Bee pollen

[Mr.Dragon]

Hey everyone!
So I feel like my beardie isn't eating enough veggies. So I want to try bee pollen to make out more appetizing. I bought some flower topper thing but just want to be sure it's okay to give him before I do. (Picture attached). Or does anyone have any other suggestions on brands I should try?
ALSO!
Mr dragons 1st Hatchday is in a few weeks and I'm throwing a party. What kind of fun treats can I give him?? I know some sweet fruit and maybe some hornworms but is there anything else?? Any ideas??
Thank you!!

 

[ChileanTaco]

Haven't seen those, but looks okay from my side. I would buy them.

 

[Chris.]

Seems fine, I guess and you can also try fresh ones. After trying really hard (most love them instantly, I've been told) my boy is getting into eating fresh dandelion leaves and the yellow flowers. They grow out on my balcony now
You can sure find some dandelion or clover flowers outside to treat him

 

[Mr.Dragon]

Seems fine, I guess and you can also try fresh ones. After trying really hard (most love them instantly, I've been told) my boy is getting into eating fresh dandelion leaves and the yellow flowers. They grow out on my balcony now
You can sure find some dandelion or clover flowers outside to treat him

Giving him insects or plants from outside makes me nervous because I don't want him to catch a bad bug :/ (like a parasite). Am I being too over protective??

 

[ChileanTaco]

I give my Taco herbs and golliwog ("turtleweed plant") I grow on the balcony. I would also give him dandelion leaves and flowers, clover and such if they only would grow here. (Conditions too harsh here for that, and I even struggle with the herbs.)

I grew up with gardening/ living on a homestead and generally would like much more eating homegrown food than from the supermarket*, and for my dragon I'd keep it just like with human food: Only pick where there are no pesticides, no dog pee (so for example: from the balcony, from the garden where I know what I'm using and what not), and rinse well. And of course no insects from outdoors.

*Which was either grown with pesticides or if not, e.g. if I get it from a small organic farmer (which I prefer), under similar conditions than in the garden or on the balcony. Instead of something from the supermarket that was picked yesterday or the day before (if lucky) and grown with pesticides if not organic, I would 100% more prefer to feed my Taco something from my garden if I had one.

 

[Chris.]

Giving him insects or plants from outside makes me nervous because I don't want him to catch a bad bug :/ (like a parasite). Am I being too over protective??

I'd also be careful with bugs from outside but I've heard of plenty people that feed snails or earth worms from outside.

Of course you want to rinse your flowers well and maybe don't pick something close to a wall or tree (dogs usually pee there).

Parasites you are more likely to get from petstore crickets than from wild grown dandelion!

 

[ChileanTaco]

I'd also be careful with bugs from outside but I've heard of plenty people that feed snails or earth worms from outside.

Of course you want to rinse your flowers well and maybe don't pick something close to a wall or tree (dogs usually pee there).

Parasites you are more likely to get from petstore crickets than from wild grown dandelion!

Bugs (insects, snails, worms) from outside should never be fed.

I guess with "catching a bad bug" he rather meant bacteria, parasites. I agree: That's usually coming from insects and the like (for that reason: not catching insects and feeding them, and yes, better avoid crickets).

I'd absolutely would go foraging for wild herbs if they would be available here.

 

[IAmAMirage]

I use great value bee pollen for my beardie. Any brand of bee pollen that is just bee pollen should work. He loves it

 

[Chris.]

I know what you mean and as mentioned I do not feed bugs from outside!
But some keepers and even breeders do and did so for years.
I don't know enough about the local free range bugs to make a educated decission on this so I don't feed them. Some people know more about this and they feed them. Nothing wrong with this.

Methods differ and are not nessessory right or wrong. Just different.
Some people keep their cats inside for ever, some let them come and go freely even they can eat out of the trash or get run over by a car. Both is fine in my opinion.

Bearded dragons are animals that lived in the australian desserts for hundrets of thousands of years if not even more. Those desserts are not sterile and neither is their food.
For my part I rinse the fowers off and never think twice about feeding it to my dragon.

Always do your research and don't feed poisonous plants obviously

 

[ChileanTaco]

@Chris.

I totally agree on this.
For the same reason (they are from the desert), I had opted for a naturalistic enclosure and had never bought such as shelf liner, plastic stones, or blankets for my Taco - but absolutely don't see it as wrong doing so if somebody prefers.
I always think about: Would it benefit my dragon (or in general, the pet in case)?

From bugs from outdoors (I know which are poisonous and would be able to avoid those, I also know obvious signs of parasites), in my opinion, he would not benefit. He could get parasites which are inside those insects and not mature enough to be seen by how the insect looks and behaves. I could feed him feeder bugs that I keep (and hopefully breed in the future) full of nutrition, also being an active prey to hunt, and with less risk of getting parasites. They get parasites in the nature, too, that is true, and this limits their life span and for sure also quality of life, so I would minimize this risk as by doing so he won't benefit less. Same as of course I'm protecting him from predators, or would bring him to the vet which nature also wouldn't do for him.

From things like plants from outdoors/ a garden, I would say he would benefit (pesticide-free, fresh straight from the plant, and in a variety no supermarket can provide), so I would feed them and absolutely agree:

For my part I rinse the fowers off and never think twice about feeding it to my dragon.

(Same as I eat them, and was feeding them to other pets (birds, mice, turtles...) when I had access to flowers, herbs, greens from outdoors.)
From other things, like natural stones, natural sand, natural wood, live plants... I would say he benefits a lot, and I know under which condition impaction happens (it's not coming from natural desert sand), so I personally rather go with that then with a "plastic environment" and take the minimal risk that maybe some bacteria are left after cleaning them, for the benefit that he has tons of space to hide, dig, lick, a variety of surfaces to train his muscles, rub off his nails and pores, and eat from live plants.
Same as for me: I'm also not living in a sterile environment, and only when there is a health issue, other measures must be taken (e.g.: disinfecting and such).