thin dragon..how to bulk up

[stephnt619]

I have been so lovingly "donated" a bearded dragon who is currently underweight. Not starved or deathly thin, but not at a healthy weight either. What should I do to help him bulk up some more. I feed him what I feed my two (crickets, mealworms, greens, carrots, fruit). How much should I be feeding him? I usually give my guys 6 crickets, 3 mealworms, and as much fruits and veggies as they want. How may cricket/mealworms should I feed him? Are there any foods that are really good at helping a dragon beef up some, such as wax worms or something? Possible baby foods or something.

Thanks alot guys! I know you'll provide great answers as always (I tell everyone I know online w/ a dragon question to come here and join the discussions). Once this guy gets up to a healthy weight you'll probably be seeing him available to a new home. He's just a normal phase male, nothing special, and he's a bit shy at the moment. Hopig he'll come around and be a great guy.

 

[bayoupig5]

Well, I heard that wax worms were good for bulking up a dragon, but you do have to be aware of feeding too much. Some dragons will start to prefer the wax worms over their regular diet, and get picky.

You might even try offering feeders more often throughout the day to see if the dragon is interested. My Emmalee is five months and there have been times she absolutely refused to eat at 11am, but ate a ton at 1pm. Also depending on the age and size of the dragon you can vary the diet, so that it is more appealing. At 16 inches it is safe to feed butters, supers and silks. Emmalee at five months loves Phoenix worms and gets the odd wax worm for a treat.

Also...how old is the dragon, is it an adult or juvi? Juvi dragons less than 1 1/2 years will need to eat a lot. Feedings are given at least two times a day and as much as the dragon will eat in 15 minutes. As a reference Emmalee at five months 12 inches and 100 grams eats 60-90 feeders a day, and still barely touches her veggies.

 

[stephnt619]

He's about a year- year and a half. Not sure exactly. I'd say he needs to put on another 100-150 grams or so. He's about 14 1/2 inches long, but he has a bit of a tail nip, so he'd probably be closer to 15-16 inches if he had his whole tail.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Baby food squash, supper worms, butter worms or horn worms are good. You can also buy jumpstart at the pet store. It is meant for beardies who are underweight or not eating.

 

[diamc]

Could you give us a rundown of your setup? What type & brand of UVB are you using, how often are you using calcium & vitamins, what size tank is he in, what is the wattage of the basking bulb, what are the temps, what type of thermometer are you using to check them? Have you had a fecal checked to rule out parasites? Actually, 6 crickets & 3 mealworms isn't very much for a beardie that is thin. Is that all he wants to eat in a day along with the fruits & vegetables? What greens are you feeding? Is he housed alone? How is his activity level and coloring, does he have a darkened beard and/or tail?

 

[stephnt619]

right now he's in a 40 gallon with a 75 watt heating lamp on one side and a reptiglo 8.0 across the whole tank. I don't have any temperature gauges in there with him, as I only have the ones in my own personal beardies tanks, I need to go out and get him some more stuff. I just know that the basic set up worse with my other two. The 6 crickets and such is what i feed my normal, healthy weight adults. The new guy is a normal grey/tan/brown color. Haven't seen him black beard ever. He is alone since I don't wanna breed my young female and my other male would hate him. He seems active as my other two are. Like i said, I've only had him for 48 hours now so haven't really gotten to know him well. The vitamins are given on a schedule of every Tuesday and Thursday, with calcium add to food on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. He gets mustard and collard greens. As far as fruits, its usual a small portion of blueberries, apples, grapes, or strawberries. All my dragons get a chopped up baby carrot everyday also. He eats well and I have been giving him 12 crickets instead of the 6 I usually give my guys. No fecal check yet, but haven't noticed any "rice or spaghetti" in his stool.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Other than the carrot which should be an occasional snack, everything sounds great with the diet you use. Since he is underweight you may want to give him some extra protein type snacks besides the 12 crix. Maybe some chicken baby food. Just make sure you read label to make sure there aren't any fillers in it. Your choice to keep your beardies apart is good too. If you put the new male in with the female it would probably stress her out because males usually only have one thing on their mind.