Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beardie is about 6 inches long from snout to vent, the man that I bought himn from told me that he was 9 monthes old. I was going to feed him 10-15 crickets a day but he ate them like he was starving, he would eat as many as I would give him, I didn't go over 25 though. Is this normal? He has salad too, now collared greens and squash, and he eats that also, somethimes not quite all of it. He seems to fat to me. About how much should he weigh? How many crickets are too many? He's only had about 10-13 today. I got him on Saturday the third. Thanks!!

Emily
By the way his temps are fixed, thanks for all your help everyone!!

I keep records of the weight and cricket intake for all my small dragons. So I can tell you exactly my experience. The only problem is that the measurement you are giving is snout to vent. I have always measured total length. So I'll guess and say that your beardie is 12".

Taylor, female, 12", 80 grams, 10 weeks old, 80-90 sm. crix/day
Toby, male, 12", 80 grams, 10 weeks old, 100-150 sm. crix/day
Simone, female, 12", 110 grams, 7 mo. old?, 80-90 sm. crix/day
Note: Simone was a rescued dragon and may be older than stated.

The bottom line is that you should be feeding crickets twice a day all that he will eat in say 15 minutes. You really should take everything out of his tank so the crickets cannot hide and then attack him while he sleeps. When he grows to an adult his live food needs will not be so great, but for now you should maybe consider buying crickets in bulk. That 10 cents a piece at the pet store is pretty painful. lol

Like my dragon Simone, your dragons previous owner probably didn't feed him enough. At nine months (or 7 in Simones case) a dragon should be pretty much full grown. Simone ate 60 crix in one sitting the day I got her and I was afraid to let her eat any more.

I agree with bdlvr here you should for sure be feeding a bit more. If i was you i would get a scale to measure accurate weights. It's just good to have one to make sure that she is not dropping weight at all for other reasons.

hi
6 inches and 9 months old?
then he is not so big for his age .
they say feed them so much as they can eat in 5 min .
does he also eating greens?
you have a pic of youre dragon ?
byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

hi
ok i read it not good 6 inches snout to vent .
how big is he in total lengt??
byeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Ok, so he is 14 inches total and he weighes around 103 grams, he does eat his salad but he does not always finish it. Today and yesterday he had butternut squash and callard greens. I will try to post a picture soon. I'll need my mom to help me. THanks for your replys!!

Emily

Hope this works! THis is my set up, the thermometer is only temporary until I get my new one. This was before I got the temps fixed. I couldn't figure out how to post more that one picture so next I'll give you a picture of my beardie.

thats nice

Hi
ok its looking nice what i see .
does the temp reach 110 ???
r else you need to put him more direct under the light .
110 temp give a good digestion .
do you have a uvb/uva licht?
like a reptisun 5.0? r powersun ?
byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Ok, here he is. And I use a 100 watt MVB. The temps get to 110, yes. His lights are on for 14 hours a day and night time temps are about 65 to 75.

He looks pretty good to me! Temps seem pretty good as well. I am still not a fan of sand so i will just mention that. Several use it and have no problems i on the other hand would just rather not risk my herps in anyway. But other then that its pretty much good.

It's ok if they don't eat all of the salad. They have small tummies and when you put a whole plate of salad out for them it usually is 10 times to much for them. To us it looks like they ate nothing but to them they just ate at a buffet and need to unbotton there pants! lol

Actually I don't use sand,I use white proso millet, I also discovered when I was at the expo where I got him, that everyone else there with beardies used millet too. I got the idea because a locally owned pet store near me uses it with all their reptiles. It has worked well so far. It is inexpensive as well, and ease to clean up after him. THanks for you help!

Emily

The problem with millet is that it absorbs moisture thus creating too humid an enviroment for arid dwelling reptiles. It can also feed and harbor bacteria. I'd be real careful to watch for respiratory ailments.

Hi
ok then its ok the temp uvb/uva
i only not not the promo millit.
i always using sand special made for pigneons And never got problems after 7 years beardies .
i even put mine babies beardies who just hatch diret on the sand .
i think it depend what type of sand you use.
if its heated and silica free and dust free.
and if the edge r not to sharp then its ok for beardies .
byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Thanks bdlvr i was going to suggest that as well. I thought that it wasn't that good. Honestly i think i would use sand before the millet, and i would not use sand for anything. Haha

heheheh
i know you have sandlovers and haters .
typ in the search engine of this forum ,sand , then you wil see this debated already running for more then 7 years
byeeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Yes it will always be a debate!! I prefer not to use and you do. Whatever get over it! haha There are just some really stubborn people out there.

Well, I don't want everyone to get in another argument over it.
I"ll see how it goes, If I don't like it I'll switch to paper towels or newspaper or something. Everyone has their own opinion. Everything has pros and cons and it's good to know what they are so thanks everyone!

Emily