Noob questions

[Cronoswolfbane]

Hi so I have a new beardie. I am also a new owner. I live in Canada. I am a good few hours from a pet store. So what I am trying to figure out is how much I need to stock up for taking care of my new family member. Right now I am feeding him Bok Choy with a calcium spray. And kingworms. I am just not sure how many times a day to feed him and how many worms in one sitting. The pet store said 1-2 worms a day in the morning. But I have also read that you should feed them for 10 mins and see how much they eat. He does 20 worms in 10 mins. Also his basking spot is at around 95 Fahrenheit the single Uvb bulb I have was not putting out much warmth so I have a two bulb setup. The other bulb is just a incandescent 60watt.

Tank setup.

Kingworms about an inch long.

 

[YoursTruly]

Hi, just a few suggestions here. But first, how old is your dragon? Young dragons should be offered as many live insects as they want within 10-15 minutes.

95F is not warm enough for a basking spot. Bearded dragons require 105-115 if under 1 year. Older dragons tend to prefer around 100. Also, it looks like you are using a compact (small) UVB bulb. You will want to switch to a long tube bulb, specifically a Reptisun 10. The compact bulbs do not provide sufficient UVB rays, despite what the pet stores say.

I'm guessing kingworm is another name for superworm, and they are not very good feeders. They are too fatty, and growing dragons need to have more protein than what those worms offer. I know you can't get dubia roaches in Canada, but can you get crickets? The crickets should be no bigger than the distance between your dragon's eyes.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi so I have a new beardie. I am also a new owner. I live in Canada. I am a good few hours from a pet store. So what I am trying to figure out is how much I need to stock up for taking care of my new family member. Right now I am feeding him Bok Choy <<< buk choy is good and naturally high in calcium ( Ca = 2.8 which is very good ).
with a calcium spray. And kingworms. <<< these are superworms (Zophobas morio) , if the new beardie is under 1 yr old , I'd suggest they are not suitable to give as a feeder at all, and only suitable to give as occasional treats to beardies older than 1 year old, very hard to digest exoskeleton is the main issue as it can impact them . My beardies Peppa and Toothless only get at most 3 each maybe 2x a week as treats , their main insect staple is crickets , and silkworms when I have them.

How old is your beardie ? how heavy in grams ?

You are in Canada so should be able to source pretty easily
>>> BSF maggots (Phoenix worms) excellent naturally high calcium feeder , but small so not so flash for older / larger juveniles over 8 months (I think unless you can get VERY BIG BSF maggots).
>>> silkworms another excellent feeder
>>> criclets / roaches / locusts , suitable size , gutloaded with calcium rich greens and dusted with calcium powder are all good staple feeder insects.
the amount of insects per feed depends on the age and size of beardie and the size of the insects.
ie one medium size silkworm (2in long) is roughly equiv to 4 - 6 medium sized crickets by mass).

NO mealworms except as treats for adults , similar with supers / kingworms and wax worms.


I am just not sure how many times a day to feed him and how many worms in one sitting. The pet store said 1-2 worms a day in the morning. <<< one to two king worms per day is a starvation diet for the full grown beardie .... I think you should ignore the advice given by the pet shop staff as it's is extremely likely to be very poor advice as few pet shop employees have the foggiest idea how to properly care for any reptiles they sell.

<<< feeding schedule changes depending on the beardies age , hatchlings --> 4 months (three feeds of live insects per day if manageable (two feeds if you can't manage a midday meal)
Juveniles --> 1 yr old 2 live insect meals per day
1yr ---> adult 1 live insect meal per day

But I have also read that you should feed them for 10 mins and see how much they eat. <<< I've never followed that rule of thumb, I simply feed mine they loose interest or clam their jaws shut and crawl up under my chin (if handfeeding them) .... that's the clue ... "gee dad ... I've full ...no more please ....."

He does 20 worms in 10 mins. <<<< that's way too many king worms even for an adult beardie .... yes I know that they love them , but he's better off getting a mix of silkworms and crickets / roaches /locusts.

Also his basking spot is at around 95 Fahrenheit <<< a tad cool for a basking spot , something more like 105oF for an adult is better O(FOR THE BASKING SPOT)

the single Uvb bulb I have was not putting out much warmth so I have a two bulb setup.
<<< is one of the bulbs a curly shaped thing ?....
If it is what brand is it ?
what wattage ?
what is it's %UVB rating ?
and is it sitting on top of a mesh lid ?
how far is it from the basking spot ?
If it's a ALL LIVING THINGS or ZILLA brand UV bulb, ditch it.... as it's a very poor quality UV bulb made in china and will produce a very poor UV spectrum that's harmful to your beardie.

The other bulb is just a incandescent 60watt <<< might be worth investing in a 80W par38 clear colorless incandescent or equiv in a halogen spot globe
.

Tank setup.

Kingworms about an inch long.

 

[Cronoswolfbane]

He is about 2-3 months old. The Uvb bulb I'm using is a solar glow it's a huge bulb about 5 -6 inches across. It was not warming his basking spot enough so I actually have two bulbs. The Uvb and a household bulb to bring the temp up. It's around 95-103 in his basking spot now. I use a infrared thermometer to check the temp on his back. The store had kingworms and Superworms listed separate. I am going to be ordering some black larva (Phoenix worms) for him as a staple food. With hornworms as a treat. He also has some Boy Choy salad with a calcium spray for now. Once I get the worms I shouldn't need the spray from what I have read.

 

[Cronoswolfbane]

Bulb is on a mesh lid about 8-10 inches from the top of his rock hide.
Also about how long would 250 BSFL last me?

 

[Vh621]

Hello, I'm not 100% sure about the MVB, I know some are weaker than others but I'm not sure about that brand so I'll let someone else chime in on that. But at 2 or 3 months old he is way to small to be eating those worms, I would discontinue feeding those and either wait for your shipment of bsfl to arrive and offer greens and keep him hydrated in the meantime or if you can maybe buy some small crickets till your shipment arrives. As far as how long your supply of worms will last, that all depends on your beardies appetite but at such a young age they typically tend to eat a lot. But again it varies, you will figure it out as you go. Hope this helps some and congrats on the new little guy he's adorable?

 

[Cronoswolfbane]

I might not get the bsfl till next week. I am also trying to find a good supplier. For now I will feed him the wormies but maybe just limit how many he gets. Until I can get some bsfl.

 

[Vh621]

I would say be really careful from the pic they seem really big, of course that could just be a camera angle thing. Try and offer the white ones that have shed there skin, and yes small amounts, the thing about these worms is that they can cause digestive problems if fed to much to quick. And offer plenty of veggies. Rainbow mealworms is a good site, I've used them to order pheonix worms, as well as other bugs and there prices and shipping rates are good. But if you want to buy large quantities and don't care much for brand names you can try ebay. I've ordered many different bugs from them and for the most part it's been positive.

 

[Cronoswolfbane]

I'm looking at going through "the worm lady" when I called to ask about the worms and stuff I got a boatload of info on my beardie from her lol. Also with shipping I can get about 750 worms. 500 bsfl and 150 waxworms. For around $70. Not sure if waxworms are a treat or every other day thing or should be part of the bsfl diet?

 

[Vh621]

Hmmm, seems a bit pricey even with the waxworms I just checked and the website I mentioned they're about $24 for 500 with shipping that would be about $30 and if you wanted to get waxies it wouldn't be that much more since waxies are pretty cheap. On another note waxies are definitely a treat they're really high in fat and can cause weight gain. But ultimately where you get your bugs is up to you I would just say look around and make sure you get the best bang for your buck, good luck?

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[kingofnobbys]

If you can't good quality live feeder insects (really it's worth spending a bit extra and paying for next day / overnight delivery at the point to ensure prime quality in the insects and not many DOA when you open the tube or box they are shipped in).

I order my crickets , supers and mealworms from a place in Melbourne Vic which is near 1000 km away and they ship on Tuesdays and my bugs arrive in the post Wednesday usually and never later than Thursday.
And I've ordered silkworms from a place in Cairns FN QLD which is over 2,500 km away and they arrive the next day....
So there is no reason why you will need to wait a week to get high quality feeder insects for your little beardie , just pay for express o/night delivery to ensure they come and order enough to keep you going for 2 - 3 weeks.

In the mean time , consider buying some Repashi BugPie and giving this as the emergency food until you sort out the insect supply issue. Is essentially dehydrated BSF maggots.... make it look like a worm and wriggle it and he'll nail it for he's hungry.

 

[kingofnobbys]

He is about 2-3 months old. The Uvb bulb I'm using is a solar glow it's a huge bulb about 5 -6 inches across. It was not warming his basking spot enough so I actually have two bulbs. The Uvb and a household bulb to bring the temp up. It's around 95-103 in his basking spot now. I use a infrared thermometer to check the temp on his back. The store had kingworms and Superworms listed separate. I am going to be ordering some black larva (Phoenix worms) for him as a staple food. With hornworms as a treat. He also has some Boy Choy salad with a calcium spray for now. Once I get the worms I shouldn't need the spray from what I have read.

That 125W MVB I'd place about 12inches (front face of globe to basking spot for good UVB).

 

[Cronoswolfbane]

So after feeding him yesterday he was not really hungry this morning. An hour later he puked up his breakfast and some of his worms from yesterday....... is he going to be OK?

 

[AHBD]

He should be fine, but like the others said, he is too small for superworms. He did O.K when you gave him a couple [ got away with it ] but could not handle those large bugs in that quantity.

He will need a bit more hydration so offer water dripped or gently sprayed on his snout. He may not eat for a day or two but should bounce back.