Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This past weekend I went to a reptile show and saw the cutest baby beardie. We ended up bringing him home. My question now is, how often should he be eating and what should his appetite be like? I think I've seen him eat 2 crix. They were in the dish with him one second and the next time I looked they were gone. He's about 4" total, lives in a 20 gallon long tank, has a 5.0 bulb, and a basking spot of about 100 degrees. Should I be moving him to a smaller container to eat? He doesnt seem to get all of the crix, and I'm not sure if he is eating them or if they are hiding in the grapevine in his cage.
Please let me know what you think.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
0.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
1.0 Chameleo Melleri
1.0 Ball Python
0.0.1 Golden Tree Frog
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

Forgive me if you know some of this already but your post sounded like you bought him on a whim without doing much background. Dragons have very different husbandry requirements to chameleons.

A 20 gal is fine, your bulbs sound good, just make sure you have a temp gradient from 80F upwards, with a basking spot of around 105F. I hope your baby is on paper towel or shelf liner, and definately not sand or any other particulate substrate. Dragons like it hot and dry.

Feeding is small crickets no larger than the space between his eyes, 2 - 3 times a day with as many as he/she will eat in 10 - 15 minutes. Dont be surprised if he sucks them up like a vacuum cleaner, they have voracious appetites at this age. Salad such as mustard greens, squash etc... should be finely grated and made available at all times. Be sure to dust one of load of crickets every day with a good calcium supplement, and it pays to dust the salad with a vitamin supplement such as t-rex dragon powder. do not expect the baby to eat much salad. Do not feed the baby mealworms or waxworms, although small silkworms are an alternative to the crickets. If you have to move him to eat then do so, although soon he should be good in his tank (once he gets the hang of it).

This is my advice from my experience with Fuego, and learning from the mistakes I made early on. I'm sure there are more experienced handlers out there who may have alternative advice or who may wish to add to the areas I missed.

Welcome to the world of b. dragons, and lets see a pic of the baby soon.
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Ross

1.0 Bearded Dragon (Fuego)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

I did a bit of research before getting him, but thanks for making sure. I had been considering getting a beardie for a while, and just couldn't resist when I saw this little guy. He may be too young though... He's 5 days old, but I was told he was eating fine when I purchased him, but I haven't really seen him eat much since we got him. I don't know if that may just be that he's still adjusting to the new environment. He does have paper towels on the bottom of his cage. He is pretty active, usually sprinting around his cage. He also licks just about everything in his cage. Is this normal? I took him out earlier today and let him soak in some warm water, he relaxed right away and seemed to enjoy it. He didn't drink any water while he was soaking, but did drink some water drops off of my hand when I picked him up to put him back in his cage. I've heard a couple of different things and wanted to double check... Should I give him a water dish or should I just mist him a couple of times a day?

I put a tiny silk worm in there just before I left, so hopefully he finds it. I still see crickets in his cage though. I'm just worried that maybe he was too young or that he isnt in the best health.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
0.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
1.0 Chameleo Melleri
1.0 Ball Python
0.0.1 Golden Tree Frog
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

"He's 5 days old, but I was told he was eating fine when I purchased him, but I haven't really seen him eat much since we got him"

First of, I can't believe someone sold you a baby that is only 5 days old. That is unreal!!!!
Second, for them to say that he was eating fine before you got him is a "crock of crap" (Sorry, couldn't think of a better phrase) Generally speaking beardies don't eat till about 3 days old and even then it is a VERY small amount of food.

I suggest making sure his basking temps are nice and warm and about 110. Chop up greens into pieces that are about "dime size", offer some soaked pellets and MAKE SURE the crix are no bigger than 1/4"

Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I also have a feeding guide listed on my site that you might find helpful
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Lisa
Cricket free babies!
www.beginnersbasics.com

get those uneaten crix out of there. They WILL munch on your baby during the night.

I wouldn't offer a water bowl, I would mist him 3 times a day.

Good luck with him
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Lisa
Cricket free babies!
www.beginnersbasics.com

At four or five days old with the stress of being taken out of the egg into a new cage and then into a reptile show and then sold and setup in anohter new cage... that's a heck of a lot for something so young to go through... i'm not surprised he's not eating at all.

Dragons live off of things they absorb while inside the egg for the first few days of their lives.. it's not uncommon for some to not eat for the first few days.. even up to five if they have absorbed a lot while inside the egg.

I would def recommend leaving the dragon alone until he/she is eating on his/her own. I personally would remove everything from the cage except paper towels for the substrate and maybe a small rock of some sort directly under the basking spot to absorb some of the heat and make a nice basking spot for the dragon. I would make sure their is plenty of bright intense light so the dragon remains active and alert.

I also would mist the dragon several times a day and would remove the waterbowl. As stated before, I would even consider taping paper around the outside of the cage to add extra security for the dragon until he starts to eat. The soaks are okay to give, but I would try and minimize handling until he's eating better. This dragon has gone through a ton in the first few days of it's life and hopefully he'll bounce back okay.

good luck,
brandon
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Dragons by Nature