Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, i have 2 questions. First, my 3 years old male BD likes BD pellets, should I allow him to eat them? Dry or with water?

Second:I noticed that his inner mouth is a very light pink, almost light purple, is this normal?His children´s inner mouths are a very vivid pink, a much darker pink than his inner mouth.

Older BDs have lighter pink inner mouth?

Thanks Flavia

i personally dont give my dragons the pellets and i offer fresh live food and greens every day...once in a blue moon ill put some moistened on top of their greens as a treat but thats about it...as far as the whole mouth color thing...it might be the pellets if ur feeding them to your dragon...my one girl is 4 years old and has a light pink mouth as well as my other dragons...i could be wrong about that though
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1.0.0 Frilled Dragon - Frank
0.0.1 Rhinoceros Iguana - Mo
2.1.1 Bearded Dragons - Magellan, Galileo, Lizzy, & Machiavelli

I use dry pellets only for emergencies like as if we have a bunch of snow and there is no way to go to the store and get food for him. My dragon seems to always be sad when i have to put that in his cage. From looking at the ingredients it looks like what you feed crickets like dry meal and high protien stuff. So if thats what makes the crickets big and strong for your dragon im sure its decent but like I said i only use if i have to and really have no idea if its good or bad for him.

Pellets I never had much success with in feeding my dragons. I feel it is best to feed variety of foods, greens and insects. Some pellets added to fresh food on a regular basis is fine. Moistened is always best as it provides far more hydration to your dragon. Soak in water before adding to top of salads etc.

As for the mouth coloration, I don't think there is anything wrong...though lack of color in gums etc could indicate various things. Very red or signs of inflammation I would think bacterial infections (ie mouth rot). If yellowish it may be sign of kidney or liver failure. Having a vet examination, especially with one very familiar with reptiles and bearded dragons is always good, if you are worried. Slight variations between dragons is probably normal though.

If he's eating well, active, alert and behaves perfectly normal for a healthy happy dragon, then the slight difference in color is probably nothing to worry about. Watch weight, how much he eats and how often he poops, if these change or the color of his mouth gets even paler or darker purple, I suggest a vet visit.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks a lot for your reply.

Yes, Croissant ( thats his name) acts healthy, curious and active, ready to run, jump anf flirt his girls friends.

I cannot take him to a vet because there are no reptile vets around.I live in a country ( Brazil)where until a few years back it was odd to raise lizards ( most people think that lizards have cold blood what is a "demoniac characteristic" and because of that nobody should love and care for them what i think its not true or fair) and now is legally forbidden.So no vets.

Im worried with the colour of Croissant´s gums and tongue because they were not like that. They were pinker but the colour changed a few months ago after a two week hibernation (brumation). Although he started eating again and i even gave him vitamins the colour of his inner mouth never became vivid pink again.

Hmm, Brazil vets obviously hard to find from what you say. I really don't know if the change in mouth color is a bad sign nothing to worry about. The fact your dragon is active, eating fine etc. is promising.

One thing I can recommend, is coming to our special guest chat with Dr. Doug Mader, a prominent Herp vet in the US. (he does the 'Ask the Vet' article in Reptile Magazine as well as wrote a book about reptile medicine. He will be in our Reptiles and Amphibian's chatroom Feb 22 (a Sunday) at 9pm Eastern Standard Time. You can use the same nic you use for the forum to log into the chat, or log on as a guest. This way you can ask a qualified vet about the mouth issue and see what he has to say.

Hope this proves helpful.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks a lot!!!!;D

Flavia