Trying to shed, wants to bite everything.

[Lobretto]

I agree my baby is now 4mo and she eats 2-3 times a day but I just fill her bowl up and she eats when she gets ready.

Mine or so silly, they both act the same when it comes to food. If I put bugs in their bug bowl they just stare at it like what the hell is this, I can't climb in that. They like being put in a tub of bugs, they wanna be in with their pray lol. Now with greens they absolutely will not eat them unless I hand feed it to them like the kings they are lol not to mention the look I get if I don't add bee pollen to their greens, its the look of disgust, like are you kidding me, not salt on my fries, not cool hooman!

 

[annieandziggy]

Your vet is mistaken. A juvenile beardie should be eating 2 to 3 times a day as many bugs as it can eat in 10 to 15 minutes. Your vet says 10 dubias once a day. That's starving a beardie. Put it this way, I got a baby beardie, hes 2 months, he eats bugs 3 times a day and typically puts dow. 10 to 20 per sitting. Mine always has a big ol belly, but that's no reason not to feed him, he's a growing boy and needs that big ol belly to supply his growing needs.

But if I let him eat anymore, he might get even more impacted than he usually is and I’m really scared. The vet told me that in the wild they are opportunistic animals so they don’t actually have three meals a day. My neighbor has had her beardie for 2 years and she said she always fed him once a day with a salad- same as me. Her beardie is gorgeous and not starving. I’ve “lizard-sat” him a few times. I can send you a picture of his (Ziggys)belly after just ONE feeding.

 

[RangoRocky]

But if I let him eat anymore, he might get even more impacted than he usually is and I’m really scared. The vet told me that in the wild they are opportunistic animals so they don’t actually have three meals a day. My neighbor has had her beardie for 2 years and she said she always fed him once a day with a salad- same as me. Her beardie is gorgeous and not starving. I’ve “lizard-sat” him a few times. I can send you a picture of his (Ziggys)belly after just ONE feeding.

I add fruit to keep from mines getting impacted once or twice a week. But both of mines goto the bathroom daily. Rarely it may be every 2 days.

 

[Lobretto]

But if I let him eat anymore, he might get even more impacted than he usually is and I’m really scared. The vet told me that in the wild they are opportunistic animals so they don’t actually have three meals a day. My neighbor has had her beardie for 2 years and she said she always fed him once a day with a salad- same as me. Her beardie is gorgeous and not starving. I’ve “lizard-sat” him a few times. I can send you a picture of his (Ziggys)belly after just ONE feeding.

But if I let him eat anymore, he might get even more impacted than he usually is and I’m really scared. The vet told me that in the wild they are opportunistic animals so they don’t actually have three meals a day. My neighbor has had her beardie for 2 years and she said she always fed him once a day with a salad- same as me. Her beardie is gorgeous and not starving. I’ve “lizard-sat” him a few times. I can send you a picture of his (Ziggys)belly after just ONE

But if I let him eat anymore, he might get even more impacted than he usually is and I’m really scared. The vet told me that in the wild they are opportunistic animals so they don’t actually have three meals a day. My neighbor has had her beardie for 2 years and she said she always fed him once a day with a salad- same as me. Her beardie is gorgeous and not starving. I’ve “lizard-sat” him a few times. I can send you a picture of his (Ziggys)belly after just ONE feeding.

Impaction isn't caused by eating the right food unless you are not providing proper basking area. It's caused by eating things they shouldn't like substrate. Your vet is silly, you don't have a wild beardie, lots of babies starve in the wild because they can't find enough food. Comparing wild animals to captive is so dumn. Look at the life span of captive beardies vs wild...captive live a lot longer, because they get what they need when they need it. They don't have to worry about if they can find food or water. If the weather is gonna be nice. I hate to say it but if I had your vet I'd be looking for a new one. You sure do want to argue with advise given by some of the most experienced people around. My question is if you just want to argue with why what we say is wrong then why are you asking for our advise? Ohh and belly size doesn't mean a damn thing, they arnt gonna over ear. They get full just like us, a 2 year old adult only eats once or twice day, a baby eats up to 5 times a day, juvenile 3 to 4, sub adult 2 to 3. What will happen feeding this once a day for such a young beardie, slow growth and metabolic disorders. A sick beardie can easily look happy and healthy, you can't just ask how your feeling. Anyways, I hope you get it all worked out, best of luck to you.

 

[annieandziggy]

@Lobretto I'm sorry I have seemed to offend you in some way. Please don't call me dumb or say that I'm "trying to argue with experts" I'm just a 14 year old first time beardie owner. I thought it would be good to listen to the vet since they are a five star place from over 500 people. That's why I am so nervous to choose what to do.... listen to someone online? Or listen to my five star vet? Ziggy is just getting pretty fat and SOMETIMES slightly slow moving because of his dragging belly. Please try and understand why I'm so torn. I see so many pictures of bearded dragons that eat 3 times as much as Ziggy and theyre not fat and have a dragging big pot belly. That's why I'm concerned about his health. Maybe I will bump his feeding up to twice a day. Sometimes I give him the occasional dubia snack throughout the day but not a full meal. He has no problems with growing. My friend came over and was shocked to see how much he had grown.

 

[Lobretto]

@Lobretto I'm sorry I have seemed to offend you in some way. Please don't call me dumb or say that I'm "trying to argue with experts" I'm just a 14 year old first time beardie owner. I thought it would be good to listen to the vet since they are a five star place from over 500 people. That's why I am so nervous to choose what to do.... listen to someone online? Or listen to my five star vet? Ziggy is just getting pretty fat and SOMETIMES slightly slow moving because of his dragging belly. Please try and understand why I'm so torn. I see so many pictures of bearded dragons that eat 3 times as much as Ziggy and theyre not fat and have a dragging big pot belly. That's why I'm concerned about his health. Maybe I will bump his feeding up to twice a day. Sometimes I give him the occasional dubia snack throughout the day but not a full meal. He has no problems with growing. My friend came over and was shocked to see how much he had grown.

I'm not offended nor do I think you are dumb. All I'm saying is be more open to the advise of some of the people on this site. To be honest most vets have a very vague and general knowledge of reptiles as a whole. They are focused on the pets they see on a regular basis aka dogs and cats. When it comes to the needs of each and every individual reptile species...good luck with that. If you read 100 care sheets on beardies you'll find that almost every one is a guide on adults. They eat once a day, they may only eat 10 large roaches on a bug day. But a baby and juvenile require a whole different set of husbandry guidelines from feeding to basking temp. My advise to you and your young mind is research, ALOT. Read anything and everything you can, try and read the most up to date, published, scientific research. I realized a long long time ago that the understanding and proper care of the reptile at hand is 100% my responsibility and it be best if I truly understood every aspect of their care. Most people we know personally arnt gonna have the slightest clue and a ton of "professionals" aka vets and exotic pet shop employees are the biggest spreaders of misinformation. If you have any questions at all feel free to message me anytime.

 

[xp29]

I agree with Robretto pet stores and even alot of reptile stores only have a vague idea how to take care of beardies. I have been keeping them for 8 years, i believe i remember Robretto saying he has been keepibg them for 25. I think all the staff and most people who reply to you have been keeping them a long time. Please don't be afraid to ask any questions. I keep saying the only dumb question is one not asked. If some of us sound pushy or preachy it's only because we all love beardies and want to impress on everyone new to the hobby just how important it is to get their care right. It's not overly hard to take care of them but that care is VERY specific.

As far as impaction goes, try feeding some baby foods like , unsweetened apple sauce, sweet potato, prune, plain pumpkin ect. You can also mix in a drop of good quality olive oil once in a while. Also keep your beardie hydrated. I have 3 none of which will drink on their own. I use an eye dropper (you can get them at any pharmacy or walmart ect) just put a drop on his snout, if ge still won't drink mix in a little NONE citrus fruit punch for flavor. (Citrus is not good for them).
Just be careful not to go to fast, they can get it diwn the wrong pipe just like us humans.
Oh and as far as the baby food, if he won't try it on his on, just like the water get a small syringe from the pharmacy and put a drop on his nose, obce he figures out it tastes good he should lap it up.
I hope this helps, and again don't be afraid to ask questions. The whole point of this site is to help beardies and their hoomans

 

[annieandziggy]

@Lobretto and @xp29 thank you for your input. I see true kind intentions, so I apologize and I will try and feed him twice a day. XP, I used to have a water bowl in his terrarium but took it out because he never ever drank out of it. Since then, I have sprayed his salad so he can still get hydrated. He attacks the syringe . I’m still trying to handle it a bit. I have a leash coming soon. Today he attacked his salad bowl again. I will replace his UV light very soon- maybe since it’s kinda dying out it’s the reason for his abnormal poos?
PS: I did several months of research prior to getting him in February Here’s two pictures of him. He looks this fat after he eats. Also he has strawberry on his beard that I can’t get off in the second pic haha

 

[xp29]

Oh he is a handsome dude....... although the strawberry looks like lipstick lmao.

 

[xp29]

Oh and he looks pretty healthy so you must be doing good in your care for him

 

[Jjurovaty]

When they're that age 2-3 times a day feeding is the norm. Think about how much baby humans eat! Baby bearded need food to grow and part of the aggression could be just hunger. You ever get hangry!? Up the food and maybe try adding some new fruits or veggies. Mine always like grapes and blueberries as a treat, you can roll them in so they can chase them! Good luck!

 

[AHBD]

Wow, your beardie is huge for his age ! I have to agree that he's getting plenty to eat, you might try feeding him smaller amounts 2 X a day though so he has the meals spaced out. I have to say that some beardies develop that [ bad ] habit of lunging at your fingers whether they are underfed or not and your dragon is not underfed. One of my 2 adult dragons goes for my fingers at times and the other never does.