New Juvenile

Ive just gotten a juvenile male beardie about 6 days ago and he’s still brown and displaying stress marks. He has proper UVB and heat (100/110 on basking and 80 on cool side, no light at night but a heating pad is used).

Ive read about feeding your beardie as much as he can eat in 15 minutes 2-4 times a day and that he should be eating 30 at LEAST but hes been eating 15 TOPS. (Medium to small crickets). Hes properly hydrated, im just worried he might not be eating as much as he should. I also wish his stress marks would go away, I dont know whats causing them. He does have a terrarium background, and he has a 40 gallon tank.

I also don’t know if I can afford to be giving him 30 crickets a day. I wanted to start a dubia roach colony but my mother forbids it. Are reptile munchies good to feed him along with the crickets to make it easier? Can i freeze or refrigerate crickets? Is live food 100% necessary?

Live food is 100% necessary, especially for babies.
If your currently buying bugs from petstores try ordering in bulk online. I normally buy about 5,000 bugs every month or two for my 6 reptiles that eat insects and that costs me about 40-60 each time. For a single baby you probably only need to buy 2-3 thousand bugs. Dubia roaches, silkworms and Black soldier fly larvae will last a bit longer than crickets as they have a bit longer lifespan and don't tend to eat each other.



Stress marks don't always mean stress, most of the time it can mean they're trying to warm themselves up (they turn darker to absorb more heat). What are you monitoring your temperatures with?


What UVB are you currently using?

VenusAndSaturn":7ag6w9xt said:

Live food is 100% necessary, especially for babies.
If your currently buying bugs from petstores try ordering in bulk online. I normally buy about 5,000 bugs every month or two for my 6 reptiles that eat insects and that costs me about 40-60 each time. For a single baby you probably only need to buy 2-3 thousand bugs. Dubia roaches, silkworms and Black soldier fly larvae will last a bit longer than crickets as they have a bit longer lifespan and don't tend to eat each other.



Stress marks don't always mean stress, most of the time it can mean they're trying to warm themselves up (they turn darker to absorb more heat). What are you monitoring your temperatures with?


What UVB are you currently using?

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I think its a 10 watt and im using a heat gun to detect it. He’s also opened his mouth for a few seconds before and I think that shows he has adequate heat but im not sure? Crickets usually die day 3 in my care so I dont think 3k will be a good idea. Roaches of any kind are out of the question because my prents refuse it, ive heard that worms arent as nutritious as crickets. Would any other type of meat that I can buy be ok for him?

It depends on the type of worms, silkworms and black soldier fly are very good staples but worms like superworms, butterworms, waxworms, and mealworms are only to be fed as treats as they aren't the best feeders unlike the other two I mentioned.



If they're only lasting that long I'd look into the care your giving them. I keep about 1,000 max in a 90 quart tub with lots of egg crates, and tons of veggies supplied when they run out and they last about 3-4 weeks normally.


When you say 10 watt do you mean 10.0?
Is it a compact/coil bulb (goes in a standard fixture) or is it a tube light?
Do you know what brand it is?

VenusAndSaturn":33dctt1g said:

It depends on the type of worms, silkworms and black soldier fly are very good staples but worms like superworms, butterworms, waxworms, and mealworms are only to be fed as treats as they aren't the best feeders unlike the other two I mentioned.



If they're only lasting that long I'd look into the care your giving them. I keep about 1,000 max in a 90 quart tub with lots of egg crates, and tons of veggies supplied when they run out and they last about 3-4 weeks normally.


When you say 10 watt do you mean 10.0?
Is it a compact/coil bulb (goes in a standard fixture) or is it a tube light?
Do you know what brand it is?

Click to expand...

Yeah my bad, I mean 10.0, and its a tube light. The brand name had repti or something in it?

The crickets have egg crates in 4 quarters, newspaper, and the most ive kept it 60 in a 20 gallon tank. I give them flukers orange cubes and some other green hydration gel food.

Do you know the necessary care for the fly larvae? And how nutritious it is in comparison to crickets? And how much ill have to be buying?