Hello, Help Needed Please

Status
Not open for further replies.

GeminiFighter

New member
Hello, I'm a person interested in buying a bearded dragon and been doing my research, but I'm still confused. I don't come from a rich family and have a budget and was wondering what would be the cost, monthly, of how much a bearded dragon. I'm also wondering are there any alternative to feeding my dragon live incests, cause I'm not interested in having to raise them. Also, if I do have to raise incests, what would be the cost of them. Thanks to anyone that can help, I want to be able to raise my future beardie in the best home I can possible give if and if I can't if people could recommend me a reptiles that can be held, but are a easier to raise then a bearded dragon. Thanks again to anyone that can help, would greatly appreciate it. :) I also apologize if this isn't the correct place to put this, I thought since I am new this would make the most sense.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi.All beardies need a live feeders especially babies as they need lots of protein. I have a dubia colony as I have 3 and it was expensive running to the store every day. You can order bulk crickets on line and roaches. Babies need to be fed 2x a day. Adults don't need protein every day. About 3x to 4x a week. They need salads every day. Babies diet is 80% protein 20% veggies. As for set up. I bought all 3 of my beardies 40gallon tanks either on Craigslist or petco with the one dallar a gallon sale. In fact the sale is going on now. Also I use halogen flood bulbs for the basking lights. Those you can buy at any hardware store, Target, Walmart. The uvb holder for the reptisun 10.0 tube I bought at Walmart in the lighting department. Also I use command hooks to mount it in the tank. For subtrate I use ceremic tile I bought at home depot for 6$ a box. Hope this answers some of your questions. There are also 2 articles to the right for newbies that should answer most of your questions. :D
 

SukiLove

Juvie Member
I agree with what destiny said.

Raising a bearded dragon from a baby is really expensive, there really isn't too much in the way of cutting corners and saving money. You spend a lot of money on feeder bugs, even if you are raising them yourself the cost upfront can get quite hefty. If you have your heart set on a bearded dragon but don't want to worry about the cost of the massive amount of feeders for when they're young, you may consider getting an adult. They eat far less insects (which is the more expensive part of their diet) and more greens/salads.
 

MyBilbo

Hatchling Member
Hi I had Bilbo from a baby and I used to spend approximately £18 a month on crickets and he was fed 3 times a day, when he got a bit bigger and started eating his greens he had crickets 2 times a day along with his greens.

I don't known how you guys find your crickets but the smaller they are the more you get, and some tubs have loads in and some not many, just look don't pick the first ones you see.

I feed him crickets or roaches at least once a day along with his salad and when I can, I offer crickets or roaches 2 times a day.

He is almost one year old now in a few weeks, and total cost of alive food and greens is around £26-28 a month.

For me the greatest expense of having a baby is time, not money.

His set up he has now cost around £390 with out decor that's
Viv 5.5x2x2 167 gal
Arcadia t5 48" tube replace every 9 months
Arcadia reflector
Arcadia starter
exo terra climbing wall 24x24
x2 digital thermometers
Ceramic heater
Ceramic headter hood

Rocks I got from my beach.
sand from my pet store changed every 4 months at a cost of £24
plants I got as I go along along with the branch

I my eyes they are not expensive to look after at all, the most expensive thing is setting it all up and then you don't have to spend what I have spent.

Here is his Facebook page if you'd like to see him and the set up

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1591266411155007
 

SukiLove

Juvie Member
Here's a better idea of what you *may* spend on live feeders, using crickets:

Say you order 1,000 online for about $15. A baby dragon could eat around 40 crickets each feeding, it varies and should only be what he can consume in a 10-15 min period. Average is around 40, so we will use that number.
1000 ÷ 40 = 25. You will get approximately 25 feedings out of that bulk cricket order, which is enough for 12 full days at 2 feedings a day, plus a half day. So you are looking at around $30 a month just on crickets, sometimes more if the dragon is on a growth spurt eating kick. I wouldn't order more crickets than can be eaten in 2 weeks time while young, because some could grow too big for your dragon if kept for almost a month.

You should also offer fresh greens everyday, such as collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, and a variety of squashes. You can get a good list at http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html . You can offer 2 to 3 items from the list at a time. I spend less than $15 a month on the greens, offering different combinations to see what they like.

So the total per month is around $45 just for feeding, but always make sure to have extra $$ in case of growth spurts or even die-offs. Hope that helps a bit. :)
 

MyBilbo

Hatchling Member
Interesting $45 is the equivalent to £28

So it seems the cost of feeding a beardie is the same both sides of the pond =-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,903
Messages
1,255,709
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom