Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have heard that you can feed babyfood to dragons. Can someone tell me what kind and how much? Also can someone tell me if you can feed it to hatchlings? thanks

Hi,
the reason giving baby food to dragons would be if they were sick and not eating any live prey. if your dragon is sick and not eating and you need to feed it thru a feeding tube. and using boby food is an easy way to help your dragon. theres a thread below which would describe the situation. but i have used baby food in addition to rep-cal pellets pureed in a food processor, put in a feeding tube ,(that is a syringe without the needle), adding extra vitamins and feeding the sick dragons. i also feed some of my females because of the dominance of the male in the tank. for example when the female goes over to the food dish the male runs right over and starts bobbing his head like crazy, i guess he is saying this is my food, or you eat when i say you can eat. so i usually have a mixture ready in the refrigerator and feed my females once a week like this. this ensures when breeding they will have all necessary requirements in them to put out a nice healthy clutch of eggs. in your question to what kind and how much, i take about 3/4 cup rep-cal juvienile bearded dragon food and 1/4 cup adult rep-cal bearded dragon food and soak them in warm water, when moist i add to food processor and mix the i add some extra vitamins, and then puree, at that point you can add the baby food. in my recipe here i would add the whole jar(small one), to the food processor and blend it all together, you may need to add some extra water to the mix, so it can mix thoroughly. it should be like an apple sauce consistency or a little thicker. i have used most of the fruits and vegetable baby foods stage 2, i just looked in my cubbard and found a jar of appricot and 3 fruit dessert flavor. its up to you, i havent used the baby food in a while (i should check if they are still good) i just use the rep-cal in the mix. its up to you. I guess the fruit added to the mix would make it taste better, but probabbly be used only if needed. any questions let me know. hope it helped and didnt put you to sleep lol
Rich Banfich

www.designrreptile.com

I have heard that you can you cricket mulch and egg yolk to feed to your sick dragons. Just put soft baby crickets in the blender, with the legs and heads pulled off, and then put in one egg yolk I guess, and then blend until it becomes smooth...like mulch. Feed it by using a seringe I guess. I heard egg yolk is very rich in nutrients and calcium, good for your sick dragon; it is a balanced food. And be sure to keep your dragon warm inorder to raise his immune system. And last and the most important thing is for you to take it to an exotic vet to have him check out.

Also, if your dragon is too cold, he will not eat. And, sometimes, around this year, if he is old enough, dragons will go off feed and brumate (go into some kind of deep sleep) and will refuse food. Your dragon may be getting ready to brumate. He may wake up occasionally, and you can give him some water via spray bottle. They will wake up at spring, I guess.

I feed my juvie Gerber mixed vegetables and 1cc of the babyfood, Make sure there are no additives. It should only be the vegetables and water, nothing else unless you add it. I add a small amount of calcium and vitamins and mix it before feeding but this by no means is a replacement for greens. Offer them but if continuous refusal is still happening, feed your beardie the baby food.

One post mentioned a feeding tube and syringes (no needles) aren't feeding tubes. A feeding tube is a very fine catheder that is inserted into the the stomach via the nostril and a syringe is used to pump the food contents into the stomach. Avoid using these at all costs. Just 'squirt' some on your beardie's mouth and if he/she is interested, licking should commence. If not, don't force it. Stay away from anything but fruits and vegetables and offer more vegetables than fruit.