Planning on getting an adult beardy: NEED HELP

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Neevee

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Hi there! This is my first post, and I'm excited to be on the forum!
I am a major reptile lover, but unfortunately, I haven't had many chances with owning animals, due to my family being slightly creeped out. I have taken care of other people's pets, and I have a lot of experience with tortoises, but I've always loved beardies.
Recently, I visited a store in my area to look at some tortoises, but I ended up falling in love with a five year old beardie up for sale. He was very sweet and I really took a liking to him.
I just have a small problem.
My family doesn't really like insects. I've taken care of tortoises, and it's gone well because of the fact that they eat a vegetable-based diet. On the other hand, beardies eat insects, and with having to bring crickets and roaches into the house, I don't want my family to be upset. (Also I've had bad experiences with crickets hurting geckos and even killing some anoles, so I'm reluctant to bring them in).
Do you have any suggestions on a staple food I can feed my beardy, that might not be too much of a hassle? I was thinking of redworms and earthworms, but I wasn't sure if they were a good staple to feed an adult beardy. I'll try to post some pictures of him if possible.

Thank you!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, some dragons will eat earthworms but some won't. They may carry a few parasites as well, but then many feeder insects do.

Crickets are not harmful at all to adult beardies [ or most other size beardies ] They only cause trouble if constantly left in the tank and given long times to nibble at the dragon but rarely is this a problem.

You can try silkworms + hornworms....these are more pricey.

Dubia roaches can't climb or fly and are easy to raise.

Repashy grub pie is an insect based prepared food that is very nutritious compared to a lot of other pellet food that are not very good. So there are a few options for you. I've kept crickets for over 25 years in my basement....even if a few escape they can't reproduce and will soon die somewhere. I've never had trouble with them.
 

PrettyinPurple

Hatchling Member
I personally use dubia roaches, Pheonix worms, and horn worms for the main diet. They always get a large salad of kale, mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, or dandelion greens (whatever I have at the moment - right now it's kale). My 6 year old eats more greens because it's very typical of older dragons to eat more greens than protein. She gets a salad before I leave for work, and then when I get home she's been eating 12-15 medium dubia roaches, 2 horn worms, and the occasional superworms as a snack. My 5 month old gets a salad before I leave and a dish of around 10-12 dubia roaches. When I get back from work she typically eats another 10-12 roaches and the occasional small superworm. She has yet to be interested in the horn worms yet. So in an easier to read format:

Veggie Options (once a day):
  • kale
    dandelion greens (can come from your yard if rinsed THOROUGHLY and MUST not be exposed to any chemicals)
    mustard greens
    turnip greens
    collard greens
(these are dusted with a calcium supplement a few times a week)

Protein Options (for an adult, every 1-2 days):
  • Dubia Roaches
    • Pros:
      very high protein/nutrition
      cannot climb plastic
      do not smell, make noise, or fly
      beardies love them!
      just need eggs cartons in a plastic bin, dubia dew or cricket gutload, oats, and the occasional carrot/veggie
      Cons:
      haven't found any yet!
    Horn Worms
    • Pros:
      they're squishy and easy to digest
      they normally come in a container that has enough food and that they can survive in
      really good for bearded dragons
      Cons:
      kind of expensive
      sometimes bearded dragons don't like how they look/taste
      the substrate smells a little
    Pheonix Worms
    • Pros:
      high in nutrition and also so high in calcium you don't need to dust them
      fairly easy to grow so they're bigger for your beardie
      Cons:
      honestly, I haven't gotten my order yet, so I'm not sure!
    Superworms
    • Pros:
      beardies love them!
      not super expensive
      easy to care for - bed of oats, egg cartons to eat/crawl through, cricket gutload, the occasional potato end
      Cons:
      turn into beetles if you don't feed them to your beardie before they pupate
      can be difficult to digest for bearded dragons and SHOULD NOT be fed to babies (but you should be fine for your adult)
      very little nutrition (which is why I gutload and dust them), so they should only be used as a snack
      very fatty!!!

I hope this helps! I order all my stuff from the same company who I know is amazingly awesome with their stock and is super great with customer service. It's much easier than going to a pet store super often :lol: I currently have all those different kinds of protein because I think it's nice to be able to give them a variety, but you don't need to!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Pretty in purple, those are some good tips + sounds like your dragons have good appetites. You are correct about adults needing more salads + it's great that yours eats salad so well. :)

For any owner of an adult dragon though it's best to only offer insects in even smaller amounts. About 5-6 medium bugs a day is about all the protein they should have , or a larger amount every other day. It's better for their overall health, especially their liver + kidney function and keeps them from getting too heavy which affects their joints + mobility.

So just something to keep in mind.
 
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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.

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