Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My name is Jeff and I've been around for some time. I do a lot of reading and not so much posting. I recently got a little bearded dragon from someone who bought one for their son but then decided it wasn't for them. I'm going to say she/he is between 6-12 months old. I haven't taken a weight yet. Hopefully someone can give some suggestions or advice. I've been giving him a bath about every other day and he does a lot of drinking. Some days he is more active and others he sleeps a lot. I got load crickets and he eats about 5 large ones a feeding. Small meals worms and sometimes wax worms. I might order some silk/butter/horn worms after the holidays and treat him/her nice. Also what is the age you can figure out the sex, I'm having a hard time , sometimes it looks like female sometimes it looks male. Any other questions please feel free to ask.

HE looks very small for his age. I suggest increasing feeding him all the crickets he can eat in a 10 minute period, using crickets no bigger than the space between his eyes. Also, cut out the wax worms. These tend to be very high in fat and can turn a dragon off all other forms of insects. HE should also get two feedings per day and have a salad included as well.

More info about his setup will be useful as well.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

You think a boy for that picture, I couldnt get a clear shot when I took it. I let him eat all he wants. I meant he'll only eat give or take 5 large crickets a feeding. Smaller crickets he'll eat more of course. I'll leave small mealworms in a bowl in the tank. Also yes, salad. I make extra at my job and give it to him every other day. We make a herp salad which is fed to all herps, its herbivore pellets, kale, zucc,apple and carrot. I also give him just greens too. Hot basking spot is currently at 108 and cool side is 78.

Also age is also only a guess. I have him about 2 months. I would say he almost doubled in size. Maybe closer to 5 months old?

Are you hand feeding him crickets till he stops eating at around 5 or do you put in 6 or more crickets and he only eats 5 of them?

For salad I recommend skipping the pellets, as these tend to be dry and incomplete and often not eaten by the dragon. If he eats them that's fine but I sill recommend using more fresh greens such as collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, chicory(endive) or escaroli as your main greens. Kale should only be offered sparingly and not as an every day staple and definitely not alone. Small amounts of zuccini is fine once in awhile and apples should also be sparingly. A good nutrition guide for what types of food to feed dragons and the frequency can be found at:

www.beautifuldragons.com

Your temps sound good. Do you have a good source of UVB light as well? Also what is his/her weight?

Best way to sex a bearded dragon is to just place it on a flat surface or your hand, facing away from you and lift the tail up to about 90 degree angle. Looking at the base of the tail, on the tail side of the vent, you should see either a single central bulge (female) or two bulges..or a central indent (which would divide two bulges but sometimes the intend it more clear) which means you have a male. You can find picture of this by doing a google image search for 'sexing bearded dragons'.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

I will throw in 10-15 crickets a day and he'll eat about five. Then pick the rest of them off by the end of the day. He is rather small, and I can't see him eating more than that, to me he eats pretty good. As for the salad I was talking about, the pellets are soaked. They basically fall apart. So if he eats any of it, he gets some of the pellet thats on whatever he eats. However, I've never seen him eat it. Unless the various straight greens that he will run over to and eat. I still like to offer it 1-2x a week just incase he wants it. He gets mostly all the greens you listed. I have him under a ReptiSun 10.0 which he is within 10" from at all times. I've yet to take a weight, if I was to guess I would say between 30-50g. I really wish I knew how old he was but I don't, I'm thinking he is much younger than what I think. Thanks for the link to the site, I'll have a look at it.

If he is alert and active, and eats steadily, he could just be one of those dragons who are slow growers. Keep offering well gut loaded crickets twice a day with greens available all day. I don't remember if you included his actual length (nose to tail tip) before, but if its 14" or close to it, you can try offering some superworms, medium silkworms and butterworms to give him some variety in his insect diet. If he's smaller than 14" you can offer butterworms (these worms don't get too big, and often come in mixed sizes...with the largest being around an inch and nicely plump. Silkworms and hornworms are likely to be too big, as its not always easy to get small silkworms or hornworms). You can also try large phoenix worms (these are under an inch and can get stubborn hatchlings and young juveniles to eat, as they are pretty wiggly). Phoenix worms are the larvae of black solder flies so do look like small maggots, but they are farmed on vegetative matter, not carrion.

These soft bodied worms (butterworms, phoenix worms, silkworms) are easier to digest and are often eaten by picky eaters. That and you can just leave them in a shallow bowl and they won't get out. Superworms are good too but I don't recommend them for small dragons under 14" as they can be difficult for smaller dragons to manage, as they do have a tough exoskeleton, however they are better for dragons than mealworms...even if mealworms are much smaller..they are mostly shell. Butterworms and phoenix worms are a better choice for smaller dragons.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

Yes, he's pretty close to it. I'm going to try superworms and see if he eats them and i also plan on getting some butter and phoenix worms to mix it up a bit. Thanks for all your advice