Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Little Buddy just had his first pinkie today. (I know they aren't to have them a lot) and he LOVED it. Now he's just enjoying his basking light!

(Aw the poor little mouse though, it was so sad I almost couldn't feed it to him)
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~Kayla
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0.1 Pictus Gecko *Raine*
1.0 Bearded Dragon *Little Buddy*
1.0 Boxer *Apollo*
1.2 Hollond Lop Bunnies *Panda, Oreo, Smokey*
2.0 Chinchillas *Snoop and Roo*

You're a lot braver than I am since I won't even give my geckos a pinky let alone my beardies, this is also why I don't have snakes lol. Insects and worms are one thing but I think mice are to cute to watch any of my animals eat them. As long as you have the stomach to do it go for it since a little treat now and then won't hurt them.

Yah I'm a huge animal lover (11 pets) and giving it to Little Buddy was hard but I just told myself that the little guy had been ripped from his parents and would die in a day or so do to lack of milk from it's mother so LB had to put him out of his misery.. haha

The little guy was already growing wiskers! *tear*
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~Kayla
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0.1 Pictus Gecko *Raine*
1.0 Bearded Dragon *Little Buddy*
1.0 Boxer *Apollo*
1.2 Hollond Lop Bunnies *Panda, Oreo, Smokey*
2.0 Chinchillas *Snoop and Roo*

It's not that hard. They things are cute, but Athena loves them. What athena loves I love to give her.

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Rebel, my bearded dragon has been confirmed as a female. We all thought she was male Athena is PREGNATE!!!

Please research the problems with feeding pinkies to dragons before doing it. It certainly is one of those things that falls into the risks heavily outweigh the benefits. Mice carry parasites, have no calcium, are way to high in fat and cause digestion problems and discomfort. They usually result in runny stools and decreases nutrient absorbtion for several day. They are also one of the main culprits of digestive impaction in bearded dragons.
KAKADU DRAGONS

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Agree with Kakadu.

Also, what kind of substrate is that? Lizard Litter? Crushed walnut shells? Another huge risk, not only for impaction, but also infection, molds, and bacteria.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
1.0 pictus gecko (Nicodemus)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.1 ferreta (Playstation & Genesis)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

I'm only going to say this once. And it will sound rude because I've worked int eh 35 degree weather since 5am and really I don't need "know it alls" telling me HOW to feed my dragon.

I've owned lizards for years now. Never had a problem. I have a great vet and unfortunatly do to some CRICKETS (beardies staple) he ended up with parasites. I took him to my vet got the proper treatment and he is now florishing greatly!

It was told by my VET (whom also raises beardies.. and geckos and malis) to feed my dragon once a month a pinkie or once every two months a pinkie to bring him back up to the size he needs to be.

So unless you are a vet that deals with exotics please refrain from being so rude and sounding like those who feed there lizards something you don't are doing something totally wrong and haven't researched. I researched these lizards and talked to my vet way before even buying a dragon.
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~Kayla
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0.1 Pictus Gecko *Raine*
1.0 Bearded Dragon *Little Buddy*
1.0 Boxer *Apollo*
1.2 Hollond Lop Bunnies *Panda, Oreo, Smokey*
2.0 Chinchillas *Snoop and Roo*

Well, somebody obviously has some guilt complexs about thier dragon care. Thats not my issue, but I am sorry you feel you must attack others.

Where could you have possible gotten from my post that:
Someone was telling YOU how to feed your dragon.

That I feel that I know all there is to dragon care.

Crickets can carry some parasites if you buy from bad sources (even occasionally form good ones). Rodents have a MUCH higher chance of carrying not only parasites but also mites. They also have the ability to carry many more varieties of parasites then the simple system of the cricket.

There are MANY MANY vets mistaken in the proper care of reptiles. There are many vets who claim to raise and know reptile medicine that do not know all of the species specific requirements of the different animals. I work with a reptile rescue that handles central texas. In the various home cities we have 7 regular vets that we trust. Some are better then other, but NONE of them reccomend feeding pinkies to bearded dragons. Tegus, yes...dragons NO. Thats not to say taht there aren't vets out there the DO recommend an occasional pinkie. I myself have given my large male a pinkie before because I have had one left over. I never said FEEDING PINKIES IS THE WORST THING YOU COULD DO FOR A DRAGON. NEVER EVER DO IT PERIOD.

I said "Please research the problems with feeding pinkies to dragons before doing it" which is GREAT advice when reading ANYTHING on a public forum. I NEVER attacked you as an owner, and simply offered an alternative view to the "PINKIES ARE GREAT AND SAFE" posting that had been taking place. In a PUBLIC forum there are often many people that are new and do not know the dangers associated with pinkies. It is best to offer BOTH sides of every story without blasting the other person, and requesting that people research controversial areas on their own...which is exactly what I did. Not rudely, just factually.

"So unless you are a vet that deals with exotics please refrain from being so rude and sounding like those who feed there lizards something you don't are doing something totally wrong and haven't researched. I researched these lizards and talked to my vet way before even buying a dragon"

Again I deal with sick and rescued animals every winter when I am not breeding bearded dragons for a living. I own every book Frye has ever published and several by Mader as well. I was a vet tech for 6 years and now manage a large horse ranch while completeing my degree in biology. I keep regular correspondense with A&M Veterianry which uses my animals occasionally in studies and helps with our resuces for free as teaching studies. I designed my breeding program working directly with A&M university as well as several local vets and the Lousiana and Tenessee veterinary schools I have personally assisted in impaction surgeries to remove everything from pinkie mice, mealworms, and sand, to the owners socks. I do have a bit of experiance, but I DO NOT know it all. Thats why I didn't say "Your a FOOL, pinkies should never be fed" I said RESEARCH....

Nope, pinkies won't kill them definatly and for sure, but there is a risk. If you have a problem with that being pointed out then you should not be in a PUBLIC forum. Do you really think disagreeing and urging reasearch is rude? I though I was rather polite...hmmm
KAKADU DRAGONS

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No one will ever know the complete and total proper care of these animals unless they become one themselves and actually live the life. Until that happens, which is more than likely never going to, then we don't need to argue and just give our animals the best possible care they can have to the best of our knowledge. I've been attacked for feeding my beardies mealworms but you know when they won't eat anything else then you feed them what they will eat since they're very picky like children when it comes to food. As long as the animal is healthy and eats well it shouldn't matter what kind of treats you give it as long as its not dangerous. As far as impaction is concerned I've heard of people feeding beardies crickets they don't have them on sand and they give the beardie all the proper care but they still get impacted so there's no point in arguing and I'm really tired of seeing it. You can say that if you're tired of seeing it then don't read it if you want but you know what arguing doesn't do anyone any good and it doesn't give the people that need the information any of it because they won't want to read it either and it could lead to the death of an animal so just stop.

I honestly did not think the statements made by kakadu were argumentative. I think that they were just trying to point out that there are risks. I also would not feed any of my dragons pinkies for the reasons stated. I do think that there are certain areas of bearded dragon care that are mentioned over and over on forums. I, however, do not feel that this is a bad thing. There are new people all the time coming on this site for information. The possible risks of impaction from certain foods or substrates may have been discussed a hundred times, but this particular time might be the first time someone searching for information sees it. So, it is important to explore all sides of the issue. My first post on here was about substrate and I got jumped on for simply stating how I felt about it. But, I still think it is important to point out the pros and cons when debatable husbandry issues arise. I don't think kakadu was out of line. You are entitled to your opinion and you have to be willing to let others express theirs.
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Wendy
www.neverlanddragons.com

It was told by my VET (whom also raises beardies.. and geckos and malis) to feed my dragon once a month a pinkie or once every two months a pinkie to bring him back up to the size he needs to be.

Most qualified herp vets would have tried to discover what was causing him to need to be "brought back up to the size he needs to be", not instructed you how to mask it for a bit with high fat/often high parasitic foods the dragon's system is not equipted to disgest.
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www.reptilerooms.com