New beardie owner, best food options other than crickets?

so new to owning "Red" (daughter named him/her) bought at local petshop on March 30th. I have been researching my bum off months prior to getting and continuing. I'm trying to mix up Reds food. I ordered some Phoenix worms and dubi roaches online to try but unsure on how many give? Also not exactly sure on Reds age or how to tell. Measured at just under 8in. Still running away when trying to handle(well just to get out of enclosure) once out is pretty chill and curious. Hand feeds well. Did get Red to eat a few bites of peppers but did not like mango or mustard greens lol wants nothing to do with salad mixture. Any tips?

Like kids, they're all individuals, so what one dragon likes, another may not.

The general guideline for insect feeders when dragons are young is to give them as many as they'll eat in 10-15 minutes, then stop and remove any uneaten num-nums for later.

Best to offer greens & veggies first thing, then add in the bugs later.

Best guess of age is around 8-10 weeks--emphasis on around. :wink:

HTH

So don't mind the second dome light... removed that. Just needed new thermometer. So have temp/humidity at one end and another temp at other. He loves the rock wall i made him!!!! He was in a temporary home until this one was completely good to go. (Started working on it before we even got him). Just figured I would add some pictures to show off Red ? (My daughters 6th Bay is in one week and this was a early Bday present. Also I know some say not a "kid" pet bit she is awesome! Helps with feedings 3 times a day, helps clean out poo , change water, check on temp and humidity, everything. Shoot i had windows open and it dropped the temp a little and she yelled at me ?)

It looks great! The only change I'd suggest is moving your UVB to the other side--over the basking area.

I almost bought those same tiles for my floor, but I couldn't find a matching backsplash for the background. I was also concerned that they seemed porous, and I wasn't sure how easy they'd be to clean poop stains off of, especially with all the little holes. Looks like you've got that handled though. ?

I never fed crickets. (Too stinky & noisy--especially for DW) We got our little fellow at a reptile show last Nov. and bought some dubias right there from another vendor. They lasted until we ordered more online. Since then, we've tried mealies, giant mealies, waxworms, BSFL, butterworms, & supers. He quickly outgrew the BSFL, and didn't have any problems with the mealies, but we went with supers as our second staple. Unfortunately, he got addicted to them, and now I'm having to starve him to get him to go back to his num-nums (dubias).

Here's his enclosure & lighting:
The plants are all live succulents (except for the basil forest--left side). Yes, he occasionally destroys a plant here & there, but we planned for that. :roll:

Are those live grasses in your enclosure? If so, what kind? How 'bout the plant on the left side below the hammock (can't quite make it out).

If you UVB is a T 8 look on the bulb it will tell you it needs to go inside the tank --- decor piece directly underneath 8-10 inches tell me the brand and bulb of your UVB please--- the UVB rays are not strong enough to get thru the screen --- like was mentioned feed salads first thing in the morning --- add your BSFL to the salads in front of him along w some small super worms 1-3 -- I will post some websites for you also I would switch over to dubia roaches -- they are a way better staple and so much easier to care for -- they dont stink chirp fly and last longer than crickets - better nutritional wise -- feed as many as you want w / the BSFL as they are a good staple feeder for babies do not dust and order large as they are small -- make sure you are dusting your insects 5 x per week w/ calcium D3 and 2 x per week vitamins -- your going to need a glass bowl or ceramic bowl so they worms and insects cant get out --- you want your baby eating salads now or at least some - right now his main diet is the insects but eating salads now will get him to eat when older and it will keep him hydrated so make sure your washing or rinsing the greens before serving and gut loading your insects - they go get hydration from them too -- let your baby eat from the salad bowl for like an hr or so then add dubias to the bowl take a little of the salad out but some in so he can see those dubias crawling around in the bowl - it will lure him there as well - I would put in like 8-10 of them in there between the salad worms and staple feeder he should have a good diet -
website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder
https://symtonbsf.com/ BSFL also known as nutri grubs phoenix worms and calci worms
https://reptilesupply.com/ good place for small super worms the only place I know that has them also carry nutri grubs and dubias and butter worms in stock - every one is out of those now www.https://reptilianarts.com silk worms another staple feeder - if you order in bulk make sure you get food you will need to feed them every day and clean containers out
www.coastalsilkworms.com west coast has them now I got some yesterday 50 and they are small
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
www.dubiaroaches.com good place for dubias - if your order horn worms make sure you order medium size small amounts they are a good hydrating worm and they grow fast -- they get real big - when you can get some butter worms they are a good worm too - wax worms are too fatty and are like candy to them -
you can keep dubias in a plastic tote or 10 gallon aquarium feed them roach chow and carrots and squash for hydration -- do not feed your dragon carrots too -- to much vitamin A -- order the size of the space between your dragons eyes or there abouts --
Karrie

Tia828":3zijoua4 said:

So don't mind the second dome light... removed that. Just needed new thermometer. So have temp/humidity at one end and another temp at other. He loves the rock wall i made him!!!! He was in a temporary home until this one was completely good to go. (Started working on it before we even got him). Just figured I would add some pictures to show off Red ? (My daughters 6th Bay is in one week and this was a early Bday present. Also I know some say not a "kid" pet bit she is awesome! Helps with feedings 3 times a day, helps clean out poo , change water, check on temp and humidity, everything. Shoot i had windows open and it dropped the temp a little and she yelled at me ?)

Click to expand...

Sounds like a wonderful home for Red! You've obviously done your homework, and you're handy enough to build things like his rock wall. I'd just move the second dome light over the other end of the tank with a less powerful bulb - maybe a standard incandescent (you can still buy those on Amazon) to make the other end brighter. And as Karrie suggested, you'll want to bring the UV strip into the tank, rather than having it up on the screen, where the beneficial rays get blocked... assuming it's a T8 not a T5, which is way more powerful and can be outside the tank.

For temp checking, you might want to pick up a temp gun in addition to whatever you're currently using; they're really handy to have around. If you're not currently using probe thermometers, definitely grab a couple of those as well - they're less than $10 each, and way more effective than stick-on thermometers.

The site Karrie mentioned for feeders, Beautiful Dragons, is bookmarked on many a beardie mom's iPhone... I'm whipping it out constantly when I go shopping to make sure my Figment is getting the right salads! Don't worry too much if Red isn't "into" salads yet; it can take some time to get him eating greens (heck, I'm still arguing with Figment about his greens and he's almost a year old). Do what Mr. Spectrum says and offer the greens first, making sure they're chopped small enough for him to eat easily. They also tend to like squash - I grate it up using a hand grater, and my boy seems to like it that way.

And as for not a "kid" pet - well, that's mainly advice for hands-off parents who expect a child to be able to manage things totally on their own with no adult assistance. Children, as you've demonstrated, make WONDERFUL helpers for taking care of beardies under the guidance of a caring and involved parent, which you clearly are. Red isn't a "child's pet" - he sounds more like a FAMILY pet that you care about just as much as your daughter does.

So the second dome light has been gone(was a thermometer problem once new one was in 2 lights made it too hot) I have stick on and probe thermometers. The UVB is more on basking side now. The bulb is a 15w T8. If I move it inside should I lower Reds hammock? basking side is between 100 and 105. Cool side is between 72 and 75. The tiles are awesome! I used aquarium silicone to fill in holes and seal it up nice then clean with vinegar/water. Left a little spot to add sand later (once old enough) for digging. Plants are fake. Daughter wanted jurassic world theme so fake grass, flat rocks, and toy dinis ?. I do want to add some live succulents now my store has some available. So do I not dust the Phoenix worms and dust the dubi roaches? Have been dusting crickets calcium/d3 5days 1x day and multi 2 days 1x day. Have also been gut loading the crickets. Have not tried carrots yet. Have tried peppers, mustard greens, collard greens, butternut squash, acorn squash, mango, peas. Waiting on shipment of worms and roaches to add to salad to help hopefully. Veggies always washes, force of habit. Thank you all for the help/tips so far! I like my research. We started with a rosy boa first. newer pics

Do not dust the phoenix worms -- only the crickets and dubias --- the T 8 needs to be inside the tank w/ the basking decor hammock 8-10 inches from it - you can hang w/ these
3 M command Velcro fasteners- picture hanging wire – long plastic zip ties-- potted plant wire hanger what is the brand of the T 8 bulb?
Karrie

this is the fixture and bulbs I use

The bulb is ok but not as strong as the Reptisun I would recommend when you change the bulb out in 6 months get the Reptisun 10.0 T 8- please take the cover off the fixture bulb needs to be exposed- place in the tank approx 8-10 inches from the basking decor--
Karrie

OK so I just realized my multi vitamin has d3 in it as well. I have reptivite. So should I skip an extra day or so of the regular calcium/d3 powder?

Also no cover on one fixture. And can you put a T5 bulb in my fixture? Was unsure on the difference.

No you would need a T 5 fixture- difference is bulb strength and length-- T 5's do not come in fixtures smaller than 22" I believe- you can keep the zilla hood the Reptisun bulb will fit it--- you can get your Reptisun bulb in the petstore for your fixture the petstores usually carry the size
Karrie

So I'm had to use zip ties to get it mounted inside. But there is a bar in the center that makes it hard to mount closer to basking light. Does the basking and UVB have to be right next to each other?

how it is set up now. Added some live succulents.