.

You should feed 3 times a day if you can, 2 times is the minimum for a baby. Each of these feeding times, the dragon should be allowed to eat as many feeders as it can eat, in a 10-15 minute period. It's not uncommon for dragons to go through over 50+ crickets a day. At their young age, they need enormous amounts of protein. Once they start becoming adults, you can lay off the protein every day and switch mainly to salads, and feeders every couple days.

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

We got some shelf liner (I saw it used on a different thread) And got rid of the sand. He is eating again and seems to average 3-4 crickets. I plan to offer a variety of veggies and green leafies so that he doesn't get bored with them and he is exposed to more variety at a young age. It looks like he may lose one of his back feet entirely. We are keeping a close eye on it. I can't believe he was allowed to be hurt like that The good news is it doesn't seem to affect his movement at all. My kids love to watch him chase down the crickets lol

 

[Claudiusx]

With a damaged back foot, you want to be certain that you have the Reptisun 10.0 uvb bulb. It's the only bulb that provides enough uvb rays to dragons. All other bulbs don't provide enough, or cause illnesses.

Could you get a picture of the foot?

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

His feet The one on the left seems darker/dryer than when we first got him. His injuries may seem minor to some but to me it is a big deal. I feel so bad for him.

And a cute full body picture. When I put my hand down in the cage he never wants to get off my hand lol Spoiled already

 

[Claudiusx]

Aww poor baby. Looks like some clutch mates were nibbling on him.

What uvb bulb are you using at the moment?

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

I have no idea. I didn't save the package. It was the one the pet store sold us. Starting tomorrow I plan to take him outside for some play time. I am going to let him run around in an empty and dry baby pool (with supervision) That way he gets some natural light.