Pinkies,....... opinions?

[Skybug]

Hello everyone, I want to start this off saying i dont intend to feed my BD baby mice, i just wanted to get a general consensus about them, from what i know they should only be giving to adult bearded dragons as a treat and they should be dispatched? Would they need to be dusted? Would baby mice with hair be difficult to digest?... i dont personally have a problem with this (ive had snakes in the past) so it wouldn’t bother me, i just wanted to get some feedback from maybe people who have fed them or are thinking about it? I do love and respect all feeders so sorry if this comes off as callous or uncaring, just trying to get some information ,... ty for your responses

 

[Sadie]

Hello everyone, I want to start this off saying i dont intend to feed my BD baby mice, i just wanted to get a general consensus about them, from what i know they should only be giving to adult bearded dragons as a treat and they should be dispatched? Would they need to be dusted? Would baby mice with hair be difficult to digest?... i dont personally have a problem with this (ive had snakes in the past) so it wouldn’t bother me, i just wanted to get some feedback from maybe people who have fed them or are thinking about it? I do love and respect all feeders so sorry if this comes off as callous or uncaring, just trying to get some information ,... ty for your responses View attachment 25799

I personally would not feed pinkies to my dragons -- one they are too fatty and not healthy and they can cause impaction --- other than that thats all I know --- imo I think they are nasty --He looks good sitting there in the window sill

 

[Skybug]

I personally would not feed pinkies to my dragons -- one they are too fatty and not healthy and they can cause impaction --- other than that thats all I know --- imo I think they are nasty --He looks good sitting there in the window sill

Okay, thank you for replying sadie I appreciate it, ive heard they might eat them in the wild?, but that seems more like a monitor lizard thing? (I mean the beardie wouldn’t be activily be “smelling” and looking for one) so maybe if they just happen to stumble on a rodents den , then they might eat one? Just cause they can do something doesn’t mean they should... Okie dokie

 

[Beardomania]

I think there are far too many people saying that X Y Z are unhealthy for bearded dragons without any scientific data to back up the claim. It probably stems from rumors that take off with one guy saying something like, "Pinkies look so fat. Babies are fat. It can't be good to eat that much fat." And then the next guy goes, "I heard pinkies are too fat to feed bearded dragons." Then the third guy goes, "No no no, you can't feed pinkies to bearded dragons; they're too fat and will cause fatty liver disease." And then so forth.

I honestly don't even know how the dogma of a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1 was derived and what they would eat in the wild to get that. Which insects other than BSFL can provide this? Lots of people say don't feed something to a beardie because it's not in its natural diet and I think that's total nonsense because most of the feeders we offer to a beardie would not be found in its natural diet. Humans eat so many healthy things (like seafood from the deep oceans) that could never have been in our diet had we not invented heavy machinery to catch them.

In the wild, I presume that raiding rodent nests would certainly be a rare source of food for bearded dragons when the chance arises and feeding pinkie mice should be no problem at all, live or dead. Bearded dragons are rugged and nasty predators and I've seen them eat live adult mice, baby quail, other lizards, small snakes, insects larger than their heads without any issues. They're not babies that can only eat soft-bodied bugs smaller than the distance between their eyes with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1 LOL That sounds like a panda version of a lizard if it had dietary restrictions like that.

 

[Skybug]

I think there are far too many people saying that X Y Z are unhealthy for bearded dragons without any scientific data to back up the claim. It probably stems from rumors that take off with one guy saying something like, "Pinkies look so fat. Babies are fat. It can't be good to eat that much fat." And then the next guy goes, "I heard pinkies are too fat to feed bearded dragons." Then the third guy goes, "No no no, you can't feed pinkies to bearded dragons; they're too fat and will cause fatty liver disease." And then so forth.

I honestly don't even know how the dogma of a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1 was derived and what they would eat in the wild to get that. Which insects other than BSFL can provide this? Lots of people say don't feed something to a beardie because it's not in its natural diet and I think that's total nonsense because most of the feeders we offer to a beardie would not be found in its natural diet. Humans eat so many healthy things (like seafood from the deep oceans) that could never have been in our diet had we not invented heavy machinery to catch them.

In the wild, I presume that raiding rodent nests would certainly be a rare source of food for bearded dragons when the chance arises and feeding pinkie mice should be no problem at all, live or dead. Bearded dragons are rugged and nasty predators and I've seen them eat live adult mice, baby quail, other lizards, small snakes, insects larger than their heads without any issues. They're not babies that can only eat soft-bodied bugs smaller than the distance between their eyes with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1 LOL That sounds like a panda version of a lizard if it had dietary restrictions like that.

I totally get the 3 guy scenario , there’s a reason for all the misinformation in books and online that we read, i try to base my care around what they’d find in the wild , along with soft teddy bears and cowboy hats Bwhahaha! , I really appreciate your response, i dont think they’d be finding roaches (as they come out at night) either but maybe Australian roaches come out during the day and smoke cigars and drive Harleys too idk... , i feed my beardie hornworms every now and again , and when i went to feed her a big ole green jelly sack i was just thinking about how a pinky wouldn’t be much bigger than an Hworm (and definitely put up much less of a fight) , i want to give my girl a very varried diet as she has just turned 1 and idk if she’ll start laying yet.

 

[Beardomania]

I totally get the 3 guy scenario , there’s a reason for all the misinformation in books and online that we read, i try to base my care around what they’d find in the wild , along with soft teddy bears and cowboy hats Bwhahaha! , I really appreciate your response, i dont think they’d be finding roaches (as they come out at night) either but maybe Australian roaches come out during the day and smoke cigars and drive Harleys too idk... , i feed my beardie hornworms every now and again , and when i went to feed her a big ole green jelly sack i was just thinking about how a pinky wouldn’t be much bigger than an Hworm (and definitely put up much less of a fight) , i want to give my girl a very varried diet as she has just turned 1 and idk if she’ll start laying yet.

Yeah, I feed my beardie everything (within reason). I feed him parboiled chunks of chicken and bits of the adductor muscle from mussels (washed to reduce saltiness) as well. I heard people say you can't feed them chicken because it's got too much phosphorus but they claim that chicken meat has a 1 to 17 calcium to phosphorus ratio which is not that different from some insect feeders so their logic doesn't even check through. Then I see real life data from people who say they feed their beardies calcium dusted chicken on the regular so I've got no reason to hold back other than rumors that are likely spread like the 3 guys scenario I mentioned. Beardies in the wild basically run around eating any live thing they can shove in their mouths and I know of no carnivore that wouldn't benefit from a nice piece of chicken so I went ahead and I'm not any issues in my lizard.

 

[HoomanSlave]

Hello everyone, I want to start this off saying i dont intend to feed my BD baby mice, i just wanted to get a general consensus about them, from what i know they should only be giving to adult bearded dragons as a treat and they should be dispatched? Would they need to be dusted? Would baby mice with hair be difficult to digest?... i dont personally have a problem with this (ive had snakes in the past) so it wouldn’t bother me, i just wanted to get some feedback from maybe people who have fed them or are thinking about it? I do love and respect all feeders so sorry if this comes off as callous or uncaring, just trying to get some information ,... ty for your responses View attachment 25799

Pinkies are fine as an occasional treat, especially for gravid or underweight beardies. If you don't want to feed a whole pinkie they can be cut into 2-3 pieces while still frozen.

 

[Skybug]

Yeah, I feed my beardie everything (within reason). I feed him parboiled chunks of chicken and bits of the adductor muscle from mussels (washed to reduce saltiness) as well. I heard people say you can't feed them chicken because it's got too much phosphorus but they claim that chicken meat has a 1 to 17 calcium to phosphorus ratio which is not that different from some insect feeders so their logic doesn't even check through. Then I see real life data from people who say they feed their beardies calcium dusted chicken on the regular so I've got no reason to hold back other than rumors that are likely spread like the 3 guys scenario I mentioned. Beardies in the wild basically run around eating any live thing they can shove in their mouths and I know of no carnivore that wouldn't benefit from a nice piece of chicken so I went ahead and I'm not any issues in my lizard.

What part of the chicken do u usually feed, dark meat? Leg thigh breast meat? If i ever feed meat it should probably only be chicken ud think? Cow n pork might be bad? Thanks again for your response, I thought my thread was going to be negative and everyone was gonna be like “beardies are only insectivores!!” Im glad thats not the case, ive tried feeding my girl scrambled egg before, but she didn’t seem to interested.

 

[Beardomania]

What part of the chicken do u usually feed, dark meat? Leg thigh breast meat? If i ever feed meat it should probably only be chicken ud think? Cow n pork might be bad? Thanks again for your response, I thought my thread was going to be negative and everyone was gonna be like “beardies are only insectivores!!” Im glad thats not the case, ive tried feeding my girl scrambled egg before, but she didn’t seem to interested.

Well, my girlfriend eats chicken breast and it's cheapest to buy bone/rib in and fillet the breast off yourself. I do that and the ribcage I boil up, cut any especially juicy pieces of flesh off for my beardie, and throw the rest of the ribcage into my superworm tub where they strip it as best they can for 2 days. Nothing wasted. I boil it so that the outside is completed boiled and sanitized but the middle is still a bit raw so my beardie can eat (at least partially) raw meat like in the wild but also not be exposed to salmonella.

As for the rest of the animal meats, there's no scientific evidence to specifically refute or support their use but they're just meats. What carnivore couldn't eat those meats? (Pork is really fat, though unless we're talking about tenderloin or something.) I see no logic that they can't be used as well with calcium supplementation. I guess I'd say that the fatter the meat, the more sparingly it should be used to be on the safe side but that's just what I can reason in the absence of scientific data.

In general, meats are a very cheap way to fill up a beardie with nutrition and protein compared to feeder insects and I support personal experimentation even if no effort can be mustered up for a true scientific study.

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

Well, my girlfriend eats chicken breast and it's cheapest to buy bone/rib in and fillet the breast off yourself. I do that and the ribcage I boil up, cut any especially juicy pieces of flesh off for my beardie, and throw the rest of the ribcage into my superworm tub where they strip it as best they can for 2 days. Nothing wasted. I boil it so that the outside is completed boiled and sanitized but the middle is still a bit raw so my beardie can eat (at least partially) raw meat like in the wild but also not be exposed to salmonella.

As for the rest of the animal meats, there's no scientific evidence to specifically refute or support their use but they're just meats. What carnivore couldn't eat those meats? (Pork is really fat, though unless we're talking about tenderloin or something.) I see no logic that they can't be used as well with calcium supplementation. I guess I'd say that the fatter the meat, the more sparingly it should be used to be on the safe side but that's just what I can reason in the absence of scientific data.

In general, meats are a very cheap way to fill up a beardie with nutrition and protein compared to feeder insects and I support personal experimentation even if no effort can be mustered up for a true scientific study.

Hmmm . . . interesting and great info. Thanks for sharing. I'm thinking I might try some chicken on Dex's salad. Just a few pieces to see if he'll eat it.

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

Hello everyone, I want to start this off saying i dont intend to feed my BD baby mice, i just wanted to get a general consensus about them, from what i know they should only be giving to adult bearded dragons as a treat and they should be dispatched? Would they need to be dusted? Would baby mice with hair be difficult to digest?... i dont personally have a problem with this (ive had snakes in the past) so it wouldn’t bother me, i just wanted to get some feedback from maybe people who have fed them or are thinking about it? I do love and respect all feeders so sorry if this comes off as callous or uncaring, just trying to get some information ,... ty for your responses View attachment 25799

When I got Seymore they gave me all his set up and supplies (including a pinkie they had for him). Apparently Seymore loved them and he would get pieces of them periodically as a treat. Confess I threw it away. Just couldn't cut up that little, pink, hairless, baby mouse (yeah, I know it was already dead). hahahahahaha I was just too squeamish to do it and it was definitely too big to feed it to him whole. Beautiful pic BTW!

 

[Beardomania]

What part of the chicken do u usually feed, dark meat? Leg thigh breast meat? If i ever feed meat it should probably only be chicken ud think? Cow n pork might be bad? Thanks again for your response, I thought my thread was going to be negative and everyone was gonna be like “beardies are only insectivores!!” Im glad thats not the case, ive tried feeding my girl scrambled egg before, but she didn’t seem to interested.

I just wanna add that Komodo dragons and crocodiles hunt boar and buffalo as regular prey and other than being much fatter than their wild counterparts, pork and beef are pretty much the same. So using the leaner cuts (like tenderloin in pork and cheap utility cuts in beef) should work quite nicely for your beardie as an addition to his regular diet.

Always parboiled to kill off bacteria on the outside leaving the center rare.

 

[Skybug]

I just wanna add that Komodo dragons and crocodiles hunt boar and buffalo as regular prey and other than being much fatter than their wild counterparts, pork and beef are pretty much the same. So using the leaner cuts (like tenderloin in pork and cheap utility cuts in beef) should work quite nicely for your beardie as an addition to his regular diet.

Always parboiled to kill off bacteria on the outside leaving the center rare.

Thats true , I forgot about Komodo dragons for a second lol, thank you very much for all of your input, we cook a alot with different meats, and whenever we’re cooking i try and offer bits and pieces of salad n things to my beardie , and ive been curious about feeding her some par cooked meat, like i said in the beginning idk if she’ll start making eggs or not so i just want to have as many options going forward with her adult care.

 

[Skybug]

When I got Seymore they gave me all his set up and supplies (including a pinkie they had for him). Apparently Seymore loved them and he would get pieces of them periodically as a treat. Confess I threw it away. Just couldn't cut up that little, pink, hairless, baby mouse (yeah, I know it was already dead). hahahahahaha I was just too squeamish to do it and it was definitely too big to feed it to him whole. Beautiful pic BTW!

Oh seymore he was eating! Yeah I wouldn’t want to cut one up either... lol, if u feed dex some chicken lemme know his reaction, im gonna try giving my girl some next time we cook

 

[Frank the baby beardry]

Hu pretty int conversation when frank get fully grown I with maybe try a pinky and some chicken

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

Oh seymore he was eating! Yeah I wouldn’t want to cut one up either... lol, if u feed dex some chicken lemme know his reaction, im gonna try giving my girl some next time we cook

Seymore was eating some, but not like I read they should. That and is overall look (he didn't look too healthy) prompted the vet visits. Not sure if Dex will eat the chicken as he only likes to gobble up moving protein. lol I'm hoping that if I add it as a garnish to his salads he might be tempted to eat it not knowing what it is. That's kinda how I sneak a piece of grape or raspberry into him occasionally. Stubborn boy just doesn't like fruit, except kiwi.

 

[Thomas J sobczynski]

Hello everyone, I want to start this off saying i dont intend to feed my BD baby mice, i just wanted to get a general consensus about them, from what i know they should only be giving to adult bearded dragons as a treat and they should be dispatched? Would they need to be dusted? Would baby mice with hair be difficult to digest?... i dont personally have a problem with this (ive had snakes in the past) so it wouldn’t bother me, i just wanted to get some feedback from maybe people who have fed them or are thinking about it? I do love and respect all feeders so sorry if this comes off as callous or uncaring, just trying to get some information ,... ty for your responses View attachment 25799

I feed my dragon pinkies, not all the time but I do. A very experienced breeder recommends that. He swears by Pinky mice and rats for all his reptiles. The problem with these online situations are everybody is an expert. I've had Spike for almost 3 years, and she is doing great. I'm just going by experience and what an expert has told me.

 

[WICKEDPOGONA]

I've fed my girl Frozen pinkie mice I thawed it they sell them in boxes pretty cheap at big box pet stores got a box of four but my girl was developing eggs and I gave her 1 while she she developing the eggs and another close to laying and I gave one after she layed she likes them but just a very rare treat

 

[WICKEDPOGONA]

Hu pretty int conversation when frank get fully grown I with maybe try a pinky and some chicken

I've fed my girl some scrambled egg make sure you cook with no oil or butter etc also know they can eat the egg raw but havent done that would be a messy one haha even fed her some fish before Minnows to be exact

 

[WICKEDPOGONA]

I personally would not feed pinkies to my dragons -- one they are too fatty and not healthy and they can cause impaction --- other than that thats all I know --- imo I think they are nasty --He looks good sitting there in the window sill

Pinkies do not cause impaction you should know that if you've done the research . They can cause impaction if you fed a pinkie and your set up is bad and all around have bad husbandry then yeah pinkie will cause impaction then but if you know everything is great and confident in your care then a pinkie will not cause impaction