Hello
Hello,
Yes, exactly!! That was my initial point. We should be striving for longevity so as research has been showing over the last 10 years, as a dragon ages, they are no longer growing & their protein requirements do decrease as their requirements for vegetation increases. By the time they are 2, they need to be consuming 80% vegetation & 20% protein or live feeders.
So, to answer you question completely, moderation is the best key. As I was looking up alot of care sheets, some of them are very old & outdated & have not been updated as some of the medical research has been done & is still ongoing. Some of the "oldschool" methods were to fatten up skinny bearded dragons & pinkies were looked at as the best way to do so.
Now, the better breeders realize that isn't the best way to increase weight & isn't as healthy to do so. Gravid females can be given a pinky when they need extra fat, that is fine. Not daily of course, maybe biweekly would be sufficient as long as she isn't having any other health problems.
Occasionally is fine, just not a staple. They are looked at as treats, just like waxworms are. Just like us, moderation is the key, as well as variety as well. How we feed them when they are young should determine their overall health when they reach adult hood.
One other point that I wanted to make was when they are in captivity, they usually do not go through long periods without food such as they do out in the wild. When they get ready for brumation, there usually isn't much food, so, that is one reason they brumate. They eat what they can during the time of the year when food is plentiful & then don't get as much to eat when it isn't very plentiful. Also, you have to remember too, they get much more exercise than they do when in captivity. They will burn fat at a better rate out in the wild too because they are forced to sometimes if food isn't available so they forage on whatever is there usually plants.
In captivity, if they get adequate amounts of food all of the time, then, feeding higher fatty foods on a regular basis wont allow their bodies to burn off fat well enough to control the release of fat into their systems & they can store too much in their body which will contribute to fatty liver disease. If they have too much stored fat like that, & for some reason they go off of food for awhile, & then eat again, they fast release of fat into their system can prove to be too much for their liver to handle.
Sorry for the long post. I try to shorten it, but it usually doesn't work when I am trying to explain something. :lol:
Tracie
