Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking of buying a baby Bearded Dragon it will be 4 to 5 1/2 inches. I am having some trouble finding a good diet plan for it. I hear feeding it to large a meal or feeding crickets that are larger than the distance between its nose and eyes can cause partial paralysis and/or hind leg extension. So my first question is what is partial paralysis and hind leg extension? Also I am unsure of how large is to large, I don't know if 3 crickets or 100 is to large of a meal. So my next question is how many crickets should I feed it? The next question is how often should I feed it and how often should I dust with a vitamin/mineral supplement? I have noticed talk of Bearded Dragon's eating anything from greens to squash. So my next question is should it always have a bowl of veggies sitting around? I have also read that the best way to water is to mist twice a day is this correct? Finally how will I know when to start offering more or larger live prey items such as pinkies and mealworms?
Also here is the current housing requirments I am aware of if there are anymore I should consider please list.

Basking Area 95 - 110
Ambiant Temp On Cool Side 78
Full Spectrum Lighting With UV-A And UV-B
Hides And Such On Warm And Cool Sides Of Tank

Thanx,
Cranky

Also if you could please tell me when I should start feeding it more prey items or switch to larger prey items such as pinkies and mealworms.

when a beardie is impacted (consumed too large prey or otherwise unable to digest) it cant use its back legs because of the food pressing on its spine. they pretty much lay useless behind them. thats the extension and paralysis. the size of the meal is easy enough...give htem as many crickets as he can eat in 10-15 minutes. then remove the rest, or feed in a separate enclosure and just take him out when hes not interested in eating anymore. as babies, they need to be fed 2-3 times a day, at least once feeding dusted with calcium containing vitamin d3, and a multivitamin a couple times a week. they also need greens offered to them daily, although babies often wont touch them. lists of greens can be found at beginnerbasics.com and veronica has a really detailed list but i cant remember her url right now pinkies are really only for gravid female or ones who just laid eggs, but can be used occassionally for a beardie that needs some fattening up. superworms are better than mealworms (theyre easier to digest because they have less of a shell) and can be given at, i dunno, 10 inches or so. once youd no longer call the beardie a baby misting a couple times a day is great; theyll lick the water off their nose. a bath a few times a week is also a good idea. youve got the heat and light stuff allllllmost perfect...the basking spot should minimally be 103 degrees to aid digestion; the younger the dragon the higher it should be (no higher than 115 or so though).

it all seems very complicated, and its great youre doing your research before buying the dragon. but once you get the dragon home, youll find that most of it isnt really as complicated day-to-day as it may seem. its just more expensive
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

It's not usually "how much" they eat that will cause problems. It's the size of what they eat. Crickets should be no larger then the space between their eyes. A beardie 4.5-5" would eat 1/4" long crickets.
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TheClassyLizard

The others said it all but to clarify the veggies part....If your beardie is a baby he will only eat the crix. At about 4 months old start introducing some veggies but dont expect him to gobble them up. Mine usually started nibbling greens about the 6 month mark. Then it took about a month til they started really digging in to them.

its true that babies *probably* wont eat veggies, but they should still be offered and you should still attempt to coax them to eat it. my first baby didnt take very long to start eating them and she was probably only 2 months or less at the time.
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

Mine eat veggies from day 3

>>its true that babies *probably* wont eat veggies, but they should still be offered and you should still attempt to coax them to eat it. my first baby didnt take very long to start eating them and she was probably only 2 months or less at the time.
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>>proud mama to:
>>1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)
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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

well we all know your beardies are just special kaipo is opening his eyes long enough to say hi to ya!
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

Well, they are to me Each and every one of them is special!!

I still say Kaipo is a bit young to be brumating

>>well we all know your beardies are just special kaipo is opening his eyes long enough to say hi to ya!
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>>proud mama to:
>>1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)
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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

he seems to be doing a mini-brumation...doesnt bask much, not so hungry, generally stays on the other end of the cage and goes to sleep early, sometimes hiding under the paper towels. but i can still get him to eat waxies maybe he's depressed cause theres no mature females for him to go after here!
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)