When to change food quantity based upon age?

[norbertbd]

Our BD is 13 months +/-. He didn't grow for 4 months (was stuck at 12" until Christmas). I switched his crickets to the next bigger size in late Jan. and he's grown a little over 4" since Christmas and is now about 16.5". How old are they when they usually stop growing?

I've had read that when they are adults they should be 75% greens and 25% feeders. Since his growth was stunted (bad mommy) for a few months and he's a little behind, when should I really switch his intake? How much longer should I give the 75% feeders to make up for lost time.

I'm looking forward to less crickets. The bigger they are they more they smell. He eats about 200 large crickets per week. Just moved him up to the larges about 3 weeks ago. He gets collard or turnip greens. Gave up on the mustard greens. They withered too quickly and really gave his poop a stronger odor.

I have the Repti-Sun 10.0, his basking temp is 112 F and the rest is 78 F measure with Accurite probe thermometer. His crickets are dusted with calcium and vitamins 5 days a week. He's on tile.

 

[Ethelia]

Hello there,
Generally you dont want to start reducing protien intake untill a dragon reaches adulthood, which is generally viewed as being around 18months old.
Up until that age they are classed as sub-adults and can still grow so need the extra protien, so you're stuck with bugs for a while longer!
Have you considered trying superworms as a main feeder insted?
They smell less than crickets and make no noise. They can also be kept for alot longer than crix. They are also nice and cheap like crix aswell.


Holly

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I agree with Holly! The superworms are a great feeder and less of a nuissance than those pesky old crickets. Your beardie is at the right size to start him on the superworms also!

I would also like to mention that your basking temp seems a little high. Ideally your temps should be 100-105 for basking.

Dawn

 

[norbertbd]

Thanks for the idea on the worms. I might have to look into that and start rotating them in or something.

I've seen tempuratures recommended up to 112-115, so I didn't think this was out of line. When his basking temps drop below 108-110, I've noticed that he doesn't seem to poop as regularly. Now he's getting irregular anyway, so I'm wondering if it's just that they don't necessarily poop every day when they get older?

 

[Buggsy]

I agree that 115 is a ltiile high, but mine, Gizmo will be very listlus, and stressy with temps anything lower than 107. (very specific and spoiled) Every dragon is different, some like it cooler (say 95-100). I think as long as your dragon isnt stressed and you can read the signs and knw what is normal and what isnt, you can gauge it. (perhaps try a 105-110 temp instead, see what happens)

 

[norbertbd]

Everyone, thanks for the info.

About how many superworms would you think a 16" BD would eat a day? Do superworms also go by another name?

 

[Buggsy]

Gizmo will eat up to 5 a day, and 5 or 6 locust also, i swap and offer her a variety so she dosnt get board!

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Superworms are also called Morioworms or Giant Mealworms.

Ruben will eat 5-10 a day in two sittings depending on his mood. Ruben is a special needs dragon and requires hand feeding though.
I would start by letting her eat as many as she wants. That should give you some guide. It obviously wont be a problem of how many if she only wants 4.
You can hand feed supers or you can put them in a high-sided bowl and leave them in the viv by his salad all day. An all you can eat bug bar if you will ^_^

 

[norbertbd]

Thanks for all the info. I'm going to have to try the worms. The last several batches of crickets have had a couple "chatty" ones in the batch. Rather annoying with the TV, etc. and can even hear them upstairs.

 

[annieoakley123]

i Agree with switching to supers!! they are awesome to take care of, no muss no fuss! just keep some potato, apple, or carrots in there until they dry out and then put some new ones back in! My baby (9 mo) LOVES them. He can eat A LOT in one sitting, i just keep throwing them in until he says "Im done, thank you!". I also use hornworms and silks and sometimes crickets when i need to. I agree, i HATE crickets! I still feed him twice a day with his salad, but i know yours is quite a bit older. So i think switching to something with more food content (compared to crickets) would be a good idea.

 

[Zemanski]

I keep seeing this issue with basking temps coming up.

In the UK most people, and my vet, recommend 110-115, especially for younger growing beardies as it aids digestion and I find that Trevor actually prefers it slightly higher still, he is loads more active around 117F

I know I've been told on here that over 110 is too high due to the problems of dehydration but my vet says that as long as the cool end is cool enough for the beardie to have a choice about cooling down then it shouldn't be a problem - in the wild the temps can range up to around 140F, the beardies simply find somewhere cooler if it's too hot for them.

I think it is probably true to say that ideally the temps should be 105-110 but that for some beardies slightly higher temps seem to be preferred. It is as well to be warned that dehydration can be a problem if temps are too high but not to say categorically that you must not increase that range within a reasonable degree.