Newbie help request

[moimac]

Hi all, we have 4 beardies from 2 separate batches - about 4 weeks apart. 2 are larger than the other 2 & they are in their own enclosure. We're not seeing the growth in the little ones like the two larger ones - they are voracious eaters and have doubled in size. We are offering fruit and veges everyday and of course a good supply of crickets and mealworms. I am concerned the little guys are not eating enough or getting enough sustenance. Any suggestions or comments?

 

[Jacknife]

Some just grow faster than others mate, don't stress too much. as long as they ARE eating and eating enough there's nothing to worry about. Perhaps watch them while they feed for a while to ensure this.

 

[moimac]

Ok thanks. I have also heard different things about mealworms. We were thinking about breeding mealworms as well as crickets - crickets are going off, just need them to grow too. Are mealworms ok to feed to small beardies regularly or do we risk impaction? We don't feed them any with the hard casing. I have beardie pellets which I feed to the crickets lol! Just want to make sure we are doing the best for them.

 

[moimac]

Ok so I'm not seeing the little tracker eating hardly at all and he doesn't seem that interested in food. He could be snacking during the day but what are main reasons he may be off his food? All help appreciated.

 

[Chris1]

freshly shed mealworms (are pure white) and wont impact ur babies, i only ever use freshly shed worms, but nutritionally theyre still like eating hot chips, yummy, but fatty and not good as a staple.

roaches are a great feeder thats easy to breed, setting up a colony will save u a fortune and you will always have plenty of food at all sizes.

the main reason beardies go off food is temps are too low, basking temps should be around 42, give or take a few degrees.
another factor could be stress.
another temporary reason would be that hes preparing to shed.

impaction will also stop them eating, but if hes not eating, then you cant know if hes not pooing cos there is no poo, or if theres a problem,...a warm shallow bath would help if hes slightly impacted.

are you providing UVB light and calcium supplements?

 

[bigjoediver]

If they are housed together one may be dominating the other causing stress issues. Try feeding separately. Alternately a 10cc syringe filled with puréed baby food ( I use beef and veg ) can be squirted into the mouth to maintain weight. Or make a purée with your pellets.

 

[moimac]

We are dusting crickets with calcium powder every 2-3 days and get them out in the sun every couple of days. Their enc has a UVB light and they get good heat from their light. Ambient temp up here at the moment is around 33 deg. They get a good hour to hour half sun every Sat when we clean up. We are breeding crickets which are fed the pellets plus fresh veges. I will give him a nice warm bath and a gentle scrub tomorrow and try the syringe feeding. Not sure about his toilet habits but I would guess that he is pooing otherwise the other guy with him is a poo factory. He's my fave so I want him to do well. Thanks for the tips, really appreciate it

 

[moimac]

Hi there. The little guy is eating but not heaps. At least he's eating. He doesn't seem to be very accurate with his strike on crickets though. Is this normal? I would think that he must be around 2 months old now. Also we can't get our guys interested in veges. I've seen vids of hatchies eating salad. Is there a trick to this? As always your help is appreciated.

 

[bigjoediver]

I used to offer rocket leaves by hand ( they both still eat out of my hand) to get them interested in greens, some people put their live food on top of some veggies to give them a taste.