Am I feeding my Beardie enough?

[Sherlockthebeardeddragon]

Hi! So sherlock is 8 months and Ive had him for almost a week. I'm not sure if I'm feeding him enough. I'm going by what my friend told me bc he's had his for years. I know their supposed to poop twice a day but he only does once. I feed him collard green and 5-10 crickets in the morning- when I get home I'll feed him 5-10 more crickets than at night a veggie or fruit

 

[PatsyB]

They don't always poop 2x a day. In fact they don't always poop 1x a day. Sometimes they poop once a week! My boy Luci was a once a day in the morning kinda guy and then he started going once a week and then he started going 2x a day then he started just leaving urate all around his tank during the day! So it's never predictable. When you think they are on a schedule, they change it up on you!

You should feed him as much as he wants to eat in about a 15-20 min time span. Twice a day is good. Just make sure you feed him at least 2 hours before the lights go out so that he has some time to digest his food before bed. Veggies are okay to feed in the morning and leave in all day or switch it out in the afternoon if you have the time. I tend to leave a salad in all day and all night. If there are any stray bugs in their tanks at night they can eat the leftover salad.

 

[PsycoMenace]

Yeah you are doing good. I would keeep feeding him as much as he wants to eat in 15 mins. Like my guy he poops mostly once a day sometimes goes days with out pooping.

As far as how many times a day to feed him. Well my guy doesnt like to eat in the AM. idk why but he doesnt. Since I goto work at 4am I dont have time to feed him as lights are off.I leave a salad out for him all day tho. He will pick at it lil by lil. But as far as the Critters go he just is used to eating at 4-430 and eats. I been giving him now 25-30 roaches and he will eat that in about 2-3 minutes. Sometimes I find some stragglers under the water bowl but I count each roach I put in the tank.

Also do you have your suppliment powders? Iyou should dust your critters 3-4 times a week. You could also do the veggies, but the veggies have enough vitamins in them.

 

[Knoteb]

I'm just probably reiterating what everyone one else has said.
When they're young, feed them 2x a day (if they like) calcium covered crickets or other critters.
I wouldn't worry how often they poop as long as they poop with enough frequency that you know there's no blockage.
Young ones don't want greens but I'd offer it too them frequently-maybe once a week because one day they will be into them. I think while your beardie is gaining length, protein is most important. Once they reach their "adult" size, greens will be a good portion of their food.
Keep up the good work and keep learning.

 

[drzebra]

As long as he's pooping, be happy. Fenchurch has slowed down to about maybe pooping once or twice a month since late October. I think she's semi-brumating because she's also almost completely uninterested in food (except newly molted white dubias - she'll eat those without fail). She's also sleeping a lot and not losing weight, so I'm trying not to be worried about her.

Arthur is a little pig and the last couple of days has been pooping 3 or 4 times a day.

 

[Caitjinoy]

I once had a beardie that sometimes went as much as 2 weeks without pooping! But normally it was between 5 and 7 days between a good poop. And she always ate a ton so... Yeah I don't think you need to worry as long as it's pretty regular.

 

[jarich]

I would recommend including more variety with that diet, as well as more food in general. Add chicory, endive, dandelion greens, etc to the collards. Add roaches, nightcrawlers, meal or super worms, etc to the live foods. This will make sure that your dragon is getting the range of nutrients it needs and also keep it interested in the food you are giving it. As said above, feed them all they will eat until they are pretty much sated at each feeding, once or twice a day. Keep the veggies in there all day and night so that any leftover insects arent problematic. They are little pigs when they are growing so quickly!