My bearded dragon's Health

[RostedDuck]

Hi- I have a 1 (on 3/28/14) year old bearded dragon.
Can bearded dragons eat grass?
What is good for them to eat?

 

[ChristieB]

How long have you had him?

Typically they are omnivorous, but mostly their diet is made up of insects. Some people feed minced meat with veg. I would suggest you do some serious research into reptile care

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Bearded dragons are usually fed crickets, but there are special ways to prepare the cricket before feeding. Many people dust them in calcium dust and some people gut load the crickets by feeding the crickets good fruits and veggies before giving them to the dragon. Crickets are not really nutritious on their own.

I would definitely research proper diet. Beardies are a good beginner pet but they can still have serious issues with improper care and diet.

 

[RostedDuck]

I first got him when he was only a week old (I think)

 

[RostedDuck]

Thank you and I will do way more research because he is still a baby.

 

[Stacykins]

Thank you and I will do way more research because he is still a baby.

Yea, you should have done your research before bringing home a new pet of a species you've never taken care of. It is part of responsible animal care 101. Here is a simple caresheet you should really look at now.

That said, no, don't feed him grass. While they are omnivores, that isn't something he should eat. Crickets or dubia roaches dusted in vitamin and calcium powder WITH vitamin D are a staple. If you get plain calcium powder and he isn't getting any vitamin D, he cannot use the calcium he ingests and his health will suffer. Leafy greans like romaine lettuce, kale, dandelion greens, etc. are a great base for a beardie salad, along with fruits and vegetables sliced up thin so they are easy for them to eat. I always found making 'slivers' helped mine devour his salads.

What is his setup like? Heat source and full spectrum lighting? Do you have a thermometer setup so you know the temperature is appropriate in the basking area? How large is his enclosure? What does he have for enrichment? They need things like rocks and logs to climb and perch on.

 

[RostedDuck]

I have all that and I did research him way before i got him. I just read stuff and want to ask for other peoples insight on that just in case it was wrong.



the full carrot wasn't for him i grade his food i dropped it because i'm kinda short i have i stool now.

 

[Stacykins]

I have all that and I did research him way before i got him. I just read stuff and want to ask for other peoples insight on that just in case it was wrong.



the full carrot wasn't for him i grade his food i dropped it because i'm kinda short i have i stool now.

Is he on sand? If yes, that is just asking for an impaction.

 

[Halloweengirl13]

I have had my leopard geckos and my boyfriends bearded dragon on sand, the geckos were on it five years before I got them from my mother and never had a problem, they are desert reptiles. We feed the dragon crickets dusted with calcium giant mealworms and he gets a salad of greens from our garden every couple days . we haven't tried stuff like dandelion greens or grass from our yard but we feed it too our other animals all the time. Wash it really well and see if he likes it.

 

[RostedDuck]

The pet store has sand in their cage as well. If a DESERT animal dies from sand I don't think they should live. They might be stupid if they die from something that they were supposed to be born in the wild. I don't want to be mean, and I know some have died from that. Sorry.