Trivial Question

[Benedict]

I recently purchased a 7-8 inch male Dragon from Atomic Lizard Ranch and it has been acclimating to its new cage well. Currently I'm feeding it roughly sixteen 3/8 inch to 5/8 inch crickets a day, 8 dusted crickets in the morning and eight in the evening. However, it seems completely hungry even after both feedings. Anyhow, my question is what is the maximum number of crickets I should be feeding it?

PS. I will be buying it some mealworms for variety sometime this week.

 

[pclyons]

Feed it how ever many crickets it'll eat in 10-15 min. When ours were little, they would eat 60 a day...each...at a minimum...(30 in the am...30 at night) and sometimes upwards of 80-90 a day. At about 14 inches, they started to taper off.....some

Mealworms aren't really a good staple - shell is hard and babies have trouble digesting the hard shell, don't feed it too many. Pheonix worms are great...you don't have to dust those.

 

[spurlee01]

Not a trivial question at all!
Babies should be getting as many crickets as they want 2-3x per day. This could be 100 crix per day. Just to be sure, are the crickets you are feeding smaller than the space between his eyes? If not, he may have trouble digesting. Please don't buy mealworms! These have a hard chitin shell which can cause impaction (dragon can't poop). They also don't have much nutritional value. Okay worms are silkworms, phoenix worms, butterworms, hornworms, and superworms once your dragon is 16". You'll have to be careful of the size of the silkworms and hornworms especially. Any of these can be bought at http://www.mulberryfarms.com.
Sara

 

[beardie parents]

By the way, we would love to see pics of him.

 

[Benedict]

I should clarify that before it, was only willing to eat about 10 crickets a day, possibly due to stress of shipping, so I was happy when it started eating more. And yes, the crickets are all sufficiently sized and greens are available at all times. And

After I read your replies, I went back and fed my dragon more crickets. It was only willing to eat about 6 or 7, and the last cricket was literally crawling around right in front of it for fifteen minutes (I feed it in a sterile bowl to avoid it eating substrate). I will try again in an hour.

I don't want to sound like a miser, and I have kept dragons before (a subadult and and an adult), but I don't think I can conceivably afford seven hundred crickets a week, is there any acceptable middle ground that won't leave the animal with stunted growth?

As for the mealworms, I suppose those aren't necessary, so I won't get them, and might get some of the recommended worms at a later date.

--edit--

 

[zebraflavencs]

You can just do the two feedings a day, just make sure that the last is at least 2 hours before lights off. If you feed in say like a plastic shoe box, the phoenix and silk worms, you can actually leave those in the viv with the baby. I use a plastic shoe box for mine, have since they were 7-8 weeks old, and even though I have tile sealed in, this was the cleanest option for me.
Also offer a day long salad of well shredded by hand collards or mustard greens, so if baby wants something more, the salad is available to snack on all day.

Hope this helps out ,
Janie.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Addtionally, my dragons are 2 @ 6 months and 1 year old currently.
Janie.

 

[beardie parents]

Thanks for those pics!! He is an adorable baby. You can buy crickets, superworms (I would ask them about the small, or sort of small superworms because of the size of your baby) at: MulberryFarms.com The have butterworms (good size you your little one and won't cause impaction), hornworms (I'd wait on those because they grow sooo verrrry fast). You can get phoenix worms but remember they are very small. My girls loved them for a couple of months, they won't eat them any more. I think it's because they are soo small and my girls have gotten into supers. They are both just over 15 inches and they have been eating supers (we fed Zoom the smaller ones when she was a little smaller than she is now) they don't see the smaller worms any more.

Lori

 

[Benedict]

Update: I tried feeding it again, and when I looked in the cage, he was in the cool end trying to sleep. Tried anyways, and he refused. I'll try for more tomorrow.

 

[spurlee01]

Are the pics of her in her viv? What is the substrate out of curiosity? Honestly, I know of very few dragons that eat 100 a day. Mine eats 40-60 usually (7 months old). I buy my crix by the 1000 or I'd be spending $35 per WEEK on crix (not to mention the gas to get to the pet store- nearest is the next city). I pay $22 for 1000 after shipping. The only reason I asked about the size of the crix was that my 16.25" dragon just graduated from 5/8" to 3/4", but I might have waited a bit long on that.
Sara

 

[Benedict]

As you've prolly guessed, it is indeed Repti-sand. I really don't want to spark a huge debate on this, because I've heard a thousand such debates before, and I don't even feed him anything on the sand.

Also, the dragon has completely refused all food today, after trying five separate times (well after he had time to warm up). He also only ate ten yesterday. It still appears in full health, has a large tummy which I palpated and found no sign of an impaction.

 

[spurlee01]

As long as you know the controversy about repti-sand I'll spare the lecture . It is a matter of choice. I wouldn't worry too much about a couple days of not eating, but it continues there could be a couple of possibilites. I don't think we've gone over your setup, so let's double check a couple of things to be sure.
What are the temps: basking spot, warm side, cool side?
What are you measuring temps with (digi w/ probe, temp gun, stick-on)?
What TYPE and BRAND of UVB do you use?
Do you bathe your dragon?
Also, is your dragon getting ready to shed?
Sara

 

[Benedict]

The basking spot is never any less than 100 degrees, usually at or above 110. (never over 115.) The cool end of the cage might be a bit cooler than normal, simply because my apartment is pretty cold, so about 74 to 79 (it never even goes there until it's time to sleep). And I'm measuring with a standard, cheap thermometer, and I can't afford anything better for a while.

The UVB I use is exo terra Repti-Glo 2.0. It might be going into shed, as the top part of its body does look rather more gray than it did (although the tail still looks completely vibrant); however, when I first got it (last Wednesday, barely a week ago) its container was full of freshly shed skin. As such, I actually did give it a warm (not hot) bath after the second feeding.

-edit-

Also, and I'm just curious, are there any canned fruits and or vegetables that are acceptable to give the dragon? (I haven't given it any at all, I just wanna know)

 

[spurlee01]

Is your thermometer some type of stick-on? Unfortunately, these can be off by 20*F or more. Are you able to measure the temp on the basking spot or just to the side of the tank? If you're not measuring right on the basking spot, the tank is likely too hot. I know you say you can't afford a better thermometer, but Acurrite makes a good one available at walmart for $12. It is a digital with a probe. More bad news- the reptiglo 2.0 is basically worthless. Your dragon really can't get any UVB from it. The best bulb by far is the reptisun 10.0 TUBE (coils are bad). http://www.petmountain.com has the best price on it. If skin looks greyish and dull, it may very well be ready to shed. Often, dragons shed different parts of their bodies at different times. How is your dragon doing this morning? Is he/she eating?
Sara

 

[Benedict]

It is a stick type, but I don't have it stuck on the side, I just physically put it right under the basking spot. In fact, you can see it in the pictures I posted, and you can see the temperature it's registering. Although, I had only turned the lights on a few minutes before the pics were taken. I assure you, the temperature rose to the levels I described.

I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to buy anything until my next pay check (next friday, I get paid every two weeks). I literally have no money left right now.

Also, I just tried, and he still isn't eating them, nor has he shed. I misted him briefly to encourage shedding and offered him greens, if he gets hungry.