Baby Bearded Dragon Eating Shed Skin
It all depends on how fast the lizard is growing and how old it is.
Baby bearded dragon eating shed skin. It s a feral instinct. They will usually shed their skins every 6 8 weeks until they are over a year old. As your beardie matures you will notice that the frequency of skin sloughing slows down in conjunction with their body growth. A baby bearded dragon s meals should consist of 80 insects and 20 greens and vegetables this ratio will flip flop as they grow older but don t worry about that just yet.
Sometimes a bearded dragon may eat their shed which is basically a feral instinct that reptiles do in the wild to prevent predators from finding them. It s an unusual color i think. In their first year of life baby bearded dragons can shed several times as their bodies develop. Some bearded dragon s may shed in only a few days while others take weeks.
A bearded dragon that has not completed shedding after three weeks is cause for concern. It should also be noted that it will take your beardie varying periods of time to complete shedding between occurrences. Bearded dragons can receive much moisture and nutrition from eating greens like dandelion turnip mustard or collard greens along with several other equally as healthy alternatives. In their adult years skin replenishment will occur for a handful of reasons such as grooming or low levels of calcium.
Actually it s not uncommon for a beardie to eat their skin. The frequency of shedding is higher in baby bearded dragons that are less than a year old as compared to adult dragons. While the skin itself isn t bad what is stuck to the skin may be including fecal matter parasites rotting food particles etc. Shedding usually occurs more often with baby bearded dragon because as they go through rapid growth the skin will shed off more.
Baby dragons grow a lot in their first year of life. As their bodies get larger the skin is too small and sheds more often. Once your dragon has finished shedding you ll notice the skin has brighter and more vibrant colors. Ecdysis most notably known as shedding molting or peeling is a trait of most reptiles and you can bet your bearded dragon will be shedding its skin many times during its lifetime especially as a juvenile.
The bearded dragon shedding process can happen over several days to several weeks stretching the whole darn thing over a few months. It is very natural for a bearded dragon to shed its skin as it grows. If predators don t find their skin then they will be less likely to find them. This could mean that the shed is stuck.
My shirley comes out of a shed with the most beautiful orange pink skin. Baby dragons may cast off their skin several times in their first year. An adult may shed only once or twice a year while a younger beardy may shed every few weeks. Shedding is a whole body process for the reptile.
There is no set time to determine when a bearded dragon will begin shedding. This is because baby dragons grow very quickly.