New dragon lover-Still need advice on food

[spike5]

Hi-

My 12 yr old son only wanted a bearded dragon for his b-day...so Spike became a new addition to our family a month ago. Of course, I have no completely fallen for him since I work from home and wind up spending chunks of my day making sure he is alright. As much as I've scoured the web for advice...I find it's hard to tell when your new!

Spike is about 5 months old-Does anyone know how to tell by size? We did get him from Petco and I know that the babies that were 2-3 mths were way smaller. They suggested we feed him (her) 20-30 crickets a week and mealworms. Ok-so now I see what is being said about mealworms so we will cut back. We were feeding him 5-8 mealworms a day, a salad (which he never eats), offer the pellets (which he never eats) and 15 crickets 2x week. He seems to eat the crickets in minutes. Think 18 is his limit in a feeding...but should we feed him more than 2x week the crickets?

We are spraying the food with calcium. Have a 20g home with all the right lighting. He's avg basking temp is around 90-95 and the cool temp is 75-80. At night it's about 10 degrees lower for each. Humidity was low last week but this week between 30-40.

Does this sound all ok? My biggest concern is he's eating. He's already shed once and seems to be growing and seems average (compared to what we see at the pet store).

I also was spraying him a few times a day before he shed...now he does not like it nor likes the baths (ever). I do help hydrate him by lifting the water bowl and tilting it so he can drink. When he figures out it's water he drinks for a good 30-45sec then seems to have had enough.

Any thoughts and advice for this "grandmother" of Spike?

 

[catUK]

Hi-

My 12 yr old son only wanted a bearded dragon for his b-day...so Spike became a new addition to our family a month ago. Of course, I have no completely fallen for him since I work from home and wind up spending chunks of my day making sure he is alright. As much as I've scoured the web for advice...I find it's hard to tell when your new!

Spike is about 5 months old-Does anyone know how to tell by size? all beardies differ in size. here's a growth chart you can compare yours to which may help a bit http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Growth.htmlWe did get him from Petco and I know that the babies that were 2-3 mths were way smaller. They suggested we feed him (her) 20-30 crickets a week and mealworms. Ok-so now I see what is being said about mealworms so we will cut back. We were feeding him 5-8 mealworms a day, a salad (which he never eats), offer the pellets (which he never eats) and 15 crickets 2x week. I would cut out the mealworms altogether. try repti worms or phoenix worms- they're soft, a great staple and naturally high in calcium so don't need dusted. He seems to eat the crickets in minutes. Think 18 is his limit in a feeding...but should we feed him more than 2x week the crickets? a baby and juvie should be fed 2-3 times per day, as much as they can eat in a 10-15min period. This can mean they can eat up to 100 crickets a day. Mine didn't eat that much but about 40-50 per day and the worms i mentioned.

We are spraying the food with calcium. Have a 20g home with all the right lighting. He's avg basking temp is around 90-95 and the cool temp is 75-80. At night it's about 10 degrees lower for each. Humidity was low last week but this week between 30-40. see if you can up the basking temp to 100-110- babies/juvies should have it slightly hotter. Temps at night should stay above 65. Spray 1 feed per day with calcium, 5 times a week and the other 2 days use vitamins.

Does this sound all ok? My biggest concern is he's eating. He's already shed once and seems to be growing and seems average (compared to what we see at the pet store).

I also was spraying him a few times a day before he shed...now he does not like it nor likes the baths (ever). I do help hydrate him by lifting the water bowl and tilting it so he can drink. When he figures out it's water he drinks for a good 30-45sec then seems to have had enough.that's good that he's drinking, mine never has :shock: Are your baths warm enough? my beardie eventually got used to the bath and now she loves to swim.

Any thoughts and advice for this "grandmother" of Spike?

hope this helps a bit

 

[SamusTheDragon]

I'd say your doing a good job =D

About the crickets, you can definetly feed the crickets more often. The crickets should actually be fed more often than the meal worms. Although, I know this can be tough since keeping crickets is annoying lol. The basking temps and night temps sound good also. And some beardies like baths while others, not so much :lol: mine don't either. You just have to give them the bath whether they like it or not because it helps to "moisturize" them, and also helps with their sheds. How long is spike?

Good luck, beardies are truly great pals.

-Oralie

 

[spike5]

Wow-thank you so much! Especially for the quick reply. Love that there is a whole community for our Beardies out there!

Thank you so much for the link to beautifuldragons & the growth chart. In looking at the chart it seems Spike, who is about 8 3/4" long head to tail tip is younger than expected. He may only be 3-4 months old. It's crazy that these pet stores have no idea what they are suggesting to people.

Thank you also for the repti worms suggestion. I will look into ordering those and cut out the mealworms.

Your help means a ton! Thanks!

Suzy

 

[spike5]

Thanks for your reply! I just measured Spike and he's 8 3/4" head to tail tip. It's funny because my instinct was to feed Spike more crickets more often and the very nice pet store people steered me away. They actually said feed him 25 crickets just once a week. It just didn't sound right.

So how do you give your Beardie a bath? Do you place him in the water and hold him? Looks like it should be luke warm too. I will try to keep spraying him and keep trying to put him in his bath...he just jumps out so quickly!

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

 

[SamusTheDragon]

Thanks for your reply! I just measured Spike and he's 8 3/4" head to tail tip. It's funny because my instinct was to feed Spike more crickets more often and the very nice pet store people steered me away. They actually said feed him 25 crickets just once a week. It just didn't sound right.

So how do you give your Beardie a bath? Do you place him in the water and hold him? Looks like it should be luke warm too. I will try to keep spraying him and keep trying to put him in his bath...he just jumps out so quickly!

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

Yeah, you just need to hold him. Do you bathe him in the sink? this is going to sound harsh but eh. I put my beardies in a little container with holes... and sometimes they just dont wanna stay in so i put the lid on. (Its clear all around). Most of the time i dont really need the cover on but it happens. When I put the cover on its not snapped shut because I keep my hand in to rub the beardie :? . Luke warm, perhaps a little warmer. Think about it this way, how hot you would want it, but not to the point its uncomfortable? Hope this helps.

 

[spike5]

Thanks-Totally understand what your saying...Never actually tried the sink or plastic container. We were just trying in a small lagoon we got from pet store. Will try something a little deeper like the container so he can rest in it-thanks for the help!

Suzy

 

[spike5]

Hi-

So I'm following up on all the great advice and want to make sure I understand completely. I fed Spike about 30 small crickets this morning and he ate them as fast as he could catch them-sometimes two at a time! So does this mean we should feed him about 50-60 crickets total a day?

We've figured out he's about 3-1/2 to 4mths old

When we get our repti worms...does anyone know if we still feed him all the crickets and also the worms? Does anyone know how many repti worms they should get? Each day? Afraid to feed him to much.

Lastly, I've seen that Repti worms and Pheonix worms are the same...does anyone know for sure?

Thanks for any help!
Suzy

 

[catUK]

Hi-

So I'm following up on all the great advice and want to make sure I understand completely. I fed Spike about 30 small crickets this morning and he ate them as fast as he could catch them-sometimes two at a time! So does this mean we should feed him about 50-60 crickets total a day?

We've figured out he's about 3-1/2 to 4mths old

When we get our repti worms...does anyone know if we still feed him all the crickets and also the worms? Does anyone know how many repti worms they should get? Each day? Afraid to feed him to much.

Lastly, I've seen that Repti worms and Pheonix worms are the same...does anyone know for sure?

Thanks for any help!
Suzy

My beardie was 9 inches at 4 months so if yours is average size he's probably more like 3 months (however its hard to tell as they all differ) .

Wow sounds like he has a good appetite. Feed him 2-3 times per day as much as he can eat in 10 mins or until he's full. That could be a total of 90 crickets per day the way he's going. Its rare that babies will overeat. When you get the reptiwoms i would put them in a deep glass bowl so he can eat when he wants thoughout the day- more than likely he'll gobble them straight up. Also feed the crickets as normal and decide from there how much he will eat- he shouldn't eat as many if he's full off the worms. I would put about 20 worms in the bowl to start off with (they're quite small) and see how he goes with them. Reptiworms and phoenix worms are almost the same, they have similar calcium phospate ratios and are both from the same black soldier fly but produced by different companies- neither need dusted so they will provide the calcium your beardie needs.Here's the nutritional info on reptiworms,

and heres a link to one on phoenix

http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/the-template/comparison/Page

 

[spike5]

Wow-thanks again! Your advice has been life saving for Spike! I still can't get over how young he was when we got him-and the way he eats he sure acts like a little one in a candy store.

Will follow the advice on the worms and the crickets-and thanks for the chart-it's great! Ordered on line today 500 crickets to start...no more Petco at 12 cents a cricket!

You really know these Beardies! Thanks so much!!!

If I did this correctly...you can see Spike in this link!
http://s1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/DesignEyez/Spike/?action=view&current=IMG00334-20110529-0922.jpg

 

[catUK]

Wow-thanks again! Your advice has been life saving for Spike! I still can't get over how young he was when we got him-and the way he eats he sure acts like a little one in a candy store.

Will follow the advice on the worms and the crickets-and thanks for the chart-it's great! Ordered on line today 500 crickets to start...no more Petco at 12 cents a cricket!

You really know these Beardies! Thanks so much!!!

If I did this correctly...you can see Spike in this link!
http://s1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/DesignEyez/Spike/?action=view&current=IMG00334-20110529-0922.jpg

Your welcome, a few months down the line and you'll be as clued up as me...they really take over your life lol.

Aw spike is gorgeous!! seems like yesterday since mine was a small little baby, she's all grown up now (and still a worry :shock: ). You can put photos directly onto post by hovering over your photoshop image and copy and pasting the image code e.g.

 

[spike5]

Thanks...had only seen the photobucket option. I can't believe how quickly they grow-but they are all amazing!

These cute dragons do take over-barely been doing my work today!

Hope that in a few months I will learn tons more and not be as worried...if that ever eases up!

 

[catUK]

Just keep on checking this site and you'll learn loads- most information is really good here. As for the worrying...well it does ease slightly but there's always something :roll: I swear i've aged 10 years since i got my beardie 10 months ago!!

 

[spike5]

That's hysterical...I thought only kids could age us that fast! ;-)

 

[ZeusAlmighty]

Hello there and welcome to the forum!

Regarding your Beardies crickets at meal time, hehe...
Young beardies are capable of eating more crickets than needed when they are being fed. I would never have fed a dragon more than 35-40 crickets in one day. As your dragon gets older you should try and give him some bigger worms (he will love them). I do not mist Zeus very often either. Only when he is having a large or long shed or when ever we have had a few hot days in a row. Good luck!