Bearded Dragons

[J.Nitehawk]

Will feeding pinkie mice to my BD make him mean or bite people.

[Matt.B]

why would he become mean? its just a fatty large food it should have no ill efects on him. just be sure to hold off on feeding to much try giving him one every two to four weeks.
Matt

[CONCEPT03]

the breeders i got mine from feed their beardies olny one mouse a month. It has been know for red meat to change the personalities in iguana's so my breaders just recommend the better safe than sorry method, which is not feeding red meat too often

[Dragon_Slave]

Feeding a LIVE pinky mouse may have some effect on your bearded dragon. If they get used to the ''ravaging'' behavior they'll need when killing the pinky, they may become that way personality wise.

If it doesn't effect the behavior, pinkies are still not a wise food item to feed. I know that some people here think it's ok to feed pinkies to adult beardies, to fatten up females, but it's truely not. Studies are proving now that even day old pinkies have small bones in them that cannot be digested and can and will impact your bearded dragon, possibly causing death. Not only that, but also, since they are so high in fat, your dragon can have liver problems that can be fatal.

[Matt.B]

Thats what i always thought but i didnt want to get into another argument onit.
Matt

[drewlowe]

Don't forget Live mice can carry parasites, so frozen is always better (note i said better, it's not 100% because not all parasite will be killed when frozen).

Hey Haley, do you have any links to the studies that have been done, about the impactation of mice??? Not that i don't belive you but i would like to read them, so i can see the info myself, you know how that goes (so i'm not repeating what you say). LOL

The disease that feeding too many pinkies is capable of cause is fatty liver disease.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

the breeders i got mine from feed their beardies olny one mouse a month. It has been know for red meat to change the personalities in iguana's so my breaders just recommend the better safe than sorry method, which is not feeding red meat too often

Red meat (or any animal matter) in an iguanas diet is just right off not a correct thing in the first place. Being that they are true foliovores, like many other animals like Koalas, they only consume foliage. This being leaf and flower matter only. So of course your going to see some odd changes in an iguana when it is fed an incorrect diet such as this.

Bearded Dragons IMO, should simply be left on an insectivorous and foliage diet. Adding to much meat to their diet, much like monitors even, is something that should be done in moderation only. These animals by nature are not out hunting tons of rodents as a main food source. They are mostly consuming inverts for animal matter, as they are highly available and their natural diet selection.

[Dragon_Slave]

I will try to find some links for you, Jamie. Also, you can PM Lisa and Annie on DragonTank and they should be able to give you a lot more info. :)

[snakeylesnake]

well said c m. too many people seem hell bent on feeding insectavores pink mice / rats. the amount of people requesting pinkies for beardies, leos and even chameleons are alarmingly high. I do agree with the fact that pinks can be a good source of protein for underweight animals and post egg laying females, but i have seen that many if not most people only want to feed them for the sake of their own self imbelishment.
As i mentioned in a post a long time ago, the over feeding of rodents to lizards has been linked to over stressing the liver and kidneys of several lizard species, including monitors. I do, however think that HAIRLESS rodents make a valuble addition to larger monitors diets. However i can see no natural reason to offer them to more commonly seen lizards, especially pet ones.
Imagine how many times a leo / beardie will actually find a litter of mice in the wild. not very often, but when it does it will eat some or all. but to give them mice in captivity on a regular basis poses a serious threat to their well being.
As for feeding a live pinkie causing agression that is only a fable. Does anyone feed dead crickets to their beardie? live foods are an essential part of the beardies life. it promotes exercise and alertness. Even if you did feed a live pinkie, id be very surprised if it moved quicker than a cricket.
Cheers
Paul