Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do adult beardies get to the point where they eat less frequently, and could manage days on weekends without being fed?

I know of a classroom in an upscale private school that is currently housing many reptiles and amphibians.

Perhaps many here wouldn't consider a classroom a good place for any reptile... but they seemed to be doing a decent job with the ones they already have. They have a whole room dedicated to crickets and other feeders.

There are always a few students who like to take up regular duties of caring for the animals, and I think it shows a positive example of animal care to the remaining disinterested class.

It also might provide an opportunity for youngsters to experience reptile pets even if they don't have the permission or the discipline to take care of one at home.

Maybe they could learn to do fecal checks on a beardie in class!
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ETChipotle

Can they survive?..yes
Is it a good practice to skip weekend feedings? IMO, no, they need fresh greens daily to ensure hydration.

I assume they have lights on timers so the dragons aren't sitting in the dark and cold for from Fri-Mon? What do they do over week long (or more) breaks?
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www.classylizard.com

Actually if you put fresh greens in there on Friday afternoon before leaving (usually extra) then an adult dragon would be fine for two days. As a whole, captive kept reptiles are fed much more than reptiles in the wild and usually have sufficient stores of fat. You would need to balance this with common sense and the individual conditions of your specimen.

From what I've seen (by people coming into the shop for feeders) is that most schools "adopt" out the reptile if they are off for a long period (such as spring break) and one of the kids will take them home for that period (or the teacher).

I think the benefits in learned responsibility and basic husbandry knowledge for the students far outweigh any extra inconvenience of working around the off-school schedule. We get a large number of people in the shop that are "freaked out" by a lizard or a snake upon first walking in. Once they spend some time with the different species and learn about them a little that phobia goes away. The more people we can get past that phobia stage and into keeping reptiles the larger pool of knowledge and experience we can all pull from.
Scales - Premium Exotic Reptiles

As I said...As long as they are well cared for, timers, heat etc. it should be fine.
Sure, they can live off fat stores. I don't know if mine are the exception, but none of mine will touch old greens and I'd feel really bad if I didn't feed them from Fri-Mon.
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www.classylizard.com