Hello from Oklahoma!

[RoccosKeeper]

My name is Camille and my beardie's name is Rocco the Godfather. He is around 8 months of age, I got him when he was about 1 month from Petsmart.
He is in a 55 gallon reptile vivarium and he loves it!
He have a voracious appetite and loves to bask and sleep in weird positions.
He is sort of a jerk and has taken to hissing and puffing up when we go to pick him up.
We love him anyway

 

[Aleena]

Welcome to BDF, Camille . Hopefully Rocco calms down for you a bit!

 

[Augie]

Wow sounds like you have some growing pains with your dragon. Guess what? You are among friends. Welcome to the forums!

 

[Germ]

 

[RoccosKeeper]

Thanks all, I am glad I'm not the only one with a bipolar beardie!
He's at the stage where he still likes crickets but I rarely give them to him, maybe once every few weeks. His staple now is greens, I have fresh kale and romaine that I also feed my tortoise. He can't get enough of those greens! I feed him more kale than romaine though. Is there another green that could be his staple? I don't want him to get bored of the same old things.
When should he grow out of the hissing and puffing up stage? We haven't got him tamed either. He allows us to pick him up but after some hissing. Then he sits content on our shoulders. He gives many mixed signals.

 

[Germ]

He's at the stage where he still likes crickets but I rarely give them to him, maybe once every few weeks. His staple now is greens, I have fresh kale and romaine that I also feed my tortoise. He can't get enough of those greens

Your BD should still be getting Live prey once or twice a day at 8 months old, he still needs much more protein than greens as he is still growing & in his formative time. No wonder he can't get enough of those greens, greens provide more moisture than real nutrition. Please rectify this asap, for the good of your BDs health & wellbeing. Kale & romaine are definitely not the best choices in staple Greens either. Please check the nutrition chart provided below & try to feed the ones in the Green hi-lited categories if possible.

I would be Grouchy too if all I was being fed was Rabbit Food

Feeding/Supplements: Bearded dragons are omnivorous and must be fed a diet consisting of both vegetation and live prey. Vegetables and greens should be offered daily and a wide variety of acceptable veg/greens is the best approach. There are several websites available that provide very helpful suggestions and information on preferred veg/greens based on their acceptability and nutritional content. An excellent and non biased place to start for this information is Veronica Reilly’s "Nutrition Content” page Here.

Staple prey items generally consist of crickets & roaches. Silkworms & Phoenix worms are a good frequent feeder, while insects such as waxworms, butterworms, mealworms, and superworms are considered "occasional" feeders. “Dusting” with appropriate calcium and vitamin supplements is a necessity to maintain good health. Dusting is a process that refers to lightly coating greens or live prey with supplements to ensure all of the additional requirements for proper growth and development are met. It is simplest to sprinkle the supplements into a plastic freezer bag that contains the prey and gently shaking until coated. Only dust live prey or greens, depending on the age of the dragon, but it is not necessary to dust both. Live prey should be “gut loaded” prior to feeding, this means your feeders are fed properly to ensure they have an acceptable nutritional value for your dragon. Live prey should be offered in a size that is relative to your dragon. A common suggestion is that prey should be no bigger than the space between your dragon’s eyes.

General feeding/supplementation schedule:
For hatchlings and young juveniles (up to 2 months): Fresh greens/veg. 1-2 times daily - Live prey 2-3 times per day
Dusted: All Live Prey five days per week with phosphorus free calcium – one day per week calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

For juveniles and sub-adults (2 months to sexual maturity): Fresh greens/veg 1-2 times daily - Live prey 1-2 times per day
Dusted: All Live Prey five days per week with phosphorus free calcium – One day per week with calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

For adults (generally 1+ year): Fresh greens/veg 1- 2 times daily - Live prey every 2-3 days.
Dusted: Live Prey every other feeding with phosphorus free calcium - Twice per month with calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

As there are different circumstances that may arise, this schedule is recommended only as a general guide and may be altered to accommodate individual situations. Using a tracking method of when you dust prevents unnecessary use of product and more importantly, potential harm to your dragon! With proper and effective UVB lighting, supplementation with vitamin D3 is not imperative but should be provided in small amounts. Excessive levels of oral vitamin D3 can potentially lead to the excessive absorption and utilization of calcium and/or toxicity as can the excessive use of supplements containing high levels of vitamin A. Over use of any supplement can have the potential to cause serious health problems, stick to an appropriate supplementation schedule.

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Amendment to Supplementation: Here is an article providing a good explanation to give an understanding on the Calcium to Phosphorous & Fat to Protien ratio ...

The main points to look out for are the fat content and the Ca: P ratio.​

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Ca: P Ratio and Reptiles​

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Many have heard about the Ca/P ratio but not many understand what it means to your reptiles. The Ca: P ratio is simply the ratio of Calcium compared to Phosphorus and so a Ca: P ratio of 1 (one or 1:1) would mean that Calcium & Phosphorus are found in equal quantities, a Ca: P ratio of 0.5 (half or 0.5:1) means that there is half the amount of Calcium than there is Phosphorus. An ideal Ca: P ratio would be around 2 (two or 2:1) as this will allow calcium to be easily absorbed.​

​

So why is this important? It has to do with the way Calcium is absorbed by your reptile's intestine. For any calcium to be absorbed, there needs to be at least equal quantities of Calcium and Phosphorus in their food. If the Phosphorus is much higher, then not only will it prevent calcium being absorbed, but may even leach calcium that is already present in your reptile's body. This can lead to serious problems such as MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). When Calcium and Phosphorus are dissolved in equal quantities, it forms an insoluble salt (Calcium Phosphate) which is very difficult to absorb by your reptile's intestine. If there is a large amount of phosphorus compared to the calcium, then all the calcium will be bound by the phosphorus and none will be available for your reptile. If there is a large excess of calcium, then no phosphorus can be absorbed, which is also a vital mineral but not needed in as large a quantity as calcium. Ideally the Ca/P ratio for most vertebrates is around 2 (also written as 2:1).​

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Fat vs Protein​

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Another thing to look out for is the amount of fat compared to protein. Fat contains twice as many calories as protein, but doesn't provide any of the nutritional benefits that are gained from proteins from their amino acids which are essential for the health of any living creature. The calories from fat are often called "empty calories" in dietary terminology. Most insectivorous reptiles will receive greater benefit from a high protein/low fat diet.​

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Source - http://www.leedspetshops.co.uk​

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Read More: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/basic-bd-care-sheet-a-place-to-start.5177/

A few good links that you may really want to go over ...

Basic BD Care Sheet - A Place To Start

Bearded Dragon --- Exclusive Care Info Library

Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Chart

Is Bearded Dragon Co-habitation a good plan?

How To Sex A Bearded Dragon

Good Luck

 

[RoccosKeeper]

Ok thanks for your advice.
Somewhere along the way, I read that crickets should be phased out and they should have a diet of just strict veggies. I gave him some a few days ago and he wasn't that interested in eating many of them, he really only at about 4 then ignored the rest.
I will go buy him some asap and pick up some good greens at the market!

 

[RoccosKeeper]

Update: Got him 12 medium-large crickets and some collard greens.

How many crickets should he get per day? The "As many as he can eat in 15 minutes" rule?

 

[Germ]

You got it! Camille. I would think that it would easily eat the 12+ in a sitting.

 

[RoccosKeeper]

@Germ he ate all 12 in one sitting!
Ah, a few days ago, he was shedding. That would be why I was seeming to annoy him by giving him crickets.
He always eats his shed. I've read that's ok, is it?

 

[Germ]

Yes it won't harm them.

 

[RoccosKeeper]

Thank you so much for your help @Germ. I am very glad I could fix the situation before it got bad. That's what forums are for though Again, Thanks!!

 

[Germ]

 

[Aleena]

Ok thanks for your advice.
Somewhere along the way, I read that crickets should be phased out and they should have a diet of just strict veggies. I gave him some a few days ago and he wasn't that interested in eating many of them, he really only at about 4 then ignored the rest.
I will go buy him some asap and pick up some good greens at the market!

I've had a vet advise me of this, and other vets advise me of the 20% greens/80% protein for a juvenile- 80% greens/20% protein after full grown rules but even in the wild if they see a creepy crawly skitter by they're going to nab it no matter how old they are. It's still good to offer protein a couple times a week after your BD hits the magic adult phase.

 

[Germ]

That 20%-80% & 80%-20% is a joke ... Just exactly how do you figure that out, by weight, by volume, visually, what??? In all the time I have been in the hobby, I haven't figured it out, nor have I ever had anyone be able to explain it to me. I believe it originated way back when & was just someone's round about way of saying that they will not need as much protein once they have stopped their youthful growth, that has been repeated over & over again so much, many now say it as a rule of thumb, that really makes no sense, if you think about it. Again, just how do your figure out that ratio?

BDs will generally regulate themselves once they reach maturity, eat more vegetation & less prey/protein because their body's system tell them that they don't need as much anymore. Once you see this occurring, live prey feedings can be reduced to 2-3 times a week, with regular daily ample feedings of greens.

 

[Augie]

Here's what I've learned: I do hours of research, looking at figures, best practices, and tips. I then present them to my dragon. He looks at me and basically says, "Oh really? No thanks, I want to do it THIS WAY instead."

 

[Noella]

I research dietary needs and I try to sneak in something she hasn't had. Well, if she doesn't want it, I give it to her crickets! She doesn't know the difference until she sees what I've put into her cricket tank. She watches every little move I make with those crickets. If I do something with them, she stares me down until I interact with her next! Then she gives me the "See this face? I'm innocent and a good girl. Now where's my crickets? Where's my superworms? And what's this green stuff?"

Hi, and welcome to BDF.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I don't go by set formulas, ratios and the such as it's been my experience that most lead to massive amounts of stress and hair pulling and at my age I'm getting protective of my hair..lol..What I do is offer and let the creature decide because it is my firm belief that they know much better than we do what they need as far as nutrition. For example with our Mungi at 2 1/2 years of age his tastes for greens or live prey goes in spurts. His greens are offered every day without fail but there may be several days that they go untouched or just barely nibbled at. Then all of the sudden he will go after his "salads" voraciously. Same with his live feeders. Some days he will pick at them when offered and others he will gobble them down in the blink of an eye and look for more.
I would definitely agree that at the age your dragon is that he should be getting feeders offered daily and would let him eat his fill. I also would not ever recommend curbing his intake of any nutritious good staple any more than I would suggest someone put a small child on some radical diet.
These dragons can be finicky about food as is many times and especially when they are actively growing I would recommend put it before them and let them decide how much they want of what.
The 15 minute rule is a good general rule of thumb but in my experience is more to give a new keeper some idea of how many feeders they are going to need to have on hand come dinnertime as most dragons will gobble down several in that period of time. It doesn't necessarily mean they wont eat or don't want any more though so what I do is plce the live feeders in the enclosure and leave them. Many times I have found that Mungi for example will eat several and then go take a break and bask for while and then go hunt for more so by leaving them in his enclosure during the day he can snack at his leisure. He does that with his "salad" too. Just be sure to remove any live feeders that are left before lights out because they can disturb your dragon's rest and might actually nibble on your dragon as well
Just my 43 cents worth!!
Enjoy!

 

[Augie]

Just my 43 cents worth!!

I think you're allowing too much for inflation! That was really good advice!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I think you're allowing too much for inflation! That was really good advice!

Some would say under our current government administration that inflation rate is very conservative and in fact optimistic of things to come ...LOL.

Always glad when I can help anytime