Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello,
i am new to this forum. i have had a male beardy for aprox a year now. when i got himhe was 4" and just a hatchling. now he is 22" and beautifull. i tried posting pics, but they kept saying they are too large. (any suggestgions?)
now, for the reason i'm posting. he has always been a great eater until a couple weeks ago. nothing has changed (temps, light, food, ect...) he just shows no interest in crickets and very little salad. he is still fairly active but has me worried. he is not looking skinny yet, but i'm trying to avoid that. any suggestions? thanks....

well first of all welcome to the forums. you can get some great info from people on here.

as far as your dragon not eating as much....couple things possible

try some different insects. roaches DUBIA or LOBSTER roaches, silkworms, mealworms, butterworms, or pheonix worms.

try some new things in his salad mixes like some colorful fruits or something.

also could be trying to brumate as well.

hope this may help
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Judson
Beach Beardies

0.1. bearded dragon
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

The best thing you can do for yourself and your dragon is to buy a weight scale. Ideally one that measures in 1 gram increments. By the time you notice weight loss then it will already be very significant. On the other side of the coin you'd be amazed how little an adult dragon can eat and still gain weight. Just remember a poop weighs about 20 grams but could be /- about 10 grams.

I religiously weigh each dragon (19) weekly (Sunday am) and write it down so I can notice any unexplained trends. It is also extremely helpful during egg laying time of year.

Dragons, once they reach a year old do dramatically reduce their eating as they don't need so much nourishment anymore as the bulk of their growth is ending...takes lot of food to go from 4" to 22" in 12 months. That is over 5 times its side in just length.

Some details on what you actually feed your dragon every day, and how much of it he eats...will be a better indicator if he is actually eating all he needs... as well as regular weighing as BDLvr suggests.
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PHLdyPayne

thanks for the feedback.
i'll start with salad. every morning he gets a salad that usually consist of greens(mustard, turnip, ect...) yellow squash, and carrots. all chopped finely and doesn't usually vary much.
he used to eat crickets every evening. until a month or two ago. i would feed him as many as he would eat in a half hour or so. usually 1-4 doz appropriate size crix. i dust with supplements twice a week.
i will try to find some scales. i tried once before and asked at walmart and a couple other places. they looked at me like i was using them for dope. i told them i wated them for reptiles and they just said sure... any suggestions on where to get a pair?
i'm starting to get a little worried now. it's been like a5 days without a poo. he was going every other day like clockwork. i think he is eating very little if any salad and only 1 cricket yesterday. any ideas??? he is still fairly active and alert, just fasting....
jonathan

there are many places to get digital scales to measure in one gram increments. However, as many are used in Meth labs or the like...some stores are reluctant to carry or sell them. Could say you don't need them for drugs, but for measuring gems OR just tell them its none of their business what you intend to use it for. Every thing in Walmart could be used in some illegal way if you really put your mind to it.

Best place to check for scales in stores, is in the kitchen section. kitchen specialty stores are good too. Or online.
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PHLdyPayne