Feeding a baby beardie

[Alphamare13]

I need some advice on my beardie please….
This is my first bearded dragon, he’s now approx 4 mos old and is eating 30 5/8” crickets twice/day, so 60 per day. But my whole family thinks I’m feeding him too much and says he’s fat. I’ll try to post a picture of him right after his morning feeding so maybe someone here can tell me their opinion. (I timed him eating because I’ve read to feed as much as they’ll eat in 5-10 min, so he scarfed down 30 in less than 7 minutes. However, I only dump in a few st a time so I’m making sure he’s eating them all and I don’t have to worry about any left in his vivarium.

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[Zoodulcis]

Howdy Alpha,

At 4 months old, it is unlikely that you are feeding him too much. However, his growth, when faced with such an abundance of food, will be accelerated. That’s OK, as long as nutrients other than proteins and fats are presented. Absolutely gut-load all crickets and definitely dust them with Calcium with D3 each feeding, or his accelerated rate of growth may compromise correct bone development and result in MBD. At around 6 months it is probably wise to slow his feeding down just a bit, perhaps no more than 40 crickets per day, along with introducing more greens into his diet. At one year he will need a diet that more like 50% insect and 50% vegetable matter.

I look forward to seeing his picture and I will give you further comments if his girth seems way too large.

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