Reptile shop says my beardie is fat, that I should stop feeding him insects???

[adambeck]

Hello from Japan! I’ve been meaning to reach out for impressions about my beardie, Yogi, because I’ve been confused about his weight and about feeding him. This past weekend, though, he stayed in the “pet hotel” at our local reptile shop (where we originally got Yogi) and the guy there told me he was getting fat and that I should no longer feed him insects.

Here are the details…

*Yogi will be 2 years old in July. Except for a bout of coccidiosis when he was just a few months old, he has been very healthy. He’s always been a good eater. He’s now 52 centimeters long and weighs 554 grams. (Most of the info I see on a “healthy weight” for adult beardies is between 400~550 grams.)

*I feed him salads every day (though I skip a day of feeding now and then) and around 4 large dubias a week. (We breed our own dubias and he loves them. I don't feed him any other types of insects.) In other words, compared to what I often see written about feeding adult beardies, I don’t really feed him many protein-rich insects…and yet it’s true that his weight has continued to rise and I worry about him getting heavier and heavier. I thought his weight would level off at some point, but that hasn't been the case.

*After he eats, he tends to get bloated and looks heavier at those times. He generally poops every 2-3 days, usually in a warm water bath.

*He’s not terribly active, but I do take him out of his tank daily and he runs around the living room a bit before settling on his pillow by the window, where he spends a couple of hours gazing outside and basking in the sunshine.

*The guy at the reptile shop (who does have some years of experience and knowledge) recommended that I now stop feeding him dubias and only give him salads, perhaps dusted with bearded dragon pellets (photo below) that have been crushed into powder.

*The fact that Yogi is now heavier than the upper “limit” of 550 grams, and yet I don’t feed him nearly as many insects as what is often recommended on the web, is very confusing to me. How do any beardies stay at a healthy weight if they continue to be fed insects on a regular basis?

I’d be really grateful for your impressions, especially from keepers with experience raising many beardies. (Yogi is only our second beardie.)

Thanks a lot!

Adam and Yogi

These are the pellets I mentioned, which apparently contain some insect protein and calcium. (In Japanese, bearded dragon is "futoago".)

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello from Japan! I’ve been meaning to reach out for impressions about my beardie, Yogi, because I’ve been confused about his weight and about feeding him. This past weekend, though, he stayed in the “pet hotel” at our local reptile shop (where we originally got Yogi) and the guy there told me he was getting fat and that I should no longer feed him insects.

View attachment 80832

Here are the details…

*Yogi will be 2 years old in July. Except for a bout of coccidiosis when he was just a few months old, he has been very healthy. He’s always been a good eater. He’s now 52 centimeters long and weighs 554 grams. (Most of the info I see on a “healthy weight” for adult beardies is between 400~550 grams.)

*I feed him salads every day (though I skip a day of feeding now and then) and around 4 large dubias a week. (We breed our own dubias and he loves them.) In other words, compared to what I often see written about feeding adult beardies, I don’t really feed him many insects…and yet it’s true that his weight has continued to rise and I worry about him getting fat. I thought his weight might level off at some point, but that hasn't been the case.

*After he eats, he tends to get bloated and looks heavier at those times. He generally poops every 2-3 days, usually in a warm water bath.

*He’s not terribly active, but I do take him out of his tank daily and he runs around the living room a bit before settling on his pillow by the window, where he spends a couple of hours gazing outside and basking in the sunshine.

*The guy at the reptile shop recommended that I now stop feeding him dubias and only give him salads, perhaps dusted with bearded dragon pellets (photo below) that have been crushed into powder.

*The fact that Yogi is now heavier than the upper “limit” of 550 grams, and yet I don’t feed him nearly as many insects as what is often recommended on the web, is very confusing to me. How do any beardies stay at a healthy weight if they continue to be fed insects on a regular basis?

I’d be really grateful for your impressions, especially from keepers with experience raising many beardies. (Yogi is only our second beardie.)

Thanks a lot!

Adam and Yogi

View attachment 80833

View attachment 80834

These are the pellets I mentioned, which apparently contain some insect protein and calcium. (In Japanese, bearded dragon is "futoago".)

View attachment 80835

He's beautiful and he's got a good diet - don't listen to the reptile shop - no pellets yuck-- feed him treats worms maybe once a week if your cutting down on anything-

 

[Axil]

I doubt the pellets will have much less fat than the Dubia. Dubia are ~7% fat so they are pretty lean to begin with.

What's in his salad? If he's getting a lot of sugar (like from fruit) that might be contributing.

 

[Claudiusx]

His diet is fine as is. The amount of insects you are feeding him is suitable. Depending on the size of the Dubia you could maybe cut 1 out a week.

No need to limit the salads. I'd keep offering them everyday but do limit the fruits if you're currently feeding them.

550g is a good weight. He might still gain some but if he does that's just how it will be. He will level off eventually. I wouldn't change much of his diet dependent on the contents of the salad.

-Brandon

 

[adambeck]

I doubt the pellets will have much less fat than the Dubia. Dubia are ~7% fat so they are pretty lean to begin with.

What's in his salad? If he's getting a lot of sugar (like from fruit) that might be contributing.

He gets very little fruit, maybe a few blueberries once a month or even every few months. His salads consist of only veggies like komatsuna (healthy Japanese mustard greens, his main staple), bok choy, daikon greens, string beans, kabocha pumpkin, etc. So I don't think he's getting much sugar, and he doesn't get any fatty insects, either--and, as I mentioned, I don't even feed him many dubias.

I just don't understand how he can be getting heavier and heavier from such a lean diet? If I fed him the amounts of insects that are often recommended, I'm afraid he would be a blubbery monster!

Thanks to both Axil and Karrie for your helpful replies!

 

[adambeck]

His diet is fine as is. The amount of insects you are feeding him is suitable. Depending on the size of the Dubia you could maybe cut 1 out a week.

No need to limit the salads. I'd keep offering them everyday but do limit the fruits if you're currently feeding them.

550g is a good weight. He might still gain some but if he does that's just how it will be. He will level off eventually. I wouldn't change much of his diet dependent on the contents of the salad.

-Brandon

Brandon, many thanks for this reassuring reply! I shared your comments with Yogi and he was very happy, too! (He loves his dubias.)

 

[adambeck]

I'm still very curious, though, if anyone has thoughts on this subject...

Is the feeding info found generally on the web, for adult beardies (not babies and juveniles), excessive? Again, I'm baffled how grown beardies could stay at a healthy weight if they're regularly eating a lot of protein-rich insects? Or maybe Yogi has a slower metabolism than most?

 

[Claudiusx]

Is the feeding info found generally on the web, for adult beardies (not babies and juveniles), excessive?

Depends what you are reading. Most sources around state that adults should be eating salads every day, and insects 3x a week give or take. This is ok, but doesn't get into the quantities of insects.

Insects are still an important part of the diet for an adult. Just because a body is no longer growing and maturing doesn't mean it still doesn't need protein. Protein and fat are vital macronutrients required for all living creatures.

-Brandon

 

[adambeck]

Depends what you are reading. Most sources around state that adults should be eating salads every day, and insects 3x a week give or take. This is ok, but doesn't get into the quantities of insects.

Insects are still an important part of the diet for an adult. Just because a body is no longer growing and maturing doesn't mean it still doesn't need protein. Protein and fat are vital macronutrients required for all living creatures.

-Brandon

Thanks for this, too, Brandon! It's very helpful!

 

[adambeck]

The only other thing I can think of, in terms of his intake, is that I've been dusting his greens with powdery bee pollen once or twice a week. I've been doing this for well over a year, and the bee pollen is what at first got him to eat his greens when he was younger, though it isn't really necessary anymore, at least for this purpose. My understanding is that bee pollen is a healthy supplement, but a bit of searching just showed that it's also used to help fatten up chickens and other animals...so maybe I should drop the bee pollen at this point?

 

[Groggyfroggie]

Yeah like everyone said I think he’s at a normal weight and the feeding schedule is fine. A lot of the standards online can be used as references/guidelines but not necessarily applicable to every single beardie. And we’re usually used to seeing them overweight compared to wild beardies.

You can try cutting back on dubias, getting more exercise, or maybe just feeding him every other day if you’re really concerned. He looks very beautiful and healthy!

 

[adambeck]

Yeah like everyone said I think he’s at a normal weight and the feeding schedule is fine. A lot of the standards online can be used as references/guidelines but not necessarily applicable to every single beardie. And we’re usually used to seeing them overweight compared to wild beardies.

You can try cutting back on dubias, getting more exercise, or maybe just feeding him every other day if you’re really concerned. He looks very beautiful and healthy!

Groggyfroggie, thank you for your kind and helpful response. We lost our first beardie at the age of two, to a sudden illness, so I'm sensitive (paranoid?) when it comes to health-related issues with Yogi.

 

[xp29]

Groggyfroggie, thank you for your kind and helpful response. We lost our first beardie at the age of two, to a sudden illness, so I'm sensitive (paranoid?) when it comes to health-related issues with Yogi.

My boy Zen is well over 1000 grams (yes he is pudgy now) but at 1000 grams i had him at the vet for parasites a couple times. I continually asked the vet if he was obese and he kept telling me no. He said he was on the larger end in size and that his weight matched his size. He said he much preferred seeing beardies even slightly over weight as opposed to underweight.
I think i just went the long way round to say correct weight is a subjective number and going to be different for every beardie. Your beardie looks great

 

[adambeck]

My boy Zen is well over 1000 grams (yes he is pudgy now) but at 1000 grams i had him at the vet for parasites a couple times. I continually asked the vet if he was obese and he kept telling me no. He said he was on the larger end in size and that his weight matched his size. He said he much preferred seeing beardies even slightly over weight as opposed to underweight.
I think i just went the long way round to say correct weight is a subjective number and going to be different for every beardie. Your beardie looks great

Thanks a lot! The idea that "correct weight is a subjective number" is very reassuring...and I guess this is also what makes feeding and weight a special challenge since what's fine and healthy for one beardie may not be fine and healthy for another. I'm glad, though, that I seem to be more on the side of fine and healthy for Yogi. At this point, I think I'll just cut back a bit on the dubias while maintaining his daily salads (and dropping the bee pollen, if that might be a factor in bulking him up).

Yogi sends a little fist bump to Zen!

 

[xp29]