When to stop giving bugs to a bearded dragon?

[squeekz1992]

As above lol.

Bella is about 6 months old, and eats like a pig. She eats less now than she did when we first got her at about a month old. But she still shows DEFINITE interest in bugs of any kind, but mostly crickets. She eats fruits and veggies as well but I am just curious as to when to change her diet and how to go about doing so? She definitely recognizes her food dish, and even "begs" when she wants to be fed. We have her on the dry baby beardie food, along with kale and squash and potato, the occasional carrot, occasion kiwi (as in I was eating a kiwi and just let her try it ) and crickets.

 

[poison]

feed her as much as she wants. offer insects and greens at all time. Do you breed your feeders?

 

[squeekz1992]

feed her as much as she wants. offer insects and greens at all time. Do you breed your feeders?

Okay I'm trying to, but kind of failing. I don't see any cricket babies I don't understand why. I have food available to them at all times, there is a low die off rate (except at feeding time ) And they are kept at I think 70-78 degrees!

 

[poison]

What is your beardies basking temp? With the normal caresheet temps (105-110) Your beardie may take longer to digest its food. Imo its best to offer a hi range of temps.

 

[squeekz1992]

I think her highest temp is 110. She's actually my bf's beardie, so I don't have her temps offhand.

This is her on her rock.

She just got moved into her 60gal tank about a week and a half ago. Her lowest temp I'm also unsure of.

She seems happy and healthy But one question, will the veggies change the color of her poops sometimes? I have noticed that when she eats a lot of greens it is kind of green. Is this normal? I only keep chameleons so her husbandry has been for the most part left up to him.

But the main things are all good Clear eyes, alert, active. She's a trip

 

[absolutbill]

But one question, will the veggies change the color of her poops sometimes? I have noticed that when she eats a lot of greens it is kind of green. Is this normal?

Yep. Try offering her some carrots and watch her poop turn orange. It's funny because with my girls they usually get kale, collards, or turnip greens and I never really know how much they eat. However, when I clean up their pooh I can see how green it is, and feel better about their nutrition.

My girls are 4 years old and I feed them every other day with greens, and every other feeding they get superworms added in there. I suppliment about 3 feedings a week. They seem to be slowing down for the winter months, even though it's not exactly freezing down here!

 

[Alexl]

feed her as much as she wants.

That's no good choice. Bearded dragons can be overfed easily and quickly with insects, although they can live healthier completely without or hardly any. Most bearded dragons I'd opened 'til now (eggbound or for other reasons they needed an operation) had fat livers and died under age of 10, which is a really shortened lifetime for those lizards. I don't wonder where these fat livers come from seeing those advices in forums every day.

 

[poison]

That's no good choice. Bearded dragons can be overfed easily and quickly with insects, although they can live healthier completely without or hardly any. Most bearded dragons I'd opened 'til now (eggbound or for other reasons they needed an operation) had fat livers and died under age of 10, which is a really shortened lifetime for those lizards. I don't wonder where these fat livers come from seeing those advices in forums every day.

Like i said with your average 110F basking that will happen but if you offer a wide range of temps (130+ basking low 70 for the cool side) They diggest there meals very fast.

 

[squeekz1992]

I'm confused

I want what is best for her, so I will check her temps. I want her to live a long healthy life. My boyfriend would be utterly devastated if something happened to her

 

[poison]

I'm confused

I want what is best for her, so I will check her temps. I want her to live a long healthy life. My boyfriend would be utterly devastated if something happened to her

i will pm you with a link that will help a lot.

 

[squeekz1992]

Yep. Try offering her some carrots and watch her poop turn orange. It's funny because with my girls they usually get kale, collards, or turnip greens and I never really know how much they eat. However, when I clean up their pooh I can see how green it is, and feel better about their nutrition.

My girls are 4 years old and I feed them every other day with greens, and every other feeding they get superworms added in there. I suppliment about 3 feedings a week. They seem to be slowing down for the winter months, even though it's not exactly freezing down here!

Good to know! That makes me feel so much better!! She is such a fatty lol, it doesn't matter what you put in her dish, it will be gone in minutes. She just started handfeeding Not just for Jared, but me as well! It's so cute! She is almost like a little puppy!!

I am unsure of her supplementation schedule. Will she slow down for the winter as well? I read somewhere that brumation shouldn't happen the first year??

Yuck supers lol they creep me out! She does love mealies though! And she likes just just bit the heads off of her horned worms! Lil butt...those things cost a bunch lol

 

[Alexl]

They diggest there meals very fast.

Nope, they don't. As a lot of reptiles, they need days to digest living in an average cage with different temperature stages. There are studies going on about this, it's tested with certain undigestible colours given via feeders. Did you similar studies to prove the opposite? They're not as fast as mammals in digestion, which is logical thinking of a temperature-related metabolism in a cold-blooded animal.

 

[poison]

Nope, they don't. As a lot of reptiles, they need days to digest living in an average cage with different temperature stages. There are studies going on about this, it's tested with certain undigestible colours given via feeders. They're not as fast as mammals in digestion.

have you ever tried a 130 basking for a beardie?

You also seem to be quoting only parts of my post. Are you reading the rest? It all go's together.

 

[Alexl]

Did you read my posting? Of cause they can digest fast under higher temperatures, but they don't stay there all day (or shouldn't, otherwise it would be a cruel cage setup). And as those studies show, even basking longer will not end up in digestion times of some hours.

 

[poison]

Did you read my posting? Of cause they can digest fast under higher temperatures, but they don't stay there all day (or shouldn't, otherwise it would be not really good keeping setup). And as those studies show, even basking longer will not end up in digestion times of some hours.

Do you believe the highest basking spot they get in the wild is 110? hell i get 145 in my back yard lol.

 

[Alexl]

Think we're misunderstanding each other. I'll try to make it somewhat clearer . It's not about using certain bulbs. No matter which bulb you use, there should be really hot places to warm up, the metabolism will fasten during basking, of cause. But there's a limited preferred optimum temperature zone and therefore a limited possibility to fasten or slow digestion time. They don't digest in an hour, it's just not possible. And digestion time has rarely to do with a fat liver from too high nutritional intake. It's not like "the faster your digestion is, the more you can eat without becoming fat". In fact, lost of reptiles are overfed, and beardies sadly are big part of this due to non-restrictive insect feeding. Feeding "as much as the animal wants" is dangerous to bearded dragons as it is to chameleons, leopard geckos, phelsumas and other reptiles. I don't think any owner wants his pet die from organ failure due to keeping faults, but that's what's happening every day.

 

[poison]

Think we're misunderstanding each other. I'll try to make it somewhat clearer . It's not about using certain bulbs. No matter which bulb you use, there should be really hot places to warm up, the metabolism will fasten during basking, of cause. But there's a limited preferred optimum temperature zone and therefore a limited possibility to fasten or slow digestion time. They don't digest in an hour, it's just not possible. And digestion time has rarely to do with a fat liver from too high nutritional intake. It's not like "the faster your digestion is, the more you can eat without becoming fat". In fact, lost of reptiles are overfed, and beardies sadly are big part of this due to non-restrictive insect feeding. Feeding "as much as the animal wants" is dangerous to bearded dragons as it is to chameleons, leopard geckos, phelsumas and other reptiles. I don't think any owner wants his pet die from organ failure due to keeping faults, but that's what's happening every day.

I see what you mean. But i do believe in offering the animal what it wants. i have never had a problem with an over weight animal unless you are feeding fatty foods(pinkies) then you will have a problem on your hands. I feed every single one of my reptiles/Amphibians as much as they want and they are healthy they stop eating when there full. And what is the limited preferred temperature zone for a beardie?

And sense i have been offering my reptiles higher basking spots they have been more slender and not fatty. So how do you know the higher temps aren't helping with that?

 

[Alexl]

May I ask how long you've been taking care for your animals and how long their average lifetime was? And how do you "see" they're not fatty at all? I don't think anyone measures abdominal fat pads, cause patient owners generally can't take a look inside their animals.

All colleagues and all reptile breeders/keepers I know (I mean keepers who do the hobby for 10-20 years and having success in keeping reptiles with much longer than average lifetime, not just one or two year keepers) made same experience with feeding too much in reptiles over the years: Shortens lifetime, worsens reproduction, makes the animal suffer from organ failures. It's not an accident fat livers occur that often in overfed reptiles. That's what other people have seen and experienced and what I do see, too.

The temperature zone inside body is limited. Too high temperature will degenerate proteins (as only one single problem out of lot more...), so you can't have the temperature as high as you want. The reptile will leave the sunny place as soon as it's getting highly over preferred inner temperature. So you can't fasten their metabolism over the limit set with highest tolerated temperature. And the time digestion takes exactly in this range is much more than an hour or two, which is proven by studies as mentioned before, e.g. in a dissertation of a colleague going on up to date.

About your question: Preferred temperature zone in beared dragons is about 84-88°F at day, 68-74 at night, 62-69 during winter cool down following Douglas R. MADER.

 

[kinyonga]

To the OP...were you asking about making the dragon completely vegetarian?

 

[squeekz1992]

To the OP...were you asking about making the dragon completely vegetarian?

I was asking when I should make her completely vegetarian, like when it will be okay for her, and if a 105 basking temp was okay for her, we are new to beardies and love her so very much, I dn't want to hurt her and want her to have a long happy life