Update on my beardie

capsicum · 07-27-04, 11:52 PM

Just wanted to share a new pic of Ally, see how much she has grown since the first pic I posted of her

She loves her mealies (she will eat about 50-60 every few days)! She hardly grew in the 6 months that the first owner had her. Now she is fat and sassy lol.

TK

Thanks for looking

capsicum · 07-27-04, 11:59 PM

Here is an example of her daily salad:

baby bok choy
romaine lettuce
red leaf lettuce (small amount)
sugar snap peas
green pepper
carrot
strawberries

These are torn (leafy veggies) and chopped small (others), all piled into her dinner dish that she knows is just for her (it's actually a small clear lid of sorts, she gets her worms in there and her salad as well).

We are also picking up some apples, pears, and a few other fruit to try her on. She doesn't get much (of the sweet stuff), but once in a while as an occasional treat.

Thanks for looking

TK

PS If anyone knows if I can feed her bits of citrus fruits (oranges), please let me know, TIA

ChristinaM · 07-28-04, 07:47 AM

Hi there.....she's looking good.
Might I make a couple suggestions?

-mealworms are not the best for dragons. Very hard to digest.
Crix, superworms and soft bodied worms ( silkworms and butterworms ) are much more nutritious for them.

_salad: leaf lettuces and romaine have very little nutritional values and aren't recommended...they have a high water content and with that, they can have a diuretic affect.

some better greens are: collards, mustard, dandelion, beet green( not the beet ), turnip green ( not the turnip ), endive, escarole, etc. All the above are very high in nutrition for your dragon.

a good food list can be found here:
http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

( dragons and iguana's share similiar nutritional needs in the salad department )

another diet link:

http://www.iguanaden.com/diet/index.htm

Hope that helps you out

She's looking pretty good.

capsicum · 07-28-04, 10:24 AM

Wow, I am surprised that romaine is not as good as I thought. I had read in many places that it was a great food for them, when combined with other leafy veggies. I knew ice burg was just bad, but now I know more.

As for the mealies, I was using them to get her to eat. She refused everything until I started giving her meal worms. She's eating more foods now, which I am greatful for. She gets crickets weekly, though she doesn't eat them as much. Super worms she won't touch at all, though I hope to get her onto them soon.

Thanks for the info

I greatly appreciate it!

TK

ChristinaM · 07-28-04, 09:14 PM

Excellent

Hmmmm, wonder if she'd eat smaller superworms ( ex. if you could find someone that breeds them locally, and get some that are only an inch long or so, so it would be just like a mealie only better ).

I forget, how old is she?

She seems to be doing great for you, so take credit in that eh

Good work.

and hey, no worries on the lettuce n' stuff, we learn something new everyday eh. Heck, even the best are still learning.

Good luck with her.....looking forward to seeing more pics of her as she grows.

capsicum · 07-29-04, 11:31 AM

I went out yesterday and picked up about 50 small supers, and she loved them! I am glad, I can breed these myself np, and found something much better for her (plus a decent priced place to buy them until they are producing for me).

She is now about 1 year old. She was huge at 4 months (when the kid bought her), but didn't grow at all in the many months that she had her. She has grown quite a bit now, and we all can hold her, pet her, touch her head (she had been hit often). She sheds every couple of weeks (maybe every 3 weeks or so), doesn't bite anymore, and rarely puffs up nor does her beard go black anymore.

She hadn't been kept in proper temps, nor proper light

But she is doing much better now. It has taken time for her to get to this point, but at least she is here.

Thanks again for the input

Now I am off to yell at the people who told me romaine was a staple in their diet (breeders online).

TK

herpslave · 07-31-04, 08:04 PM

Freshly molted mealworms would work fine btw. No chittin.

herpslave · 07-31-04, 08:07 PM

it takes months for super to pupate. And some pupaes die. Id reccomend if you want to breed get atleast 100 supers.And keep about 50 feeders. youll have a good years supply most likely then.

Just my opinion. But I bought 1k supers from online breeder at superwormfarm.com very very cheap pricing. And supers are great condition.

herpslave · 07-31-04, 08:13 PM

Freshly molted mealworms would work fine btw. No chittin.

capsicum · 07-31-04, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by herpslave
Freshly molted mealworms would work fine btw. No chittin.

Thanks! I appreciate the info

TK