Lil Bill - normal eating habits?

[HJameson]

Hello everyone!
I'd like to ask for help from members who have had a baby Beardie, who may be able to answer some feeding questions. I am so excited to have my first little dragon and want to do everything right.

Bill is only about 12 weeks old, and I never see him eat! I've only had him a few weeks, and the contradictory advice I receive from different pet stores is *embarrasing*. I want my little guy to thrive!

Here's what I believe to be true: up until around a year old, their ratio of protein to veg should be 80/20, then it reverses to 20/80. Ok. I've offered him small and extra small crickets, mealworms, and superworms (because one clerk said they were easy to digest! - while others say no to mealworms altogether!) I think at this point I need to consult with Pogona experts and not solely store clerks.

Based on what I've seen him eat, I'm inclined to think the crickets (small enough to fit between his two tiny eyes) are the way to go for Bill. Twice, I saw him eat a cricket.

I also put a little dish out of chopped veg/fruits (no avocado, lettuce or spinach). I have seen him eat a bite of greens.

The most confounding thing of all is that I NEVER see him eat, except for the few occasions above. I see shriveled greens and dead crickets under the mat. I realize they are diurnal, but I swear I hear him scurrying during the night, hopefully chasing and eating crickets. And pooping in his water.

Being the worrier of a Mom that I am, I just want someone to tell me that it may take a while for Bill, as a new member of the family, to warm up to his new environment before he feels comfortable eating in front of me. I scour videos of others' and hope to be able to watch Bill eat similarly sometime soon.

All advice and questions are welcome!
Thank you, in advance!
Heidi

 

[PatsyB]

Welcome to the forum. First of all what kind of set up do you have for him? Is there a basking light and a UVB light and what are the temps on the basking spot and the cool side of the tank?

Super worms are okay to use, I actually use that as my main feeder bug, but I would stay away from meal worms. You could try phoenix worms or the occasional waxworm those are small enough for a baby. You are right for the first year or so they need more protein so an 80/20 mix is good. Some beardies will eat their salad from day one, others will need a little coaxing. Don't worry if he doesn't eat a lot of it right now, still offer it to him though. My 2 1/2 year old used to eat her salad all the time when she was small and then stopped, now I'm struggling with ways to trick her into eating it again. One thing I do is I make sure her feeder bugs are fed the same salad I would feed her. So this way she gets her nutrients still in a round about way.

 

[HJameson]

Hello PatsyB, and thank you so much for replying!
Here's what I have....a 40 gal sized tank, an infrared basking light, a long UVB light with a timer. I have the timer for the UVB light to be on 10-12 hrs/day and it hasn't failed me yet. I was told to keep the basking light on at all times. Bill seems to like it up there where the temps can get up to 104. He likes to get as close as he can get. That is on one side of the tank. I recently read that at night the temp should go down into the 70s. Is there any credibility to that considering he likes it so warm?

The other side of the tank stays around 80 degrees, and that is where I have his water dish, cave to hide in, and dishes for chopped veggies or worms.
I've heard advice two ways on feeding them, and I'd love your opinion. First, I was advised to feed him 3-4 crickets 3 times per day. Second, I was told by someone else to let him eat as much as he wants in 15 min then take the food away (??) That's hard to do with crickets.

I forgot to mention that I do have calcium powder that I sprinkle on his food. It's also in a little dish in his habitat, and he apparently runs through it during the night! (it gets everywhere).

I find it weird that at petstores you see a bowl full of wriggling mealworms in the babies' tank. That confuses the heck out of me!

Regarding veg, have you heard anything about mustard greens being bad for them? I read from more than one source that mustard and collard greens were both good, and to stay away from anything with the word "lettuce" in it due to the lack of nutritional value. Also, I've read that avocado and spinach will bind to calcium which could lead to a deficiency, so I know to stay away from those as well.

I look forward to watching him grow, and seeing him become more comfortable here. He seems to like it when I hold him because he holds on to my finger when I am putting him back, and it's hard to get him to release!

Whenever you have the time to address any of my concerns, I really do appreciate the help.
Sincerely,
Heidi

 

[PatsyB]

The UVB and the basking light should be turned off at night. They need complete darkness to get a good sleep. So even a red light at night is a bad idea. A temperature drop at night is good, it's what they would get in nature. As long as it doesn't get any colder than 65 degrees then you don't need a heating source at night. If it does get lower than 65 a CHE is the best because it gives off heat with no light. As far as the time you leave your lights on it's up to you. 12 hours on 12 hours off is what most people do. I do a 10 hour off 14 hour on because I want to feed them before I go to work and I want to also have an hour or 2 when I get home to play. Try to get your basking temps a little warmer though. Little ones need it around 110 to digest their food. Sounds like you got everything else right.

Mustard greens is a real good staple green as well as collards and dandelion and turnip greens. They all have their own preferences my boy loves mustard greens where my girl doesn't like anything that is spicy. They will also get bored with what they are fed and just when you think you find something they really like, they will change their mind and not want anything to do with it. My girl (when she was a big green eater) would only eat salads of a certain color. One week she liked red things, then next it was green. I would buy all green things and then have to go and buy something in a different color! There are a couple of real good charts to get ideas for salad items. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf

You'll also want to get a multivitamin and once a week use the multivitamin to dust your feeders instead of the calcium. Oh and definitely feed him as much as he will eat in 15 min 2 times a day at least 3 times if you can. Little ones eat A LOT, we usually recommend you either breed crickets or dubia or buy them in bulk so that you have them available. My oldest girl Dexter used to eat 3 times a day when we got her and she would easily eat 60-70 crickets a day! Our boy Luci only wanted to eat 2x a day but would still eat the same amount.

They are amazing creatures and fun to watch and learn their little quirks. My girl Dexter is 2.5 years old and she is such a lover, sweetheart and is content sitting on my shoulder and being petted. Right now she's sitting on my chest watching me type. My Luci is 1.5 and he is a wild, free spirit. Doesn't like to be in his tank or held for a long period of time. Sometimes he will snuggle into my neck and go to sleep but not always. He is also my big eater and has always eaten his salad along with bugs, where Dexter stopped eating her salads over a year ago but loves her bugs. One thing I would recommend to you is get a food scale and keep a measurement log. It's real fun to watch how much they grow. I haven't kept up with mine but I would always measure them nose to tail tip and weigh them. It also helps to alert you to problems. They may be losing weight and you may only notice it when you weigh them.

 

[Candybugs]

I put my tiny guy into a plastic shoebox box with astro turf in the bottom. For traction and then I put in the crickets and the baby and I hold his basking light over it and he goes to town. I did feed in my other bigger guys tank when I got him but I found it to be dirty and they can't hide all over the place. Try that.

 

[Candybugs]

Phoenix and wax worms are great phoenix worms are high in calcium and protein

 

[Candybugs]

I got my baby 3 weeks ago at pet co. And he has infectious stomatitis Pet co is paying for his treatment but he has to stay at the vet for 7 days. He's at a great vet and they've been really good about letting me know what's going on . Because he's so small it was hard to tell he was sick. His face looked like it needed to shed for 2 weeks. Prognosis is good . If your new to dragons look up infectious stomatitis so you can spot sooner than I did. I didn't know I could love something the size of my pinkie so much so fast. He's really missed.

 

[Candybugs]

The way I feed my tiny Minion is I put a piece of astro turf in the bottom of a clear plastic shoebox I put him in with his crickets and then I hold the basking light over it and it's like a go button cuz he starts picking off crickets. Maybe it will work for your little guy