Some bearded dragon questions? Crickets, eye bags, growth?

Question

Hello, I am a new owner of 2 bearded dragons( 1 male, 1 female). They came into my care when a friend of mine was evicted last week. I know they are no where near the health of a normal bearded dragon. I feed them crickets every other day, and salads every day with Romaine lettuce, yellow squash, and carrots. Their substarte is ground english walnut shells. Their cage is about 2 feet long, and they have a little cardboard hide box, and a big branch thing. They have a 100 Watt heat bulb for lighting.

Here are my questions:

1) I believe these dragons are over a year old, but are still very small, about 9 inches each. Can they still grow?? How can I help them do this?

2) The female has what looks like bags under her eyes that look veiny - is that normal?

3) How can I get them to eat their veggies?? They seem to mope until it's cricket time.

4) How many crickets is a good number to feed them? Should I be feeding them crickets every day?

5) Is it true one could stop brumation? Is it a safe idea to do so?

6) How often should I change their substrate? What is the best substrate to use for them?

7) What are some products I can use to promote better health?

Thank you to anyone who can help answer these questions!!

Answer 1

OK, you need to read a few really good care sheets ASAP! If the dragons are that small and over a year old, they are very stunted and probably quite ill. They may improve and grow a bit if not too late. A visit to a good reptile vet is needed very badly. They also need to be checked for parasites.

It sounds like the female is dehyrated. Giving them a warm water bath (only as deep as their shoulders and don't leave them alone) will help very much with hydration. Do daily for a few days, then weekly. Mist daily with a water bottle--very few dragons drink from a bowl.

They will eventually eat vegies, but what they are eating is not great. Other leafy greens and vegies/fruits are needed. See link below for great diet ideas.

The crickets must be gutloaded, or fed properly before using them as food. Gutload for crickets can be bought at a pet store--use the powdered kind as the gel kind of food is worthless. They also need a shallow lid of water to drink. Feed as many crickets daily as they want--and dust or "shake n bake" the crickets with a calcium/D3 (no phosphorus) supplement a few times a week, and a multivitamin once a week.

Adult dragons will often brumate (hibernate) during winter months. Some will sleep for months, others barely at all. See link for details.

Get RID OF THE WALNUT bedding right now! It is one of the most dangerous substrates, along with calci-sand, made for reptiles. They can easily eat it and get fatal intestinal impactions. Use paper towels, NON adhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet, ceramic tile instead.

The need the heat basking temp to be 100F. Use only a digital probe thermometer (a simple indoor/outdoor therm. is fine) to measure temps. Stick on and dial thermometers are worthless.

They MUST have UVB lighting on for 12 hours a day! Reptisun 10.0 or Reptiglo 8.0 are excellent and made for reptiles. Change every 6 months as they lose potency.

The tank is way too small. A 40 gallon breeder at least is minimum for one beardie. Beardies should not be housed together as domination and stress will be a problem, plus males will mercilessly bother the female and she will get worn out.

These are only a few things to do...please READ READ READ! Good luck!

http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/research/labs/ktosney/file/BD.html

http://www.reptilerooms.com/

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html

http://www.bearded-dragons.com/tips/

Answer 2

Get yourself a small cricket holder. Looks like a little house with slots in the side. They don't make a whole lot of noise really. Summer, winter it doesn't matter. You can keep them someplace dark or give the container a little shake, but you may get one loud one in the bunch. lol I just feed that one to my dragon first. If warm and well fed I've had them last for a few weeks. I buy 100 large at a time and they go for a little over 2 weeks between one bearded dragon and 2 geckos. Yes they have to be fed. There is specific cricket food, it looks like jello to feed them and gut load them. Basically so they have more nutrients in them when you feed them to your lizard as well. They need to be fed, and watered. Some of the food has both water and food in it. The orange Flukers brand. It stays in the fridge and is a thick sweet jello kind of thing. (I'm assuming it's sweet, it smells slightly sweet) I wanted to chime in on the mealworm thing, do not feed a bearded dragon mealworms. Before I got my beardy she belonged to a friend of mine, and lived with another beardy. They made the mistake of feeding them mealworms, well, there is only one left for a reason. The other bearded dragon couldn't crush the mealworms heads and they ate right through the dragon. The one I have didn't eat as many and only got a little sick. Stick with crickets and fruit for the most part, greens also. Mine loves berries. Do not give iceberg lettuce also.

Answer 3

Hi. If they are only 9 inches chances are they aren't a year old and have alot of growing to do, they can get up to 2 foot long. maybe if you spray their vegies before you give it to them they might lick up the moisture before eating them. Since they are little they most likely wont eat vegetable matter until they are mature so they will only really feed on crickets for a while. As for feeding them crickets you have to do it twice a day until they stop eating. sounds like alot but they will grow because of it. Bearded dragons dont experience brumation all that much except for night whilst they are sleeping. their dropping should be cleaned daily however the substrate only needs replacing every now then, every month or so. Best substrate would probably be gorund english walnuts you can buy it from pet shops. Just avoid sand and calci-sand no matter what anyone says because bearded dragons will try to eat it and it doesnt digest and cause intestinal blockages and will kill it. Other products you might need are calcium powder or vitamin powder to dust the crickets in every now and then they will help with growth and the health of your dragons. Make sure you have a uvb light that they can bask in it also helps growth. ill add a website i just looked at it has a care sheet that should help a bit. i hope i helped. http://www.eastbayvivarium.com/caresheets/Beardeddragon.htm

Answer 4

"DITTO" kimbeej (again!) just to add though, do not ever leave any live prey (crickets etc..) in the tank w/ the beardie after the feeding time, 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day, crickets will bite your beardie! also, to put a little weight on them you may want to try some superworms...as a treat...not to many though! also, if they are in poor health you could try to syringe feed them "slurry mix" to get some good stuff in them, do a search for "slurry mix" at bearded-dragons.com forum, if you cant find it there message me and i will give you the instructions on how to make it. as far as eating the veggies, find some good ones you like at beautifuldragons.com nutrient content section and put fresh in the cage every day, they will eventually eat them, and separate them as soon as possible! the beardies, that is! beardies are solitary lizards. good luck!