• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Why is fat bad exactly?

dragonchick88

New member
Joined
Sep 17, 2005
Messages
210
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
38
Location
Itty Bitty Little Town
Bugs and veggies if there is any thats high in fat...well why r they bad for BD's? Is it just becasue they will make your BD just fat or whats the problem exactley with fatty things?
 
From what I understand the fat is not easily digested. Excess fat can also store in the liver and cause problems. I really haven't researched this topic much and unfortunately can't offer much more than this.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can offer more information.
 
so if fat is bad for them, what is the main thing that makes them gain weight and keep it on them? I am alitle confused as to how some dragons r skinny by nature and others r like monsters! Is protein what makes them buffy looking then or is it just the fat their bodies actually use?
 
I think the general idea is somewhat similar to that of humans...a little fat can be fine, and perhaps help put weight on a thin dragon, but a lot of fat would be just as bad for them, if not worse for them, as it would be for a human. An occasional slice of cake won't hurt us, but eating a cake as the mainstay of our diets would be very unhealthy.

As far as the difference from dragon to dragon, again, comparing to humans...some people can eat anything they want to and still stay skinny, while some people can "look at a piece of cheesecake" and gain 10 pounds.......metabolism, activity level, and genetics all play a role. That's why we want to choose only the healthiest, nicest quality dragon specimens to use as breeders, and feed them only the proper and best foods, to help produce the same kind of healthy babies.
 
When i'm putting weight on my females after laying or getting babies to grow faster, i go with high PROTIEN foods, not high in fat foods. It's easier digested and adults in particalur should get as little fat as they can.
 
I really dont understand the whole breed the biggest dragons thing. What would we do if the government told us that we had to be 6 foot and 300 lbs in order to have kids, its a little silly to me. I care more about color and behavior of my dragons then pure size, dont get me wrong I enjoy the site of a huge dragon but as long as its 350 grams thats fine with me. Charlie
 
larger females have healthier babies. I would never breed a dragon under 18" and 400grams. she just couldn't handle it. the bigger the better. Color is important to sell the babies, but size and HEALTH are my main concerns.
High fat foods:
nightcrawlers, wax and butterworms, rodents, and goldfish.
I perfer to feed insects like roaches, crickets, superworms, grasshoppers, and guppies. Sure, all those things have both protien and fat, but in different amounts.
 
I'm no expert but I dont believe that a dragon under 400 grams would be automatically considered unhealthy. Health is also a strong concern of mine, I just dont think weight is how you measure health.
 
I agree, a 200gram, 15" female can be extremely healthy, but will probably not be after enduring egglaying, if she lives at all.
 
Actually a 200g 15" female can lay many successful clutches without problems. They usually average about 10-12 eggs but that's to be expected with a small female. I would never practice or recommend an intention breeding but every now and and then a female approaching one year will cycle on their own. It just can't be helped. I would much rather have the female lay fertile eggs if she's cycling. It's more dangerous for the female to lay infertile eggs then fertile ones.

Will a small female be totally wiped out and exhausted afterwards? Hell yeah, but I wouldn't consider her "unhealthy". I don't care if the female is 550g and 20", she's going to be wiped out and exhausted too.

Many breeders set unrealistic standards for breeding. I'm not saying that I don't agree with the standards set but sometimes they are unrealistic. Some females will never reach 350-400g in weight. Just as some dragons will never reach 16" in length. Just because they don't doesn't mean they are unhealthy and should never breed. In the wild these dragons are breeding at 1 year regardless of their weight or length. Sometimes the breeding is nature plain and simple.

What gets me the most is the breeders that power feed smaller females until they reach the set standards of the breeder. That in my opinion is just cruel and unhealthy. Some people do it though............
 
how do you mean powerfeed? like force feed? cause i will feed my females as much as they want after laying, but once their weight is back to normal it's back to greens.
Isn't it also true that smaller females are more prone to egg binding? that would be my biggest concern after keeping a healthy amount of weight on a small female.
 
Power feeding is not force feeding. It's when you feed nothing but high fat foods such as pinkies and waxies. It makes the dragon gain weight quickly but causes health problems in the long run. There was a person a few years ago that bought some high end dragons, power fed them to get them up to breeding size quickly and had a lot of problems with them. They ended up disappearing after about 2 years.

Small dragons do have a higher risk of egg binding. But what I was trying to point out, was that sometimes they cycle whether it was planned or not. Sometimes nature just takes over. Just because they are small does not mean they can't produce healthy eggs and healthy babies. And it also doesn't mean that they will be less healthy as adults if having cycled at a low age and small size. I don't like to see small young dragons breeding but sometimes it just can't be helped.

I have a couple females that are a little over 1 yr old. They are a bit small for breeding in my opinion but if they happened to cycle on their own I would throw a male in just to make sure the eggs were fertile. I would much rather the females lay fertile eggs than infertile, simply because the risk of egg binding is higher with infertile eggs.
 
I perfer to feed insects like roaches, crickets, superworms, grasshoppers, and guppies. Sure, all those things have both protien and fat, but in different amounts.

You actually feed your Dragons guppies??
 
Ok see im a little confused, a small dragon CAN breed but its not recommended right? See Scarlett is 290 grams, and 15insches long but our scorch is like way more longer than her, some breeders have told me if you have a short female it makes it hard for the male to actually get contact in breeding.. is this true?
 
No, it's not recommended to breed a small dragon.

Yep, It's true. There are just some dragons that are not compatible with each other due to size issues. I've seen some mammoth females unable to be bred. The male that was available was just too small to do the deed.
 
LOL due the deed, like that saying. See we would have liked to breed scarlett to scorch due to the fact they both have outstanding bright colors on them, only thi9ng is...he is 20" long and she is only 15" long....way to short for him. I got her mainly for a pet but I thought that when she got older and alittle more bigger breeding her to him woudl produce some nice babies, but since we dont think she is gonna be long enough for him to even due his duty she is just my pretty baby girl who sits around the house with me and goes with me to conventions and such. :) perfect best friend too! she dont fight with me or critisize my doings! lol :)
 
clarinet45 said:
I agree, a 200gram, 15" female can be extremely healthy, but will probably not be after enduring egglaying, if she lives at all.

First off I said that 350 would be fine by me and the original question was about a 290 gram dragon, why are you trying to make it look like I'm saying its a good idea to breed a 200 gram dragon. Second off it still seems a little silly to me that you need a large or fat dragon to have a successful breeding. My fiance's doctor didnt tell me to fatten her up to a buck 50 and wait till shes 5'8" before we try to have a kid.
 
Back
Top