Delshara
Hatchling Member
Hi... I did use the search function, but didn't come up with much.
Nero is anywhere from 12 to 15 months old, and 17" long. He was a pet store beardie and one of the smallest ones in his tank. I know he's still small, but he's definitely slowed down on growing, though he doesn't look anywhere as large near like the healthy adults I see on the board. He still has a juvie look to him. I am having a hard time weaning him off of a juvie diet, especially as we only now have small superworms and he could eat those all day every day if I let him. A few weeks ago it seemed like he was switching himself to mostly greens - he was attacking collard bits out of my fingers as I put them in his bowl - but now he's gone back to picking at the veggies and devouring worms like he'll never eat again. (This morning he had 25 small, calcium-dusted superworms along with a few bites of salad, and 10 small superworms for his second meal. I was afraid to give him more because I know the supers can be fatty and thought that this might get him to eat more salad today - it didn't work.)
Salad is provided all day. I've tried the moving salad trick, no go.
The only fruit he'll eat consistently is prickly pear, and even then, not much. He will not eat apple, mango, papaya, or any kind of berries. So his salad doesn't have that much variety. He gets turnip greens, collard greens, escarole, and butternut squash. Occasionally I will put in some finely chopped red or yellow pepper, zucchini and yellow squash, or peas. He has a three-month 100W T-Rex MVB and he basks under there as normal, 15" from the basking spot, temps 99 - 105 degrees measured w/ Acurite digital probe. He poops once every day in the bath. His last fecal, two months ago, was clean. Poop seems normal.
I'm perplexed; I don't know whether to keep on trying to switch him over to an adult diet, due to his apparent age, or keep him on a juvie diet to help him grow some more. (Perhaps I should get him another fecal?) I also don't know what are the appropriate amounts of prey items to feed a subadult.
I will also start a dubia colony in the next week or two, so until it gets large enough to feed from I plan to continue with superworms mostly. Horns, butters and maybe silkworms also, for variety. I have yet to order the silkies and am a little spooked at how much care seems to go into keeping them.
So I guess my question is (if you have a subadult, that is):
How many times a day do you feed them?
How many feeder items are you giving them in a day or week? And what kind of items?
How about when and what to dust in a week - keep it to 5 meals x calcium and 2 meals x vites? Or just look at the Beautiful Dragons chart?
Any other input you have would be so great. Thanks! Oh, and here are a few pictures in case it helps. I also wondered if he's too thin - the vet said he was a pound, and he feels heavy when you pick him up (ha) but he doesn't have as much "chub" as in other pics I've seen on the board.
Nero is anywhere from 12 to 15 months old, and 17" long. He was a pet store beardie and one of the smallest ones in his tank. I know he's still small, but he's definitely slowed down on growing, though he doesn't look anywhere as large near like the healthy adults I see on the board. He still has a juvie look to him. I am having a hard time weaning him off of a juvie diet, especially as we only now have small superworms and he could eat those all day every day if I let him. A few weeks ago it seemed like he was switching himself to mostly greens - he was attacking collard bits out of my fingers as I put them in his bowl - but now he's gone back to picking at the veggies and devouring worms like he'll never eat again. (This morning he had 25 small, calcium-dusted superworms along with a few bites of salad, and 10 small superworms for his second meal. I was afraid to give him more because I know the supers can be fatty and thought that this might get him to eat more salad today - it didn't work.)
Salad is provided all day. I've tried the moving salad trick, no go.
The only fruit he'll eat consistently is prickly pear, and even then, not much. He will not eat apple, mango, papaya, or any kind of berries. So his salad doesn't have that much variety. He gets turnip greens, collard greens, escarole, and butternut squash. Occasionally I will put in some finely chopped red or yellow pepper, zucchini and yellow squash, or peas. He has a three-month 100W T-Rex MVB and he basks under there as normal, 15" from the basking spot, temps 99 - 105 degrees measured w/ Acurite digital probe. He poops once every day in the bath. His last fecal, two months ago, was clean. Poop seems normal. I'm perplexed; I don't know whether to keep on trying to switch him over to an adult diet, due to his apparent age, or keep him on a juvie diet to help him grow some more. (Perhaps I should get him another fecal?) I also don't know what are the appropriate amounts of prey items to feed a subadult.
I will also start a dubia colony in the next week or two, so until it gets large enough to feed from I plan to continue with superworms mostly. Horns, butters and maybe silkworms also, for variety. I have yet to order the silkies and am a little spooked at how much care seems to go into keeping them.
So I guess my question is (if you have a subadult, that is):
How many times a day do you feed them?
How many feeder items are you giving them in a day or week? And what kind of items?
How about when and what to dust in a week - keep it to 5 meals x calcium and 2 meals x vites? Or just look at the Beautiful Dragons chart?
Any other input you have would be so great. Thanks! Oh, and here are a few pictures in case it helps. I also wondered if he's too thin - the vet said he was a pound, and he feels heavy when you pick him up (ha) but he doesn't have as much "chub" as in other pics I've seen on the board.
