Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beadie is 7 weeks old. I got him three weeks ago. He was 4 inches them and now he's only just about 5 inches. (Head to tail)
He has a basking area of about 110 and the rest of the enclosure is about 80. He has UVA and UVB. He eats about 7-12 quarter inch crickets a day dusted with rep cal/herpitivite. Once in awhile I can get him to take a few bites of dandelion or parsley. I mist him 2-3 times a day and just the other day I saw his tail shedding, which I assume is a good sign? Poop looks normal.
I'm worried, because it seems that most people say the average is growth of half and inch per week, and he's definitely not growing that fast. Could he just be a slow grower?
Thanks!

How big is the enclosure?
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Rob Talkington

65 gallon reptarium. I know, people think mesh isn't great, but it does maintain the temperatures I mentioned before very well-I keep my apartment warm anyway.

I think your dragon is stressed with his environment. Small dragons such as yours need small enclosures to start off with. I'd get a 10 gallon aquarium or a small rubbermaid and put something on the walls (if it's an aquarium) he can't see through. He should be eating a lot more than he is and I bet if you make his home a little more secure his appetite will pick right up.

Good luck with him!!!
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Rob Talkington

So, then how many crickets should he be eating? I thought it seemed like he was eating alot for his size.

im sorry, but that doesnt make any sence to me. in the wild bearded dragons stalk for land and have complicated relationships with each other on "who's is who's". it doesnt really make much sence that a larger enclosure would make a baby dragon stress. could you explain a little more please?

Well for one thing these dragons aren't in the wild they're in a glass cage. Other than that I really don't know why it is the way it is. If I were to guess I'd say you can relate it to human kids. In a smaller a room (to a point) a kid will feel more secure than being in a huge room.
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Rob Talkington

Out in the wild a baby dragon out in the open is lunch to pretty much everything including adult dragons. They hide in brush and cozy places (at least the ones that want to live) where they can hunt small bugs and larger animals have trouble getting to them.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

>>Out in the wild a baby dragon out in the open is lunch to pretty much everything including adult dragons. They hide in brush and cozy places (at least the ones that want to live) where they can hunt small bugs and larger animals have trouble getting to them.
>>
>>Sean
>>Heart Mountain Herps
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Rob Talkington

I agree with wideglide, he should be eating a lot more, like 50-100 crix a day (in 3 feedings). Something is probably stressing him in his environment, change that and I think you'll see a change in your dragon.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

Are you serious??? 50-100 per day? At the pet store they told me a dozen was adequate. How would he fit 100 crickets in his tiny stomach? I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound incredulous, but I'm very surprised.

When I bought mine last year they were small. They regularly ate about 45 crickets at each feeding ( combined, not 45 each). Be sure the crickets are small enough, they should be about the size of the space between the eyes. I started mine on 1/4 inch crickets. If you have a cricket farm nearby, get them there in bulk. i keep 1000 crickets in a 35 gal. aquarium at all times. It is cheaper and they even have baby crickets so the 1000 last quite a while.

Good Luck
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Ken
If you kill it, You better be willing to eat it!

50-100 per day, not per sitting, although I have seen them knock down 50 in a single sitting before but it is rare. Divide that out by 3 feedings a day and thats only like 15-30 crix a sitting. So I guess my answer is ya I'm serious, if you're feeding appropriate sized crix they can really pack them away. Find a good supplier that can send you 1/4" and soon 1/2" by the 1000, and buy them by the 1000 not at the pet store, 1000 crix is something like $15-$25 instead of the $.10 a peice that most pet stores sell.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

i agree with the other post he should be eating more. you can go to reptilefood.com and they have the right size 1000 for 10 and food for the crickets for $2.50 with shipping it comes to about $23.00 depending where you live and they garentee live delivery overnight.
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Michelle Bowles
Safehavenpets
Northern Virginia

0.1.0 Bearded dragon(reggie) A rescue
2.1.0 Iguanas(Miss T,Kupa,tiny) All rescues
0.0.1 rosey red corn snake(sam)
0.1.0 emerald swift(grettel)
0.0.1 red ear slider(fred) A rescue
2.1.0 kids (kimberly,bradley,richard
and a husband

Fancy seeing you here Michelle... Hope you're ready for your two new babies.. they're monster eaters they are..

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Kylie

AIM: MatchFlameStick
ike

Sounds like you may be getting into a little more than you originally thought, huh?

I mean I can just imagine what it must sound like. It's going from

"Hmmm, I'll get 50 or so crickets from my pet store and keep them in this critter keeper and feed them out this way."

to

"buy them by the 1000 not at the pet store, 1000 crix is something like $15-$25 instead of the $.10 a peice that most pet stores sell."

and

"If you have a cricket farm nearby, get them there in bulk. i keep 1000 crickets in a 35 gal. aquarium at all times."

FYI, you can always go cricket free like Lisa at BeginnersBasics.com or go with silkworms. Personally, I think silkies are soooooooooooo much better than crix.

Oh yeah, it will blow you away how much your dragon will be able to pack into his little tummy!!
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Rob Talkington

You are not kidding!!!! I feel totally overwhelmed. I tried to be as careful about my research as possible before I bought him, but apparently I didn't do well enough. I do have a bunch of Kaytee pellets that I offer along with greens and crickets, but he's not too interested yet. Do you know if that's a good brand?
I knew owning a reptile would be more difficult than any of my other pets, but so many people seem to be able to do it, I thought I'd be ok, but now I don't know. At least he seems happy and active, even if he is small. What did I get myself into????

Well if it's any consolation you don't need to feel too overwhelmed. I don't know much about the Kaytee pellets, I use the Repcal pellets. I've heard a few bad things about Kaytee, though I couldn't tell you exactly what I heard.

I think it takes some persuasion to get babies to eat the pellets. Some say try applejuice or diluted gatorade.

There will be a lot to learn as you take care of your beardie but once you have it down you will be absolutely thrilled you got him. Dragons are just awesome!! I've heard them be called the reptile that is as close to a dog as you can get and I agree!! I guess I'd say you got yourself into a great experience!

Keep checking out this forum, asking questions, etc. and everything gets fairly easy after a few months and you'll be having a blast!
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Rob Talkington

Thanks! I hope so. Do you feed yours a zillion crickets? Or do you do the pellet thing? How much pellets is equivalent to 50 crickets? It seems like it would have to be a lot. Do you agree that I should put him in a smaller enclosure for now?

I feed mine silkworms, pellets and salad. I couldn't tell you how much pellets would be equivalent to 50 crickets but I would think it would be a good amount. The basic rule of thumb when feeding a healthy baby dragon is to let them eat as much as they can in 10-15 minutes. If you get them on pellets, however, I don't think you necessarily have to take the pellets away after 15 minutes, I think you can just leave them in there for a while. I think the 10-15 minutes is because you shouldn't leave uneaten crix with your beardie as they may chew on him if they're hungry.

I definitely agree you should put him in a smaller enclosure for now. When my beardie was small I had him in too large of an enclosure and he became stressed to the point where he had coccidia and stopped eating on his own. After I put him in a smaller enclosure he started eating on his own and the coccidia (with meds also) got under control.

If that doesn't help I'd try putting some paper up on the sides of the smaller enclosure. Keep in mind it may take a couple of days for him to settle in and really start eating. I wish I could help you more but that dragon is so small I don't know enough about how to care for one so small. I mean I don't know if you should hand feed it if it won't eat for a couple of days or what. I'm sure someone here may be able to help you out with that, though.
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Rob Talkington

Thanks, I'll defintely go with the smaller tank and try to feel pellets and silk worms and salad like you do. Personally I can't stand the crix anyway and the thought of having a tankful makes me cringe. Thanks for your help!

>>Thanks, I'll defintely go with the smaller tank and try to feel pellets and silk worms and salad like you do. Personally I can't stand the crix anyway and the thought of having a tankful makes me cringe. Thanks for your help!
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Rob Talkington

Sorry, I actually had to go work for a bit lol...
I've done it both ways now, and I'll tell ya the pellets are MUCH easier. I add them soaked to their salad. I would email Lisa at beginnersbasic, she has a sheet on how to start babies on pellets that is wonderfull. They still need some bugs IMO so some silkies work out great or you could just feed less crix. Pellet just gets changed with the salad. I would go with a smaller enclosure for right now also, it's better to start them off small and work your way up as they grow.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

Work, why work? I've skipped all my classes today to figure out my dragon issues-if that's not devotion I don't know what is
I feel a lot better now. I will go for the smaller tank and pellets, plus silks and veggies. Lisa at BB suggested TRex veggie growth formula for added protein, but I imagine the silks will provide that?
Now I just hope I can get him to eat enough pellets.

Ya, Lisa likes the trex so far. It's actually a complete diet, so are the pellets (BTW I'd go with Repcal Juvie pellets). If you decide to go with the Trex powders be careful not to use other suplements there have been some problems, I'm not going to go into them because I haven't tried it myself yet but do a search on it and decide for yourself.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

I think I need to stay away from anything with potential "problems" so I'll try to the pellets and silks and dust with what I'm using now.

Don't sweat it. I thought it would be alot of work but in the long run it is not that bad. We have a Cricket farm locally and it is aesy for us to get them. You can go Cricket free. But having a Beadie is more fun than work. We handle our daily and they never fail to make us smile and laugh. Enjoy the Beardie experience and just follow your gut. Don't sweat it.
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Ken
If you kill it, You better be willing to eat it!

you guys seem to be suggesting a lot of small crix... does it make that much of a difference to his growth if he's eating less but larger crickets?
or is it that they'll digest the smaller ones faster?
i tend to feed my guy larger ones....

Bhelliom

The largest a cricket should be is no longer than the space between the beardies eyes.
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Rob Talkington

well that may be another problem with my little midget .... see how much i'm learning from you guys?
now i'm playing catchup and trying to get him all fixed up right.

apparently i didn't do as much research as i thought before i bought him...

Bhelliom

Bhelliom

From what I understand his hind legs may become paralyzed and there may be a lump towards the back of his spine. With his hind legs, though, they usually point straight back. Also, he wouldn't have pooped for a while either.

Check out this site for some good info.

Good Site

Go to the Health section and look for Paralysis. Once you're done there you may want to go to the General Care page and read up on some husbandry advice. After that I'd go to the links page and find as many caresheets as you can and start reading them. At each of those sites go to their Links page and do the same thing. Eventually you will have read every care page and can come to some good conclusions.

Good luck with him. Also, keep reading the forum and asking questions. You'll get everything straightened out.
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Rob Talkington