Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HEY i'm new to beardeds, can you feed them pinkie mice?

Well, it is possible to feed an adult beardie pinkie mice, but it's NOT recommended, because it won't do your beardie any good, and it could introduce parasites, or cause digestion problems. In other words, stick to healthy food for your dragon. If you're not sure what food is healthy, visit the link below, and have a look at the "Nutrition content"
Beautyfuldragons.com

As someone who keeps a wide range of other reptiles, it's sort of tough for me to understand how pinkies can be such a good and complete food for snakes and monitor lizards and other things but so bad for bearded dragons. They do contain lots of calcium and other good stuff.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

You seriously find it hard to believe that pinkies might be good for one kind of animal, and not for another? Is it hard to believe that different animals have different needs? As a person who keeps a "wide range of other reptiles", I hope you're aware of the fact that different reptiles have different diets...

What "good stuff" do you claim that a pinkie mouse contains, that will benefit a beardie, and that outweighs the risk of feeding them?

Bones.... Bones are very good for you. Good calcium there.
Despite my wide range of reptiles, I only feed them four things... mice, bugs, fish, and salad. Oh yeah, and turtle sticks. I probably could give the turtles mice but that would get pretty messy.
Which parasites do pinkies give to beardies? Should I test the rest of my collection for them?
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

Man...you should do some serious reading on food and care for your reptiles. And you should definitly not give advice on beardies and food until you do so. I don't want to be rude, but if you're really serious in your previous post, then, well... Let's just say that different animals have different needs that should be taken care of.

Yes, pinkies have bones. Bones which are not the easiest for a beardie to digest... A snake can also eat a cat, but would you feed your beardie a cat??? I sincerely hope not.

Pinkies could carry a number of different parasites. I'm not saying all of them do, but there's a risk that should be mentioned, and as long as there's absolutely no need to take that risk, why do so?

Also, pinkies are very fat, and that's not good for your beardie either. It could, for instance, lead to liver problems.

The bottom line:
- Pinkies are no good for your beardie, and there's absolutely no need to feed them.
- There are certain risks involved with feeding pinkies to your beardie, and once again, there is no need to take those risks.
- There is plenty of good, healthy food for beardies. Give that to your beardie instead.
- The beardie is not a snake or a monitor, and requires a whole different diet, as well as temperature and humidity.

Please, meretseger, have a look at the link to Beautyfuldragons.com that I posted in my first reply here. Also, find similar information for your other reptiles, and provide them with individual diets suited for their needs.

BD's eat salad and vegetable matter and snakes don't . Does that mean that you feed your snakes salads? Each species require something different. Just because they will eat them doesn't mean they should. Like Norwegian said pinkies are high in fat content which is known to cause liver damage in BD's.

BD's produce their calcium needs through the use of UVB lights and snakes don't. Since i'm not a snake owner, i'm assuming that's why it is much more critical for a snake to get it's calcium from the bones of animals. Again totally different reptiles.

Both of you have valid arguments on your side. Pinkies are high in animal fat, protien and calcium. I usually feed one every week or two to my breeding females during season just for this reason, it helps them maintain their weight and any extra calcium can't hurt with egg production. You'll find on this board that people tend to be a bit idealistic in the treatment of their animals (that's not a bad thing, in fact I would much rather see it go that way then the other). The only problem is that you'll see people quoting the "experts" (or calling themselves experts because they read a 10 year old book) when in reality we are all learning new stuff every day.

Forgot to mention, if you do decide to feed the occasional pinkie to your adult dragon, it is much safer to feed f/t. Any chance of getting parasites is severly diminished.

Ok just a little rant. Beardies can and do digest pinky/fuzzy mice just fine. They are a great source of vitamins (as they are whole food animals) and calcium. They are high in fat and calories, which can be a good thing for a skinny beardie due to illness or egg production. A fuzzy weighs about 6 grams that is many many crickets. They should not be a staple food, but can be a supplement. I have feed egg producing females 3-4 fuzzy mice a week for the week after they lay, this in addition to their salad, crickets, and supers. Never once seen a dragon have an issue digesting them. The bones are fairly soft as pinkies are still developing. They do have their place in a dragons diet. Think about this, what do dragons eat in the wild? Think they get all the salad they want, and 40-50 crickets? No they eat whatever they can. This includes lizards, bugs, small mammals, and vegetation. In captivity we are feeding them a very select diet that is unnatural. Is this a bad thing? No, but things that they naturally eat in the wild are not bad things to feed them in captivity. On the parasite note almost every food you feed your dragon can carry parasites. Crickets, worms, and greens. I personally have always fed my dragons frozen thawed fuzzy mice, thus lowering the risk of parasite infestation down to a very low risk probably lower than any other food that is offered besides pellets, even then their is the water used to soak the pellets. Also a very key thing to note about parasites is, that if your dragon is being kept properly and stress free then the dragon's immune system will stop any breakouts of parasites. Parasites usually only become an issue when the dragon is kept improperly or is stressed out. Something I think a lot of people overlook.

Peace
Derek

Just a small comment: Yes, beardies in the wild have to eat what's available. However, beardies in the wild also often have parasites and diseases, their health may be poor, and their life is certainly much more of a battle, in every aspect, than our pets' life (if properly cared for).

Also, the thought of pinkies being healthy food for a dragon was, as far as I know, abandoned years ago. In fact, I haven't read anything positive about them in any newly published, or revised, books, as I can remember. Oh, except the fact that they can be used to fatten up egg-laying females. That's probably the only thing pinkies are good for.

If you absolutely have to feed pinkies, God knows why, feed them as a very occasional treat. But be aware that there are a lot of healthier options for your dragon.

Actually beardies in the wild do not generally have high parasite loads. Only time high parasites become a problem in wild herps is when they become stressed due to being captured. I am not saying beardies should be fed mice often, but rather on occasion they are good for certain things. Almost every breeder will agree with that. I know several that use mice for females.

Peace
Derek

I am with you on this one grimdog! I just feed my female dragon that laid 26 eggs two pinkies yesterday. And I have done that for years. I ALLWAYS offer my girls pinkies after they have laid and have never had any problems what so ever. They need that extra calcium and fat after their decreased appetited prior to laying and the calcium lost in egg production. And you know what.... THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!! Now granted, pinkies are not a staple in my dragons diet. That is the only time I offer them. But I honestly don't think it is dangerous. I work at a pet store / animal clinic with a herp vet, and to my knowledge we have never seen a beardie that had problems stemming from being fed pinkies.