Bearded dragon bulking diet?

Well I got this beardie off CL. I'm not new to lizards, and I know what they eat. She was misrepresented in the pic horribly, but them living down in Sana cruz(almost 2 hours away on a good day) and the price I got the pair for(the male was fine) I didnt return her. I had a friend pick them up for me. She's very thin, though gaining some weight since I got her. my friend told me the guy I got her from was actually a breeder and she just laid a clutch of eggs. Yes females do look a bit deflated after that, but not THIS bad. Can anyone suggest a good diet to bulk her up, with lots of calcium of course.

Pic I got in an e-mail:


Pic of her today(she looked so much worse..which is sad)

In the pic you got she does look super flat. You can tell by the position of how she laying.

Ummm you need to give her some fatty foods. I would message Drache613 I believe her name on these boards are... she has helped me many times on another site. All I can say is feed. The beardie is almost a piece of paper

You want feeders that are higher in overall calories, and being the fat has the highest calorie content per gram of food(9 cal). You want a feeder like either a wax worm, or a lot of super worms(Pinkies are acceptable, but wax worms are basically the same calorie context, and are easier to digest)... Super worms can be feed as a staple, but they must be portion controlled, but in your case I would feed as many super worms/wax worms as you female would eat in one sitting everyday... And within 2-3 months you should see a very large weight gain, I went through this over 3 months ago when I received a female that was at least 100 grams under weight. After 2 months she had gained 75 grams, and now after 3 months of owning her she has now gain almost 100 grams...

My regular feeding schedule for adults are Salad in the morning, and when I get home, I offer feeders(super worms), and after the feeders, I offer a large salad... I've never had a problem with any of my dragons eating the large salad after the feeders...

So I would find a feeding schedule that works for you, but just offer more feeders per feeding, and offering a variety does help! And in case you don't want to order online, Petsmart does carry both super worms and wax worms, but I order from www.premiumcrickets.com , ordering in bulk is much cheaper...

You will have to be patient, and it's hard to be I know i've been in your shoes... But she will gain weight steadily, and if she doesn't seem to gain weight in the first month, she may have parasites...

A vet visit might be needed from the beginning, but I didn't go to the vet, I just handled this problem my self, but that was because she was very alert!

Let me know if this helps,

Anthony

Hmm what about Parazap? Or does anyone know any good parasite expellers that are 'over the couter"? itd be a good thing to have on hand

I have not tried parazap, but I've only heard good things about it! I would highly suggest it based on the number to good experiences/responses I've seen! I wouldn't think twice about giving it to my dragons if one of them become ill...

Anthony

yeah bearded wizard is another great source for help

Hello,

How long have you had them now? Are they both housed separately & stablized in their tanks, along with good UVB & lighting?
How do her stools look? At the moment, until you get her hydrated more, I would not use the parazap quite yet. It is safe, but, you need to get her more hydrated first because the parazap causes things to pass through more quickly. Also, give her a couple of weeks downtime to readjust to a new surrounding before doing a fecal, too. Her coccidia levels are probably a bit elevated just from being relocated.
What types of foods are you feeding right now? High fat is not always the best route, especially in rescued animals. If she is malnourished, her body wont be able to handle high fat foods very well. Dragons' metabolisms are not designed to handle or metabolize high fat foods on a regular basis.
It is best to stick with things that are easy to process & digest right now, such as silkworms, hornworms, crickets, roaches, or phoenix worms. If she is digesting those well, then, you can throw in some superworms.
IF she is not eating on her own, you will need to make her slurries out of the feeders, & some greens. You can get some jumpstart appetite stimulant to help her out. That can be found from www.reptilesupply.com
It is very helpful in getting them to eat. She looks like she has had some calcium issues as her jaw is slightly jutted forward, not bad.
What type of calcium supplementation are you providing, & what type of UVB are you using?
I would really stress the hydration status right now. Try getting 3-6 ml's of fluid & slurry mix into her, daily, broken up into several increments of feedings. You can mix the calcium up with that too, once daily. Use either a plastic spoon to see if she will lick it out of there on her own, or you will need to get a syringe but be careful that she doesn't bite the end off.
I hope this helps.
Let me know if you need more assistance.

Tracie

Lets see I've had her for about 2 months now, I'm using reptical. Her food consists of meal worms, roaches, and romane lettice. She has a spot light(not sure brand, got it from a friend) and a UVB strip light. the strip light is on 24/7, the spot only on durring daylight hours.

Her eatting on her own isnt seeming to help her much, she isnt gaining much weight if any, I havent been documenting weight which I'm now doing. I'dl like to try the slurry idea, how would I go about doing that?

I have been trying to hydrate her with water with a bit of the calcium mixed in(due to her jaw, her jaw actually looks better then when I got it, there was a huge bump on the end but its gone down a lot)

Originally Posted by Nagini

the strip light is on 24/7, the spot only on durring daylight hours.

This is your main problem, all lights should be off at night, not even a red or black light is acceptable in my book! Dragons need total darkness or close to it to maintain good sleeping habits, leaving a light on all night is the main cause of your stressed out dragon! Your dragon is not getting a recupertive sleep, the light needs to be out for at least 6-8 hours a night depending on your "light cycle", I highly recommend 14 hours of light in the spring, summer, and fall, and 10-12 hours of light in the winter(Brumation accures for most, but not all).

I think a lot of your problems are from your Husbandry, this can make a huge difference in your dragons appetite and activity levels!

So to double check your most people agree that a basking spot of 110-115 is considered to be the most acceptable for reaching a body temperature of 93-93 degrees with facilitates in good digestion.

Know the Cool end of the cage should be in the mid-low 80's, this will give your dragon plenty of space to thermoregulate...

A basking spot is needed to get your dragon close enough to the basking light, plus It gives your dragon the ability to move higher/lower depending on the amount of heat they require! Bottom line, healthy dragons gap while on their basking spots, this shows that they are happy, and have the correct basking temps...

A hide is necessary for Adult dragons since they feel more secure this way, and it also adds in thermoregulation, just place a hide on the cool side of the enclosure.

As for Jump Start, I would never use this product unless your dragon as not eaten a single bit of food in more than a week! I've seen/heard of dragons throwing this stuff up, if is very thick and pasty... It does have some good ingredients, but I suggest thining it out if in the future you ever decide to you it!

So if your previous post was correct you need to buy a timer and only have the lights on for 12-14 hours a day and off for 6-8 hours at night, this sounds like your biggest problem and the reason why your dragon is stressed out, and will not eat... Give her 3-5 days after you start the 6-8 hours of lights off, I'm pretty sure she will become her normal self.

Anything else you can add would help...

Anthony

Originally Posted by Nagini

the strip light is on 24/7, the spot only on durring daylight hours.

This is your main problem, all lights should be off at night, not even a red or black light is acceptable in my book! Dragons need total darkness or close to it to maintain good sleeping habits, leaving a light on all night is the main cause of your stressed out dragon! Your dragon is not getting a recuperative sleep, the light needs to be out for at least 6-8 hours a night depending on your "light cycle", I highly recommend 14 hours of light in the spring, summer, and fall, and 10-12 hours of light in the winter(Brumation occurs for most, but not all).

I think a lot of your problems are from your Husbandry, this can make a huge difference in your dragons appetite and activity levels!

So to double check your most people agree that a basking spot of 110-115 is considered to be the most acceptable for reaching a body temperature of 93-93 degrees with facilitates in good digestion.

Know the Cool end of the cage should be in the mid-low 80's, this will give your dragon plenty of space to thermoregulate...

A basking spot is needed to get your dragon close enough to the basking light, plus It gives your dragon the ability to move higher/lower depending on the amount of heat they require! Bottom line, healthy dragons gap while on their basking spots, this shows that they are happy, and have the correct basking temps...

A hide is necessary for Adult dragons since they feel more secure this way, and it also adds in thermoregulation, just place a hide on the cool side of the enclosure.

As for Jump Start, I would never use this product unless your dragon as not eaten a single bit of food in more than a week! I've seen/heard of dragons throwing this stuff up, if is very thick and pasty... It does have some good ingredients, but I suggest thinning it out if in the future you ever decide to you it!

So if your previous post was correct you need to buy a timer and only have the lights on for 12-14 hours a day and off for 6-8 hours at night, this sounds like your biggest problem and the reason why your dragon is stressed out, and will not eat... Give her 3-5 days after you start the 6-8 hours of lights off, I'm pretty sure she will become her normal self.

Anything else you can add would help...

Anthony