Newbie questions

[Angcious]

We just got a baby BTS over the weekend. She is a “few months” old, about 10-12 inches. She's been eating twice a day...chicken and mixed vegetable baby food or cat food, with crushed turtle or anole food (dried krill or flies) and very finely chopped greens from a salad I make for my bearded dragon. I offer about a tablespoon of which she eats maybe ¼ of. During one of the feedings, I sprinkle the smallest amount of calcium/multivitamin. She has also had a bit of a blueberry and strawberry and a few very small phoenix worms but she didn't chew them before swallowing. She went after a tiny butterworm, swung her head side to side with it in her mouth but never ate it...didn't hurt the worm. So I'm not going to offer the live worms anymore yet.
I saw on youtube a video of how to make a chow for them, they used raw meat and egg. I'm kind of scared of offering them raw to her but I have no idea what will be a good balanced diet for a growing baby! Or how much calcium to give her?
Also, do they breathe differently? It seems she'll take several rapid breaths at intervals, whether in her tank relaxed or out with us. Is this normal breathing for them?
She seems to not like the hot side of her tank when it's over 95 degrees. Is this OK? Is she still able to digest her food when she tends to prefer the 85-90 degree area?
We are absolutely in love with her and I've tried reading up as much as I can but seem just as clueless as ever on how take care of her properly! Any advice will be greatly appreciated...

[MechHAN]

I heard canned dog food is great for young ones,also I always use raw meat and egg(good ones),only human really need to eat cooked meat...

[Susann]

Welcome to the site and congrats on getting an amazing new pet!

If she's only a few months old I'd bet a few bucks on it being a gigas (either Indonesian, Merauke, or Irian Jaya) born to a recently imported female. Not really important, just my thought

Yeah, they don't really chew much before swallowing anything, that's normal; as long as they can easily swallow it, no need to worry. In this thread you'll find links to a lot of helpful info, including the food chart, which is an invaluable tool in feeding: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27721

Yes, their breathing is quite erratic compared to most other reptiles or animals, no need for worry there either, as long as there are no wet or crackling sounds. Just keep watching her to get familiar with what her "normal" sounds and behaviors are.

Trust her to know what temperature she needs to be at; as long as you offer a gradient of low 70's to upper 90's (with a hotter basking spot of 100-105) with several hides and hiding places in various spots throughout so she'll feel safe in whatever temp spot she needs.

Good luck and have fun getting to know each other.

[Angcious]

Thank you both for your replies! I feel a little more confident with her now. I guess when I got her I figured things wouldn't be too different from raising the bearded dragon but...they're very different and I have much to learn!
I got her from a reptile show, never thought to ask about her parents...just fell in love with her and knew I was taking her home. She is a Merauke. Really adorable, sweet personality.
So it sounds like her current temps are a bit high for her. Basking spot, which she never does, is around 108-110. Coolest side is 78. I'll try propping the basking light a little higher and see if temps go down a little. Her current setup is temp for a few days, I have a wooden enclosure on it's way here which will be plenty big enough for her when she's full grown. She has 2 hides on either side of the tank but seems to prefer just going underneath the aspen in the middle. I have a lot more aspen left over but when the enclosure comes, I'm going to put repti bark in.
She eats and drinks when she's out with us but doesn't when she's in the tank, at least not yet.

[NickBrahz]

Feeding them raw eggs is perfectly fine, when in doubt think of what they would come across in the wild, it's more likely for them to find a raw egg in the wild and chow down on that then a random cooked egg, though egg should be more of a treat as it isn't the healthiest for them, boiled is fine as well though i give it raw to my bluie as he loves the yellow yolk part the most so i mix it in with the egg whites a bit before i give it to him, you can also scramble them and fry them however your blueie likes it the most really.
And as for raw meats it shouldn't hurt her i don't think but i think it's suggested to cook the meat because while they eat raw meat in the wild we process our meat and they can have hormone injections and all that kind of stuff which isn't out in the wild so better safe then sorry i say.
Dog food is better to feed to them over cat food but if you do give them cat food go after non fish cat food if memory serves.

[splashy07]

Just wanted to congratulate you on your new baby, what a little sweetie! As always,
Susann covered it all, she is the expert! Hope your new baby gives you many years of enjoyment, they are the best
reptile pet on the planet!