Vitamin D3 is not found in greens or vegetables at all, no clue where you heard it is present in vegetables. It is only in mushrooms which is not something bearded dragons eat.



When I read your statement I did some research myself to see if this is possible as I never heard of it before. None of the sites I checked about food containing Vitamin D3 mentioned it being found in greens. Mushrooms was the only plant matter mentioned which has some levels of vitamin D3. Vegetation does however have vitamin D2 which is a different vitamin. Other sources of Vitamin D3 in food are all food sources dragons don't eat, such as salmon, cod, and other seafood.



As for the thread's original questions, hatchling dragons should be offered appropriately sized cricket, 3-4 times a day. Dust one or two feedings with a multivitamin and calcium with D3 (and no phosphorus). The first feeding can be offered a couple days after they hatch, some may eat right away, some many not eat for as long as a week or even 10 days. These first days out of the egg the dragon is still absorbing egg yolk so they are not starving. I would definitely recommend offering food after 3-5 days.



Finely chopped greens can be offered same time the crickets are and left in the cage, replacing uneaten portions daily. This introduces the dragons to greens early and gives any stray crickets a nice food/moisture source over night should some escape the ravenous dragons.



Continue feeding on this regement for up to 4 months then feedings can be dropped to 2 feedings of insects a day with greens available all day. Other insect types can be offered too. After 8 - 12 months, one insect feeding a day with greens (dust insects once or twice a week). After about 14 months, insects should only 10-20% of the daily intake of food, the rest greens. This can be just a few adult crickets, worms (superworms, silkworms etc.) or roaches dropped on their greens, or a feeding of insects a couple times a week.



Typically dragons reach their full growth around 14 months though some do continue to grow very slowly for another year.



Weights vary but an average dragon around 18-19 inches should weight around 500 grams...its hard to say, as males do tend to be heavier and females broader. Longer dragons will of course weight more as will shorter dragons. Best way to determine a healthy weight is the dragon's overall appearance and length.
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PHLdyPayne

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