Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got the BD at work that just came in on donation and it's pretty thin. What's the best way to fatten him up. I've been soaking him and He eats good...But is silkworm the only way?

Hi
its a combination of things .
like heat baskingspot 110-115
uvb/uva sources like a reptisun 5.0 r powersun
calsium dustings say 4,5 times a week and vitamines say 1 time a week .
i know waworms can be used to but they like big macs and very adictif
also bath him in a shoulder deep bath and feel with youre wriust if its not to hot .
then drup some drops on his nose most of the time they wil start to drink .
i dunno if you hae expirience with care for dragons ??
morioworms r also nice and gutloaded cricks .
byeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Okay well I'm doing all of the above...So hopfully he puts some weight on!

You didn't say how old or big the dragon is?

I don't feed waxworms because they are too high in fat. I feel it will just put on the wrong kind of weight. If the protein (silkworms, crickets) to vegitable ratio is high he will gain weight. I'd just be patient.

I would also schedule a vet appointment for a fecal. Parasites could be the cause of him being thin.

I would yes take a fecal to the vet to just be sure. YOu could feed silkworms and crix as a staple diet along with the Veggies. Do you know how to care for a BD did you ever before? What veggies are you feeding? How big is the beardie? You can feed waxworms as treats, yes they are high in fat which is a good thing when you have a skinny animal, you can't feed to much or to often they will get addicted to them. You could also try feeding a pinky, they are also high in fat and if you feed a pinky make sure you only feed one and not weekly or monthly just feed that one to help fatten up. Good luck!! Hope all goes well!

i got a thin one in not too long ago and baby food was recommended...just a thought

Yes you may use organic baby food. I wouldn't rely on it too much it causes watery poops and they can just get stuck on eating that and that's also not a good idea. So yes it's fine just not too often!! I used organic turkey, barley and carrot before!

With baby food be sensitive to the amount of Vitamin A. Carrot baby food has a lot of Vitamin A that is bad for dragons.

Feed him a healthy diet, at least once a day. Silkworms, butterworms, superworms, crickets and roaches are all good insects to feed him. If he is getting all the food he wants to eat, he will gain weight in time. Once he is a good weight, cut back on insects (if adult) to only a few every day, or a meal or two once or twice a week. Also feed a good salad daily. If he is already over 14 months old, feed two small salads per day with some insects on both, if he cleans up teh bowl and still looks hungry, increase the size of each salad.
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PHLdyPayne

My new male bearded dragon is a recent rescue given to me by a woman whose sister couldn't take care of him any more. He was 250 grams when I got him, and he is an adult. He was also severely dehydrated and had a respiratory infection, needing baytril. It's only been two weeks but he is almost 350 grams now.

He has gone wild over dusted superworms. They have fattened him up quite a bit. He still has a long way to go before he is like my 575 gram girls, but he is doing much better. Superworms are hard to resist.