beardie food

[tmanjim]

hey all, first time in this area and i need some help. i have 2 large bearded dragons, a male and a female. when it is nice out i have an enclosure outside they stay in. they were outside and the male chomped a yellowjacket wasp. need to know if there is anything to worry about. i was mainly concerned at whether or not the dragon could be stung internally or not. he is about 14 in and chunky. your collective thoughts please?????

 

[pitbulllady]

It seems that if the yellow jacket were still capable of stinging after being chomped(and I've seen how hard Beardies chomp their food, since I have one myself), it would have stung him in the mouth and he would have spit it out. More than likely, it was dead by the time it got to his stomach. If he'd been stung, he would have exhibited signs of distress by now. Many lizards indicate pain by lying flat and very still and will get this dark spot right behind each eye, and are very reluctanct to move. I've rehabed numerous Anoles, Race-runners, and Fence Lizards that were cat attack victims, and they all seem to act like that when they are hurt. Their facial expressions(and yes, lizards DO have varying facial expressions, subtle yet distinct to someone who's been around them, like bird expressions)just seem to indicate discomfort. If your Beardie is acting normal, I wouldn't be concerned about him being stung. What WOULD worry me, though, especially if he eats wild insects often, would be exposure to pesticides. This is something you have to be careful of in certain areas, especially in agricultural areas, with wild insects.

pitbulllady

 

[mouse]

i agree with pitbulllady. i have two beardies (i had 3 originally, but one died as a baby). they do act sick when sick. but if it moves, they'll try to eat it. right now i'm trying to get my 2 to mainly eat greens (wich they don't like too much), they still want giant mealworms, crix and thank goodness juvinile beardie pellets and they like their waterdish, since they don't want greens to much. by now they are about 1 year old (i got them in july as 3 month old babies). i just wonder when they are called adults, since they look still small to me (nose to tip of tail ~16 "). maby they are the smaller breed...rankins?. right now they started "nodding" their heads and look so funny.

dianne

 

[tmanjim]

i appreciate the responses you guys. all seems to be well. he is still very active and eating greens, as for the outside insects, nobody around me uses them and so far i have not had any problems. again thank you.

 

[Slizarus]

The problem here is identification... Was it infact a Hornet/wasp?
Yellowjackets atleast in California are carnivorous scavengers who look exactly like a yellow/black hornet except their relatives to flies and have no venom/stingers.. they have a bite which wouldn't cause any trouble.

If it was a wasp.. well then aye.. as said above.. you'd have seen trouble by now.. the most likely of which would be an upset stomach for the beardie and lethargy

 

[tmanjim]

thanks for the responses and yes it was definitely a yellow jacket, after being in the pest control biz for 18 years, i can be sure of the i.d. it has now been a few days and the male is none the worse for wear. he is doing well and active as ever. once again, thanks for the responses.

 

[ta2edpop]

It won't hurt him. I've seen mine eat wasps before. Just rememember not to let them eat fireflys. They'll be dead in 30 min.