Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am leaving on vacation this following week for 5 days. I can't bring my beardie because the hotel won't allow it. He has been eating fine and now all of a sudden he will only eat about 1 or 2 crickets a day. He is about 3 months old and does not seem to be losing weight. My neighbor kid, who has a leo and corn snakes,is going to come over and feed and water him. I have been taking him outside about 4 days a week for 30 minutes each time. He is still not liking his greens very well, but has been eating a lot of clover when I take him outside. I am going to buy wax worms so my neighbor kid can give him one once a day. To keep up his body weight. Also he loves mealies even though I have read they are not good for him. He is about 6 inches long and has done this same thing in the past. But I am more worried about it now that I have to leave and won't see him for a week Please help. Thank you guys so much. You have been a great help in the past and I don't doubt you now
Bish
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It's a Beardie eat cricket world

First of all, never give your beardie another mealworm unless you have cut off it's head. I have personally known beardies to be killed by mealworms. Because beardies don't always chew very well before swallowing their food, insects are often swallowed while still alive. With most insects that is not a problem, but a mealworm has a very strong set of jaws, and can and will chew their way out of a beardie's stomach - not nice at all.

What size crickets are you feeding your beardie? At 3 months he should only be eating tiny little crickets to avoid compaction.
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gav, owned by:
1 Beardie (Lujan)
1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Serrano)
2 Fire-bellied Toads (Bill & Ben)
1 African Clawed Frog (Xenopus)
1 Giant Land Snail (Bert)
1 Turkish Gecko (Gordon)
2 Madigascan Hissing Cockroaches (Rosie & Jim)
15 Rats (too numerous to name)
1 Mastomys Rodent
3 Cats (Felix, Sami, & Willow)
14 assorted fish

While I TOTALLY agree that meal worms should be avoided, ESPECIALLY for a dragon that is 6 inches, it is a myth that they will chew their way out of a dragons stomach. I have seen many dragons killed by mealworm impaction or require expensive surgery, but in all may years of rescue and as a vet tech never did one chew out of the stomach. I have never found one person with a documented case with autopsy and such.

But still, mealworms do cause impaction. They DO have a very low meat/chitin ration so the dragon gets full but does not get a lot of usable nutrients because chitin is not digestable, beacause of their chitin shell if the dragon does not break the shell with chewong they will pass through mostly undigested and not be absorbed. They are very high in phosphorus and make it very hard to keep the Calciumhosphorus balance which is so important in captive reptiles.

Once your dragon becomes an adult there is no problem with giving him an occasional mealworm treat. But babies should always avoid mealworms. Their calcium needs are too great and the impaction risk is too high.

Also, how old is your dragon and how long have you had it? If it is only 6 inches it should be around 5-6 weeks old if it has proper care, but you talk as though you have had it for awhile.
KAKADU DRAGONS

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>>First of all, never give your beardie another mealworm unless you have cut off it's head. I have personally known beardies to be killed by mealworms. Because beardies don't always chew very well before swallowing their food, insects are often swallowed while still alive. With most insects that is not a problem, but a mealworm has a very strong set of jaws, and can and will chew their way out of a beardie's stomach - not nice at all.

Mealworms aren't good food, but quite frankly your reasoning is very off. The "mealies chewing out of the stomach" is an old rumor and can be proven wrong VERY easily: Put a mealworm in a glass of water. It will drown in seconds, I imagine the digestive juices in any animals stomach would be equally effective at killing mealworms. The REAL reason you shouldn't use mealies lies with their poor "meat" to chitin ratio (chitin is what makes up the exoskeleton). This makes them more likely to cause impaction than other similarly sized insects.

>>What size crickets are you feeding your beardie? At 3 months he should only be eating tiny little crickets to avoid compaction.

I back you up on this point, feed only crickets shorter then the distance between the eyes of the BD...
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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, they're not herps!) - Punky, Jeepers

Dang... Kakadu responded while I was typing... I feel stupid just reiterating what they said!
By the way Kakadu: I love the dragon I bought from you! Right now Scarlet is sick with pinworms she got from her food and being treated with Panacur... I really hope Scarlet gets better!
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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, they're not herps!) - Punky, Jeepers

how did Scarlet get pinworms from her food?

Thanks,
Nicole

>>how did Scarlet get pinworms from her food?

That's the main route of transmission (as all my other animals were clean) I suspect it was from my superworm supplier, though it could also be from poor water quality (which I doubt because I would also be sick in that case) or greens that weren't washed well enough (possible, but less likely than the insects)... I'm switching to www.armstrongcricket.com as Cheri Smith of Reptile Rooms said their crickets tested clean, and I suspect that if their crickets are clean, then the worms are at least more likely to be.
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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, they're not herps!) - Punky, Jeepers

My dragon is about almost 3 months old. I got him when he was 6 weeks old. He was only about 4 inches when I got him. I just recently moved him into his 55 gallon from a ten. I figured this stressed him out, so I put a cardboard divider to give him about half or 2/3 of the cage. I bought waxworms to give him one a day until he starts eating better and he ate his one yesterday. And is eating a little better today. I am giving him 1/4 size crickets. Those are fine right? I got a 1/2 from my neighbor and cut it in half and he ate both halves. He seems to like the bigger one alot more. I am not going to give him any more meal worms(have only given him about 5 meal worms since I have had him.) He is pooping fine and still very active. Do you think it was stress? Thanks for your help.
Bish
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It's a Beardie eat cricket world