New beardie feeding questions - 6weeks old!

Ryan_the_bard

Member
Beardie name(s)
Gandalf
Hi all, new and excited to be here! I picked up a 4 week old beardie on October 1 at a reptile expo. Gandalf is a leatherback male and has gorgeous coloring. He’s also my first reptile. He’s the best office companion with his set up in my office on a spare desk. I already love the little guy and want to be sure he’s eating ok.

I’ve added all the tank details on my profile. I’ll add a few pics here as well. I feel like temps are pretty decent and he spends most the day basking or climbing around. He darkens up with black lines on his underside while basking, but hasn’t been hiding much and is really comfortable being handled. I’ve had him for almost 2 weeks now.

I’m feeding him primarily Dubias. He’ll typically eat a few greens in the morning (a few bites). Then, he’ll eat only 7-10 dubias per day (total across 3-5 feeding attempts, during most of which he chooses to eat zero). He’s pooping every day and seems fine, I just read online that babies should be eating like 50 dubias per day. I’ll post a pic, his dubias were bought from Dubai roaches.com and he tends to like them a lot (it’s what his breeders were feeding him as well). Should Gandalf be eating a lot more right now?
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hi all, new and excited to be here! I picked up a 4 week old beardie on October 1 at a reptile expo. Gandalf is a leatherback male and has gorgeous coloring. He’s also my first reptile. He’s the best office companion with his set up in my office on a spare desk. I already love the little guy and want to be sure he’s eating ok.

I’ve added all the tank details on my profile. I’ll add a few pics here as well. I feel like temps are pretty decent and he spends most the day basking or climbing around. He darkens up with black lines on his underside while basking, but hasn’t been hiding much and is really comfortable being handled. I’ve had him for almost 2 weeks now.

I’m feeding him primarily Dubias. He’ll typically eat a few greens in the morning (a few bites). Then, he’ll eat only 7-10 dubias per day (total across 3-5 feeding attempts, during most of which he chooses to eat zero). He’s pooping every day and seems fine, I just read online that babies should be eating like 50 dubias per day. I’ll post a pic, his dubias were bought from Dubai roaches.com and he tends to like them a lot (it’s what his breeders were feeding him as well). Should Gandalf be eating a lot more right now?
Welcome gandolph is adorable- please get 2 digital probe thermometers - they are the most accurate for surface basking temps-- 105-110 - place probe on the spot he sits to basks - next crucial thing is uvb- what is in the domes? Gandolph is going thru relocation stress and his eating is going to be off but in order to keep him eating he needs his surface basking temps and uvb up to par- 50 is a lot of dubias- between his salads and roaches I would say about 15-20 per feeding- make sure they are the appropriate size you don't want to feed him roaches too big they will impact him- you can get him some bsfl from here www.dubiaroaches.com also known as nutri grubs- great compliment to the roaches- between the two and salads he should get plenty- you can also add some small super worms 1-3 every other day- use those and the nutri grubs as salad toppers - feed those first thing in the morning- then your roaches -
 

Ryan_the_bard

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gandalf
Welcome gandolph is adorable- please get 2 digital probe thermometers - they are the most accurate for surface basking temps-- 105-110 - place probe on the spot he sits to basks - next crucial thing is uvb- what is in the domes? Gandolph is going thru relocation stress and his eating is going to be off but in order to keep him eating he needs his surface basking temps and uvb up to par- 50 is a lot of dubias- between his salads and roaches I would say about 15-20 per feeding- make sure they are the appropriate size you don't want to feed him roaches too big they will impact him- you can get him some bsfl from here www.dubiaroaches.com also known as nutri grubs- great compliment to the roaches- between the two and salads he should get plenty- you can also add some small super worms 1-3 every other day- use those and the nutri grubs as salad toppers - feed those first thing in the morning- then your roaches -
I have a temp gun to measure surface temp, so I have basking spots between 100 to 110 on different ledges. He seems to do a good job navigating to those. I have a 48 inch UVB accross the tank (on top of the mesh lid), the domes have a basking light and a ceramic heating light. I keep the ceramic on at night, otherwise it gets down to like 65 at night. You're thinking 15-20 per feeding would be what he eventually settles into? how many feedings like that per day? How long do you typically see the relocation stress last for in babies?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
What kind of screen is on the tank? Post a pic of it please-- the uvb has certain distance and placement - that's going to be determined by the screen
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I have a temp gun to measure surface temp, so I have basking spots between 100 to 110 on different ledges. He seems to do a good job navigating to those. I have a 48 inch UVB accross the tank (on top of the mesh lid), the domes have a basking light and a ceramic heating light. I keep the ceramic on at night, otherwise it gets down to like 65 at night. You're thinking 15-20 per feeding would be what he eventually settles into? how many feedings like that per day? How long do you typically see the relocation stress last for in babies?
Depends on the dragon- temps and uvb will help w/ him acclimating to the tank and surroundings - blaze took months to come around - his eating was good his socialization w/ us sucked- he was terrible - bite run hiss at times I had to wear a glove- worked w/ him for months- as far as diet feed him the roaches 2-3 times per day- blaze phazed out the 2 nd feeding around 5 months but I was feeding him a variety of roaches bsfl super worms silk worms and salads- he got full in the mornings pretty much- he eventually quit eating just roaches around 5 months or so - the staple insects were fed at different intervalls- I would offer silk worms like 3 then roaches
 

Ryan_the_bard

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gandalf
What kind of screen is on the tank? Post a pic of it please-- the uvb has certain distance and placement - that's going to be determined by the screen
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok you have a wide hole please put the uvb directly above the basking decor 8-10 inches-
 

Ryan_the_bard

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Gandalf
Given it’s been almost 2 weeks with him. If his eating doesn’t ramp up, when should I start to be concerned?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Given it’s been almost 2 weeks with him. If his eating doesn’t ramp up, when should I start to be concerned?
You can take the screen off or have the uvb unobstructed distance would need to be 12-15 inches then - as long as he's eating that's good- his appetite will get better as he acclimates to the tank-- make sure he's hydrated - rinse his greens before serving make sure the roaches are gut loaded- they eat at night- ready for feeding in the morning - if he stops eating there is a issue
 

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