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Many people have made comments to me in the last two days about the massive amount of crickets I should be going through. My 3" babies are only eating 4 to 8 per day and my 4" is eating 4 to 6 twice a day. Is that normal? They wont touch their beardie food and only the 2 little ones will touch their salad.
The books tell you what size, but never say how many.
The experiance I had with young beardies is they do eat a lot more then what you are saying. How are your temps 105 110 surface temps on the bssking spot 75-85 on the cool side? Are they housed together? Are you using bright lighting with one giving off UVB? Need a little more info of how you care for them.
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Mystical Dragons
As this has ben an ongoing concern for the last two days, I forget my previous messages are rather buried.
*Basking temp 100 to 110 *cool side 80 to 85
good poop no chunkies
eating salads, crickets dusted one meal not the other for the day
have the three of them back togather in a 48" x 24"x 16" enclosure had pulled out the larger one, but he stopped eating then put him with the others he eats
Tried feeding them in this enclosure, now feeding them in separate container one at a time.
basking temp could be a little higher as long as the cool side stays cool. hotter=hungrier
good poop no chunkies - great, they are digesting properly so that basking temp will get the job done
little dragons do much better in a small enclosure so they dont have to hunt and chase the food around so much. make sure all dragons in the enclosure are of the same size so nobody gets intimidated and even then you may find a dominant one that pushes the others around. It is best to feed them in their enclosure and not move them around especially at this age. they will be more comfortable and more inclined to eat. if you have a pushy one, remove him while the others eat and then put him back after they are done. you may need to seperate them completely to avoid stressing the animals.
good luck.
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Bennett
Make sure the crix are no larger than the space between the dragon’s eyes. Some dragons are intimidated by the crix and you may need to try smaller ones. Some dragons prefer having lots of crix in the cage at one time some prefer one at a time. Lots of variables. As long as the crix are of the proper size and they eat about 10 a day (don’t forget to offer greens), I wouldn't worry.
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Bennett
almost forgot...
check their stool and make sure the food they eat is being digested. if you see big chunks of crix, that's bad. basking temps might be to low.
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Bennett
Thanks so much.
I forgot to add that I have a (7%) uvb light. It is a little high from what I was told it should be 16" so I put it next to the basking light over that area since the basking spot raises them anywhere from 8 to 14" from the uvb source.
Their lair has a divider in the middle that can be added to separate or whatever. Would they be better off using just one side of this? (24x 24).
I dont care to feed the crix in the lair, because they get stressed at night if they don't eat all of them. The crix come out at night and crawl on the babies. I try to remove all that they don't eat, but a few will always find really good hiding places.
personally, i don't put more than 5 babies of the same size together and I would use no more than 2 square foot of floor space until they are 4"-5" long. just make sure you maintain a temperature gradient.
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Bennett
do you mean 2sq' of space for all three? I would think that would make them compete more for space and such. I have a tank that small, but feel a little hesitant. do others agree with this? I have never had babies. I will be the first to admit I know nothing other than whatI learned from books. They are so tiny, even after a week they are less than 1 1/2" snout to vent.
One of them has started eating on its own. I hope in the next day the others follow suit!
let me put it this way, you could keep 5 babies in a 10 gallon tank for about 2 months depending on their growth rate. think about it this way, how many body lengths is it for them to cross the cage? If they are 3" long and the cage is 20" long he has to run 6 times his body length to catch a cricket at the other end of the tank, assuming he sees it and nothing is blocking his view. so by putting them in a small tank to start it makes it easier for them to feed. they dont need to ram around and stake out territory. in fact they will feel more secure in a smaller tank if you cover the glass on the bottom so they cant see through it.
before you know it they will be plenty big and you can give them a lot more room. for now, make feeding as easy for them as possible, dont make them hunt for food.
Make sure they have a gradient 110-120 for basking and a cool side in the low 80's. use a temp gun to measure basking temps and if you need to get the light closer you can always put something in for babies to climb. they are good at regulating themselves that way. (for safety sake not to close)
good luck
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Bennett
OMG how rude of me, I went to your site and read about your background! Please accept my appologies. I am just so badly trying to make these little guys survive. I would appreciate any adise you are willing to give me.
Thank you!
Sky
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