Update on feeding frozen/thawed crickets

[ashleyelsha]

http://youtu.be/n6ItTLBvaG8

so here is a video today of my beardie chowing down on his f/t crickets. He also had a salad of mustard greens and carrots. He did take a few chomps of his salad before I dumped the crickets on top. Usually I introduce the salad first and he will take a bite or two before he realizes there are no bugs then goes back to basking. Once I dump the crickets on he is usually good to go.
Anyway just wanted to share an update on how well he is doing on them for those that are considering trying this. I still supplement with various live worms that are appropriate for him at this age (repitoworms, phoenix worms, and most recently waxworms as a treat). These live worms are a lot more conveinent to keep than crickets and I feed a variety to keep him interested but he still loves the crickets. I think he loves the crickets more than the worms. I figure out how many to feed by thawing about 30 and seeing how many he will eat before he gets full. He's been eating between 20-25 and since they are already thawed I save the rest for a second feeding, The second feeding of the day if there are any left I toss them because I don't think it would be good to refreeze them. But so far I don't usually have to throw any away. If he stops eating and I have 2-3 crickets left I can usually hand feed them as a treat sometime during the day.
Anyway, please enjoy the video and leave any questions or comments
http://youtu.be/n6ItTLBvaG8

 

[Askele]

Since I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy and paste this from a previous post:

Don't go overfeeding your dragon, he'll keep on eating. In the wild, food isn't so plentiful, and a dragon will just keep eating whatever he can find because he doesn't know when his next meal will be. Keep it strict. He won't starve or anything, he's a reptile, and reptiles don't need to eat so much. That's why they adapt so well. At 9 months he should be given more greens. Make sure there's always a few vegetables in his dish.
Don't listen to someone when they say "You have to give them 20 crickets a day and another boxload in the evening" or "just feed them as much as they want". Bearded dragons don't care about going on a diet. They don't care about how obese or fat they are. It's your responsibility to make sure he eats the right amount of food. Overfeeding is very common, and some of us keep on feeding our dragons out of love and anxiety, hoping we've given them enough food.
Keep the units strict. Don't be afraid to skip meals.

A lovely dragon, by the way.

Posted by moderator: Once again, the above information is incorrect. I highly recommend that you stop spamming the Feeding forum posting this. Beardies under one yr old NEED lots of protein to help them become healthy and to be able to live a long life. You seem to have your own way of feeding but please don't suggest it to other members here.]

 

[Kajolic]

He's a cute little guy, I liked the video for ya.

20-25 is a good amount with appropriately sized crickets, per sitting. I'm glad he still has a likely for crickets with the worms on the table. I know as they get older they'll start to prefer those worms over crickets if you start to spoil them, so caution :lol:

I freeze my own crickets as well, right now I have ~500 in a container waiting to be eaten. As it seems, Murphy's law is prevailing, my little guy is going through his first, seemingly mild, brumation and isn't eating a lot of anything right now. Also, I bought 100 Phoenix worms and 50 Wax worms that I ordered before hand that are barely touched... Can't help but feel tickled


My next personal venture is to try Dubia Roaches. They are more nutritious over crickets, and every Bearded Dragon has a secrete soft spot for Dubia that will knock Crickets right off the menu. Read so many times where they won't ever look at a cricket you present anymore, they'll just give you their famous glare and wonder why you are not presenting a Dubia.
Only have to more research into having a stable colony, then get over the fact I have a bin full of roaches :shock: and I'll be set.

 

[traceyb73]

Since I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy and paste this from a previous post:

Don't go overfeeding your dragon, he'll keep on eating. In the wild, food isn't so plentiful, and a dragon will just keep eating whatever he can find because he doesn't know when his next meal will be. Keep it strict. He won't starve or anything, he's a reptile, and reptiles don't need to eat so much. That's why they adapt so well. At 9 months he should be given more greens. Make sure there's always a few vegetables in his dish.
Don't listen to someone when they say "You have to give them 20 crickets a day and another boxload in the evening" or "just feed them as much as they want". Bearded dragons don't care about going on a diet. They don't care about how obese or fat they are. It's your responsibility to make sure he eats the right amount of food. Overfeeding is very common, and some of us keep on feeding our dragons out of love and anxiety, hoping we've given them enough food.
Keep the units strict. Don't be afraid to skip meals.

A lovely dragon, by the way.

Bearded dragons WILL stop eating when they have had enough. Not sure where you got that information.

 

[TheWerewolf]

Since I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy and paste this from a previous post:

Don't go overfeeding your dragon, he'll keep on eating. In the wild, food isn't so plentiful, and a dragon will just keep eating whatever he can find because he doesn't know when his next meal will be. Keep it strict. He won't starve or anything, he's a reptile, and reptiles don't need to eat so much. That's why they adapt so well. At 9 months he should be given more greens. Make sure there's always a few vegetables in his dish.
Don't listen to someone when they say "You have to give them 20 crickets a day and another boxload in the evening" or "just feed them as much as they want". Bearded dragons don't care about going on a diet. They don't care about how obese or fat they are. It's your responsibility to make sure he eats the right amount of food. Overfeeding is very common, and some of us keep on feeding our dragons out of love and anxiety, hoping we've given them enough food.
Keep the units strict. Don't be afraid to skip meals.

A lovely dragon, by the way.

Bearded dragons WILL stop eating when they have had enough. Not sure where you got that information.

Yeah. I give my Nim food in a dish and sometimes he walks away even though there is food in there. Five minutes later he is back at it. So my baby know what is too much.

P.S. I am yet to read the thread that I'm posting on. I just had to agree with Tracey.

Just read the rest and saw the video. My comment about the video is, "Aww, what a cute baby! I just wanna eat it up!"

 

[miloandrufusdragons]

Since I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy and paste this from a previous post:

Don't go overfeeding your dragon, he'll keep on eating. In the wild, food isn't so plentiful, and a dragon will just keep eating whatever he can find because he doesn't know when his next meal will be. Keep it strict. He won't starve or anything, he's a reptile, and reptiles don't need to eat so much. That's why they adapt so well. At 9 months he should be given more greens. Make sure there's always a few vegetables in his dish.
Don't listen to someone when they say "You have to give them 20 crickets a day and another boxload in the evening" or "just feed them as much as they want". Bearded dragons don't care about going on a diet. They don't care about how obese or fat they are. It's your responsibility to make sure he eats the right amount of food. Overfeeding is very common, and some of us keep on feeding our dragons out of love and anxiety, hoping we've given them enough food.
Keep the units strict. Don't be afraid to skip meals.

A lovely dragon, by the way.

That is underffeeding. You should feed Ur dragon at leSt 35 crix a day!!!!!

 

[ashleyelsha]

I don't know what's up with that second post, it's not even really relevant to my post at all! My dragon is only 3-4 months old anyway, and I measured him at 12 inches today!

I am cautious with the worms because I read they can get hooked on them, I actually had to throw away the rest of the waxorms today because they are dead. I didn't feed any worms the last two days so I opened it up to give him a few as a treat and they were all dead.

I can't feed dubia because I am in florida and other roaches just aren't a possibility for us. So crickets it is, until he is big enough to eat super worms.

Thanks for all the comments everyone! I think hes cute and I just love how he is bonding with me.