Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would like to know how old and how big does your beardie need to be to give him or her an occassional pinkie to eat. I have a female that is 14 inches long and weighs 125 grams, and was born 3-15-03. Would it be ok to give her one or two every month?
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Angel-girl

I only give my female Pinkies when she is gravid and post lay. They only need them for the natural calcium for egg development and or extra calories. Pinks also have a gut load of very nutrient mothers milk which is very high in calories and unless they need it, it can lead to obesity.
You can also give it to them if they had been sick and need to be brought back up to par.

JMO
Joel R

Thanks for the quick reply. My beardie has been sick with coccidia and she is getting over it. That is why I was wondering if it would be okay to give her one or two. I was not meaning to give them to her at all times. I guess I misworded what I meant.
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Angel-girl

If you even feel she is too young,, just give her "red hots" Those are tiny, tiny pinks. They don't have as much fat but if they are fresh from the mother, they will have the milk gut. Even frozen ones, "If frozen right away after taken from the mother" still have the gut load. (from what I'm told).
Also give her Acidophilus to bring her gut flora back up.

CheriS has some new stuff that is available that is made just for reptiles that has a combo of gut stuff. I'll see if we can get her to fill you in on it.

Thanks Cheri
Good luck & get her better.
Joel R.

I believe Joel is talking about AcidaphiLiz Brand probiotics. This is a liquid probiotic which is easier to administer then a powder form which has to be dusted on food. If the dragon is not eating well, having it in a liquid comes in handy. This brand can be found at Petsmart pet store's. At least the one by me is carrying this brand now.

As for probiotics they add good bacteria to the gut to help after medicine has been given. The medicine used to rid coccidia takes both good, and the bad flora out of the dragon. I have not yet used the brand that Cheris has tried, but I do know that if needed in a pinch Wal-Mart stores carries a Revall Brand Acidophilus Blend Digestive support capsules. These capsules are the same my vet provided me with because of the powder capsule is easy to break open and put on a salad. This brand I mentioned has the same basic ingredients as the AcidophiLiz brand which is Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifldobacterium animalis BB-12. As for pinkies I have no experience feeding them. CheriS knows a lot about the treatment of coccidia, and the process after of getting the dragons back to health. If she does see this I'm sure she has more info or can atleast let you know the company that makes the AcidophiLiz Brand. Good Luck.
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Photos

I have gotten the Acidophilizt digestive tract conditioner as Cheri S. had provided that information on the forum. I have been giving this plus dusting the crickets every feeding with Repti Cal/ Wd3, and giving leafy greens(collards, Turnip Greens, Kale, Squash, Parsley, Cilantro, Snap peas, and on occasion carrots). I feed all of my beardies at this time 3 times daily. Since I am a disable veteran I have time to devote to them, and plus they keep my occupied with taking care of them and not worrying and stressing out over my life threatening illness. I was just concerned at the weight loss and would like to get her back up to where she needs to be. My other 4 that had it, but are over it are doing good. Its just she has to take the meds twice. Plus I noticed last night that she is also going through another shed and she gets so fussy when this occurs and does not want to hardly eat. That is why I was asking about the pinkie mice. I would not even know where to get them from and most specially the ones that Joel R mentioned the red hots. If any one can help me I would greatly appreciate it. And I do thank each one of you that have responded. I have been coming to this forum since May and I have learned alot by just reading everyones post. I hardly do post any thing myself due to being new at raising Beardies. I just want to do what is best for each of my animals.
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Angel-girl

I'm not sure if you tried them yet, but wax worms are a fattening food. Most of the time it's used as a treat cause of the fat content. You might want to try them a few a day along with the crickets. Don't want to give instead of the crickets cause a lot of dragons love them and will rather hold out on the crickets and eat them instead. I think this would be a good feeder choice. Super worms have less fat but are a larger worm. They do have the hard shell. Since her digestion might not be up to par. You might want the soft smaller fattier wax worms. Most pet stores carry them, but if you order of the internet you can get them a lot, lot cheaper. Try www.reptilefood.com they are who I use, and they seem to have the best prices, depending how far they have to travel.
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Photos

there is really nothing I can add that they have not already said and I agree with.

I want to thank you all for the advise, and I just wanted to let you know I called my Reptile Vet and he stated that it would be good to give my two females Summer and Peaches both one pinkie this week and one next week while they are battling the Coccidia. I tried wax worms and all they do is look at them like am crazy for even suggesting that they eat a worm. So I have decided to order some for now. I know they come frozen so I can always keep them for when I need them next. He did tell me that I would need to cut Peaches up little peices of the pinkie. She is not as big as Summer. I really do appreciate all of you guys advise and help when I do have a question. I try not to bother anyone with questions though. I mainly search the forums to see if the question I have has already been answered. Thanks again.
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Angel-girl

You might want to ask your Vet about this. It is only available through your vets office as it is prescription pet food, but we have used it several times on ill dragons and it does work. It is not recommended for a steady diet, but for several days due tot he protein and fat in it, it does help them recover. I think it has made the difference a few times in ones we thought we would lose but bounced back to eating well on their own and putting back on weight.

Cheri, the vet did give me a can of the above the last time I was there and I tried to get them to eat it and they wont go near it. He stated that it had the consistency of pudding and could be administered through a syringe. but when I opened the can it was thick like dog or cat food. Do you mix something with it like water or peditlite to thin it out then give it to them. I will try anything.
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Angel-girl

Try breaking it up into pellet like sizes... I use a tiny spoon and make little scoops and they eat it this way. The reason I mentioned it is that it also boost their own immune system and helps them deal with the coccidia themselves and other things that run them down.

You can mix it with plain water and make a slurry that you can give them in a needleless syringe also. I have not found any of ours that will not eat it once you get them to taste it... to do that I slightly lower the side lip, its pretty flexible, and add a moistened drop there and release it.... they usually start licking then and you can place more on their nose tip.

Years ago I use to force feed little ones that we were afraid we were going to lose, using the above method I have not had to force feed a dragon in a long time and thats always less stress and better for them

Please don't feel bad for asking questions, That is "one" of the purposes of a forum. You asked a good question.
Good luck with them and keep us updated on their progress.

Joel R