A couple questions.

concept3 · 06-16-04, 10:54 AM

Last nigt I was talking to a guy who I trust is very knowledgable with bearded dragons. He told me that you can directly cntrol the size of your beardie by how much you feed it. He also said if you feed it too much it will get too big and end up getting liver problems. This conversation came up when someone brought their 1 year old bearded dragon that was olny about 12-14 inches long. My male beardie is 4 1/4 months old and 14 inches long. Is their any truth to what this guy said? If so is my beardie to big for its age? I have never read anything about this and I have done lots of reading on beardies.

Snow · 06-16-04, 11:01 AM

from what i read proper nutrition (spelling), size of encloser (to big to small) stress all have varibles in it, and mateing i think i read somthing about if u mate them to young.

Big Mike · 06-16-04, 01:05 PM

Any well fed animal will grow better than a poorly fed animal.

I have seen pictures of very fat bearded dragons and I have heard that they can die of fatty liver disease.

They need less and less insects as they grow older. I have heard that an adult's diet should be 90% fruit & veggies and only 10% insects (protein).

There may be plenty of factors that determine the size of bearded dragons. I have one that did not eat on his own when he was young. I heard that some of his siblings had a similar problem and died. I fed mine a liquefied food with a syringe until he finally started to eat on his own. He is pretty much full grown but he's just smaller than a typical dragon.

concept3 · 06-16-04, 02:45 PM

now that mine is four months old I know i should cut down his feedings but he gets very aggressive when he is hungry, he hisses and tries to bite. Right now he eats a small bowl full of fruit salad, about 3 romain leaves and 50 large crickets a day. He is by no means obese but i fear he will become if i dont cut down.

K1LOS · 06-16-04, 02:57 PM

50 large crickets a day????? dude that is A LOT of crickets.

Geoff

ReptiliansDOTca · 06-16-04, 03:08 PM

Fifty large crickets a day? I highly doubt that, what is your definition of 'large'? Also, avoid feeding lettuce - it contains little to no nutritional value aside from its water content. Mustard greens, collard greens, kale and bok choy are much better choices.

concept3 · 06-16-04, 03:21 PM

i feed him 25, 5-7 week old crickets twice a day an hour after he gets up, and 2 hours befor he goes to bed, If you really dont beleive me i can record it on my digi cam.

Big Mike · 06-16-04, 03:44 PM

You could probably cut down on the crickets. Fruit should be fed as a treat and veggies should be the main diet.

As mentioned mustard, collard, kale, bok choy are better than lettuce. My dragons really like butternut squash.

Check around, there is a really good list of fruits & veggies on an iguana site that breaks down the nutritional value and suggests how often the foods should be giving to your reptile.

concept3 · 06-16-04, 05:24 PM

at four months i thought crickets should be 70 percent of the diet? correct me if im wrong

Snow · 06-16-04, 06:44 PM

Is thier any large diffrences from an iguana's diet compared to a bearded dragon, from what i read it seems much the same, mayby diffrent amounts.

concept3 · 06-17-04, 01:08 AM

im not looking for smart *** remarks, from what I understand a bearded dragon at the Age of 4 months should have a diet of 70% crickets, 25 % dark greens and 5%fruit, like i said if im wrong correct me i am going off advice i have read from at least 5 web sites. I repeat, correct me if I am wrong

Dragon_Slave · 06-17-04, 08:21 AM

Concept... just chill out, nobody is trying to flame you and you're getting pissy for no reason.

I was feeding my dragon 50 large crickets when he was 6 months old, as well as a plate full of veggies. He is now 19 inches long and he is not obese.

You are right. At 4 months of age your dragon's diet should consist of 70% protein and 30% veggies (with fruit only on occassion). When they reach 8-10 months, you start feeding 50/50%.

Snow: Iguanas should not be given protein except maybe once a month. Their diets are 99% fruits and veggies throughout their entire lives.

Big Mike · 06-17-04, 08:25 AM

Who is giving you smart @ss remarks?

You are right, young dragons should have a higher percentage of insects than fruits & veggies. It's just that 50 large crickets is quite a lot of food for a 4 month old dragon. Just because he eats so many when you feed him...does not mean that he needs to eat that much.

Once his growth spurt stops and his growth rate really slows down...that's it when you should start feeding less and less crickets.

ReptiliansDOTca · 06-17-04, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Is thier any large diffrences from an iguana's diet compared to a bearded dragon, from what i read it seems much the same, mayby diffrent amounts.

There is a huge difference, being that a iguanas diet should consist solely of vegetables, where as a bearded dragons diet should consist mainly of insects, with a decent amount of vegetable matter.

concept3 · 06-17-04, 11:51 AM

i dont know why I got snappy, Im sorry, now that i read it no one did give me any smart *** remarks, i feelkinda dumb, sorry guys. Thanks for the replies put my mind at ease. Just one more question, how many crickets should i feed him??If 50 is too much. He eats the 25 crickets in under a minute easy, maybe 30 seconds he eats 4 or 5 at a time lol. Would a pick of his size help maybe?