Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i give him baby crickets,and today,i gave him 7-9 crickets,and he ate all of them.is that bad feeding him that many crickets in 1 day?or is it good and should i feed him more?

thanxs

It is not bad. In fact he should eat more.

Babies should be allowed as many crickets as they can eat in 10 minutes, 2-3 times a day. So 60-100 crickets is more like it. They really pack em down, and they need all that protien to grow.

The best thing to do is buy crickets online, it's a lot cheaper. I get 1000 and they last 2 weeks.
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

make sure the crix are the right size. the crix should be no wider than the space between your BDs eyes and no longer than his head. also make sure you dust the crix with a good supliment.

for more answers to common questions take a look here
Q&A

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Bennett

Home Of The Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com

well,yesterday i bought this 1 calcium powder thing,and it said to only sprinkle on crickets,then u feed the crickets to him with the powder on them 1-2 times a week.so today when i fed him,i just took the cricket without any powder and fed it to him

My 2.5 month old beardie only eats like 15 crix a day.

But he hasn't eaten for 3 days now...then yesterday he only ate 3 tiny crickets.

Im starting to worry now that i find out he should be eating close to 100!
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0.0.2 RES's
0.0.1 Common Snapping Turtle
0.0.1 Eastern Red Bellie
0.0.1 Map Turtle
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon

at his age he needs regular nutrition, and the small ones can go downhill very quickly. dont offer too many crickets at once, this can intimidate him.
check your temps, 85F in the cool end and basking up to 110F. if the temps are too low digestion is difficult so appetites are reduced. give him a soak to make sure he's hydrated.
if his appetite does not pick up quickly he needs to see a vet to be checked for parasites, which again cause appetite loss.
you can also try blending pellets, veggies and crickets (yup urgh...) into a paste with water or paedialite and dropping it onto his nose from a syringe (w.o the needle) and see if he licks it off.
he MUST start eating again ASAP
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Ross

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Fuego, spent the last 10 months thinking she was a he!)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

when i feed mine crickets,do i put calcium powder on them every time,cuz the powder says only give 1-2 times a week and this week i gave it to him once

Blane, never go by the directions on a product for "Reptiles" in general. How could reptiles all have the same needs? Some reptiles are from the rainforest, some are from deserts, some have an almost totally aquatic life. How could they possibly cover every reptile's needs in one sentence?

Until your dragon is about 8 months old you should but not only calcium, but Calcium WITH D3 added, EVERY DAY. You should give a multi-vitimin one time a week.
Your dragon needs LOTS of calcium at this age in order to grow properly.

When your dragon is almost full grown (8-14 months) you should start giving calcium every other day. Always use calcium with D3 added if possible though.

When your dragon is full grown you can cut back to 2-3 times a week.

Kakadu Dragons
www.kakadudragons.com

uh oh.its been 2 days since i have fed him calcium,and whats D3?

this is what im using for my bd's calcium

it says ReptoCal
For All Reptiles
Includes Calcium and Vitamin D3

this is what the back says

Feeding Guide: USE ONLY ONE TO TWO TIMES PER WEEK. FOR LIVEFOODS,PLACE A SMALL AMOUNT OF REPTOCAL INTO A BAG OR CONTAINER WITH FOOD ITEMS AND SHAKE GENTLY TO CREATE A DUSTING, FOR PREPARED OR FRESH VEGETATION DIETS, SPRINKLE OVER THE FOODS TO PROMOTE ADHERENCE TO FOOD,A LITTLE MOISTURE OR MISTING IS BENEFICIAL.

so im not sure if im using the right stuff or not

Two days isn't going to do harm. D3 is Vitamin D, necessary to the body's use of Calcium and hence healthy teeth and bones (Just like for humans). Look for products with low phosphorous levels (on the labeling of the product) since your beardie is getting a high-insect diet. Unfiltered sunlight daily is also good.

Dump a teaspoon or so of supplement in a baggie, add crickets and shake to coat. You can also get calcium-enriched gut load (or chicken mash, if you have a farm supply store handy) to feed crickets while you keep them on hand. (Don't give them standing water, they'll drown themselves. Give em a bit of apple or potato or some misted dragon greens)

I'm not familiar with the particular product you're using, so I can't comment on its merit.

Best,
michele
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3.2 Bearded Dragons (Rescues)
1.0 Corn snake (Rescue)
0.1 California King
4.5 Royal (Ball) Pythons (3 rescues)
1.1 Dogs (Rescues)
2.0 Cats (Rescues)
2.2 Humans
No, it's NOT a big house

D3 is the vitimin necessary for your dragon to use calcium. Your dragon can make D3 using his UVB light, but UVB lights are not the most reliable source, so the extra D3 in the food is really nice. Are you putting a few pinches in a bag and adding crickets and then skaking until the crickets are white? Thats all there is to it. Make sure every cricket you feed is dusted.

Your brand of calcium sounds like a rip-off of Repcal. Repcal is the best calcium supplelent there is. I think the product you got chose its name just so it would be confused with repcal.

so,every time i feed him crckets,dust him with the powder?or should i buy that other 1 that was previosly posted from that picture?

You can probably continue using the one you have. YES, use it every feeding on Every cricket. The instructions are NOT for bearded dragons, DO NOT listen to them.

Every day! Next time you buy supplement you should buy Rep-Cal instead though.

Kakadu Dragons

well my friend went to this professional reptile guy and he said only use calcium if u dont wanna sun him,and he said u only have to shake calcium on crickets 1nce a week.im not sure who to believe

Have you read ANY care sheets on bearded dragons? YOu will not find ANY good care sheets that do not recommend baby dragons getting calcium at least 5 times a week. If you do not do this expect to have a small and weak-boned dragon that will likely devolp MDB. I would consider myself a "professional reptile guy" as I raise hundreds of babies a year. What is best for your dragon is for you to read a LOT of care sheets such as the one on www.dachiu.com, beardeddragon.org, beautifuldragon.com ect. search for bearded dragon care sheet on google. This is not even "maybe" thing, that person was DEFINATLY wrong. Baby dragons need calcium A LOT.

i assume you're feeding crickets three times a day as required. dust one feeding session with calcium. the other two need not be dusted. its important to provide sufficient calcium but too much can also have harmful effects.

welcome to the world of beardies, where the breeders and the experts will tell you whats worked best for them (thats the best advice to follow), and the product suppliers will give you generic advice which is not optimal for beardies but will make them more money. beware also the people here who read one book and think they know it all.

i thought i'd done my homework before i got fuego but soon learnt the books i'd read were old, and the reptile experts at the local pet store were wrong. this forum is great - feel free to ask away
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Ross

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Fuego, spent the last 10 months thinking she was a he!)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

I agree with the others.

Don't take any one "expert's" opinion, there are a lot of self-proclaimed, so-called experts out there, and they'll all tell you something different. Funny that. The best thing for you to do is research A LOT and make your own choices for what's best, based on what you've learned.

I think you'll find most reputable resources do recommend supplimenting baby dragons with calcium every day. Calcium is incredibly important for baby dragons who are not only growing, but adapting to living indoors and not being able to produce their own.
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

i have decided what im gonna do.

im gonna feed him 3 meals a day,and every oher day,lightly sprinkle some calcium on the crickets

do you guys think tha'll work?

And on the off days, you can sprinkle it on his salad

Best,
michele
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3.2 Bearded Dragons (Rescues)
1.0 Corn snake (Rescue)
0.1 California King
4.5 Royal (Ball) Pythons (3 rescues)
1.1 Dogs (Rescues)
2.0 Cats (Rescues)
2.2 Humans
No, it's NOT a big house

It is very near impossible to over-supplement a dragon under 6 months old with calcium (Vit. are a different matter). You can cause SERIOUS damage to your baby if he is not getting enough calcium. You can stunt his growth. You can put him at risk for MBD or other bone problems. You can even make him go into a depression that requires a vet trip and a calcium injection to get him to return to health/activity. Calcium is SO important at that age. The dragon should be growing inches every few weeks. Until 6 months old you can't go wrong with calcium dusting. It is much better to dust too much then too little. It is much safer to go ahead and put a little extra effort into it.

Blane, I can tell you are very young by your posts. Please read as many care sheets as you can in order to make your dragon as healthy, big, and active as possible. There are many things that you need to have just right to have a healthy dragon such as basking temperature, substrate, method for getting water (water dishes are not the best choice), and types of food to use.

I do not think sprinkling the salad every other day is a good option for a dragon this age, as most this young do not eat much salad, if any.

Your dragon needs calcium supplements every day. He needs a good UVB source. He needs a spot 105-110 degrees to digest his food. He needs greens daily even if he doesn't touch them, he needs to be kept away for things like heat rocks and calci-sand or repti-sand. You MUST read care sheets. If you had read about raising a baby dragon on a good care sheet you would know that he needs calcium daily. What other things might you have missed?

It is ultimatly your choice, but if you are not going to listen to what people are saying here, please at least read a lot and make an informed choice on your own.

Kakadu

I agree once again.

Blane, you are doing your baby lizard a great disservice if you are weighing the multiple opinions of experienced keepers here against the opinion of one "reptile expert" that "your friend" talked to. Do you know this guy? Has he ever even raised baby beardies, or is he just an expert because he has a python and maybe a gecko or two?

Did you go read a bunch of caresheets like we advised? I've spent 3 years researching and I still learn new things every day. You can't just go by one or two opinions and think you know what's best.

Calcium is incredibly important to these animals, please put more time and thought into learning about how to properly suppliment. There is no improvising.
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

>I do not think sprinkling the salad every other day is a good >option for a dragon this age, as most this young do not eat >much salad, if any.

BTW, I totally agree with this. When I made my comment about supplementing the salad on the days you were not dusting crickets it was pretty late and I was being flip while still trying to express the importance of DAILY calcium to your baby bearded dragon. Babies generally *don't* consume as much vegetable food as they do live prey.

It seems you are trying to err on the side of caution with the supplement in some way. The side of caution in the matter of your animal's health is that a growing baby, no matter the species, needs adequate calcium for bone growth and good health. Random calcium supplementation runs the risk of stunting or damaging your beardie's health, and why choose to do that when it is just as easy to do things right from the get-go?

Does it seem like we are harping at you, Blane? We probably are. In my case it is because all my bearded dragons (seven now, since today, need to update the sig...) are rescues. I take them in when other people no longer want to or can provide the care they need. In the case of four of my dragons, they were also in bad physical shape. One of them was calcium-deficient (among other things). Her tail and toes are malformed. Her immune system is weak. Her skin is not pretty. She is not pretty, though from what I can tell at one point she would have been quite an expensive beardie. She is not as active as she should be at her reported age. Even though her overall health is as good as it *can* be now, she is not a typically healthy dragon and will most likely not live out her normal life span. All of this was entirely preventable and it pisses me off.

If you read the labels on several quality reptile products you will see that they usually include two sets of dosage instructions: one for babies/juveniles and one for adults. For example, the bottle of multivitamin/calcium supplement here in front of me says: "For new animals, use every feeding. For established animals, use every other feeding." I have also used another product which again specified that babies/juveniles were to be supplemented every day while adults (except for breeding females) could be dosed less often.

I'm sure your friend's friend did not mean to give you misinformation but as others have pointed out, different species have widely different dietary needs and babies have different dietary requirements than adults.

I'll shut up now.
michele
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3.2 Bearded Dragons (Rescues)
1.0 Corn snake (Rescue)
0.1 California King
4.5 Royal (Ball) Pythons (3 rescues)
1.1 Dogs (Rescues)
2.0 Cats (Rescues)
2.2 Humans
No, it's NOT a big house

I don't know if you're still reading this thread...
but I thought i'd offer som advice of my own on a slightly unrelated topic.

the people on here really do know what they're talking about... I was in the same position as you... i thought i knew what was going on and i was wrong. my baby wasn't eating enough and wasn't growing properly because of incorrect heat light and calcium.. He remained only about 7 inches until he was nearlyy 9 months old ( some of you may remember my Midget Dragon posts)

fortunately thanks to all the people here and they're good advice i've corrected my problems and Drake is Growing well and seems to be healthier than ever.

My advice to you would be to please listen to them.. As I said they've helped me so much and i'm incredibly grateful myself. I'm sure you won't regret it either

Bhelliom

well,ive dona some thinkin and have decided to take the people on heres advice

You won't regret it. This is how I raised my lizards and they are both strong, fat, and healthy. Most of the users of this forum can say the same thing. Calcium deficiency is such a common problem in beardies and it's so easy to avoid. This is a tried and true method. Once your beardie is full grown you can cut back to 2-3 dustings a week.
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)