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baby beardie

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
hi all

we have purchased our first beardie just a baby curious as what is the best diet for littlefoot reading a lot but a lot of contradicting in articles please help
 

crypticdragons

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
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www.beautifuldragons.com/
check out that site click on the nutritional content link there is the most comprehensive list on the net of foods for beardies.
Make certain that whatever live feeder you decide to use if it has a hard shell (ie crix, roaches, etc) you want to keep it close to the same size as the distance between your beardies eyes. Much larger and they can choke
 

renich

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
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3,001
Hi, Littlefoot and welcome to the forum. It can be very overwhelming when you first own a beardie. We were in the same boat, so many articles, all lead to impaction and most contradict the advice. That is how our site started. It was our personal notepad to keep ourselves straight.

Check out this link. Give it a read and let us know if you have any questions:

Bearded Dragon Care
 

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
Thanks

littlefoot ate a couple of crickets today should my littlefoot be eating more i put 4 in the tank but 2 were left after about 15min so i took them out should i have left them in
 

renich

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
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A beardie this young should be eating 25-50 crickets per day. I would give him time to adjust to his new home. He could be undergoing relocation stress, which makes them eat less than normal. You are going about it the right way, they will eat their fill in the first 10-15 min. of food being put in the viv.

Has anyone gone over your setup with you? Please let us know the following:

1. What UVB bulb are you using?
2. What is your hot side temp?
3. What is your cool side temp?
4. What are you using to measure your temps?
5. What is your substrate?
6. How often are you bathing him?
7. How soon after lights on are you feeding him?
8. How soon before lights out are you feeding him?
 

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
ansewer to your questions

we are using a 75 watt uvb bulb in a 20 gallon tank
temps are 85-98f hotside 75-85f cool side
we have a dual guage temp and moisture thermometer
told to use paper towl as subtrate for first few months
he had his first bath this morning for about 15min weve only had the little guy for 2.5 days now
i wait about 20min when lights first come on to feed and about a half hour before they get turned off
 

renich

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
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What is the make and model of your UVB?

Your temps need to be upped a bit. Babies should have their hot side around 110F and their cool side no lower than 85F. Once you get your temps higher, wait about 30 minutes before feeding him the AM and an hour before the lights go off. They need the heat and UVB to properly digest their food.

Everything else looks fine.
 

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
thanks renee

I was gettin really worried he ate more this morning and im offering him salad everyday to a mix of green beans brocoli and dandilion leaf
hes moving around his viv more should i be changing up with fruit as well
 

renich

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
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Brian, what are you quoting here? A link to another post within this forum or another forum?
 

crypticdragons

Juvenile Dragon
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we are using a 75 watt uvb bulb in a 20 gallon tank
What type of UV bulb is this as well as the model. In our hobby not all UV bulbs are created equal. Beardies as a desert creature need higher more perfected UV levels so the bulb is very important. Please let us know what kind you have.

temps are 85-98f hotside 75-85f cool side
we have a dual guage temp and moisture thermometer
Are you using a Thermometer/Hygrometer like the one from walmart, the one without the probes? You need to have something that will measure the exact center of your basking site. The Therm/Hygo unit i think you have is a good unit but only for overall temps not for pinpointed temps. You basking site should be at around 105-110. The ambient temp of the tank should be around 90 and the cool side of the tank (side farthest from your basking site) should be around 80. You can get a probe thermometer at walmart for around 12-20 bux or you can order a temp gun from tempgun.com which are what i use.


i wait about 20min when lights first come on to feed and about a half hour before they get turned off
you should give 30 minutes to an hour for their body to warm up prior to feeding protein. What i like to do is put a nice freshly chopped veggie salad of mustard and collard greens in right after lights turn on. This enitces them to eat their greens as they are very hungry first thing in the morning. Then about an hour or 2 later i feed the first live feeding. This gives their tummies plenty of time to warm up from their lights. Just a suggestion on that though.
 

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
thanks for all the info littlefoot is starting to eat more and more day by day and is loving the bath time took all the advice and things seem to be working well im a new owner so ill will have alot more questions as they arise. ;D
 

crypticdragons

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
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im glad that little foot is doing better. once you get your viv setup properly it is easy to take care of these guys.
 

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
im curious littlefoot wont eat alot of crickets maybe 6 a day but loves meal worms is there something else i can try as from what ive read meal worms are'nt that good as a staple for beardies hes eating his salad when thats all that is offered i feel like im starving him.
 

renich

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
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Mealworms are HORRIBLE for beardies, especially babies. They all love them, but their tough skin is difficult for them to break down. Try phoenix worms.

Are the crickets as small as the space between little foot's eyes?
 

crypticdragons

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
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I have been through this with my male also. It sucks when they turn picky. I honestly went through every feeder possible. Ended up the only thing he would eat was dubia roaches. Which is why i now have a breeding colony of them in my home. lol
I know it sounds creepy but give it a try. order 100 nymphs u will be surprised
 

littlefoot

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
12
yes the crickets are actually a little smaller maybe at bigest a 1/4 of an inch. i live in canada in kelowna b.c. so not alot of pet stores carry a lot for beardies is there a site where i can order from and one more question ive been told from one pet store to try diggin up worms and feeding those to him is this good for beardies or safe.
 

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