Stable food source?

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I've been having a very hard time having a constant cricket supply for my little Oscar. And I can't seem to find anything on how other people do it! I'm trying to get into breeding them but it's taking quite a few tries ( everything is right with heating and moisture). When I first started out we had a rough start with force feeding and appetite loss, but when he was eating by himself I went to pet stores to get crickets. But it was so expensive and so often that I started ordering off of Josh's Frogs for awhile but he still ate so much that when I ran out I wasn't able to order them again immediately. And now it's really bad because he is really healthy and alert for 3 days and then I run out of crickets and his health just shoots down really fast and he is really skinny and tired. I always have vegetables because my guinea pig eats those too. He gets bean sprouts, carrots, apples, collards etc. I always dust his food with calcium and vitamins. His heating is just right, I have a reptisun 10.0 just like the people here suggested. But I just need help with a constant stable cricket source. Not dubias my family would kill me.

I appreciate any replies and suggestions,
Sorry for the long post! Please help!
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Crickets are a pain, I've never used them. I feed BSFL, size large no matter what size the beardie, and then supplement twice a week with 3-4 superworms. I order my BSFL from www.symtonbsf.com, and I order 1,000 at a time for $23 and they feed 3 beardies under a year old for a month. Now if your beardie is still young and not yet 14"-16" long you cannot feed her superworms, but you could supplement the BSFL with a few crickets each day. BSFL keep for about a month before they turn into beetles, and you always feed the darkest colored first because they contain the most Calcium and are closest to turning. You can order size large (don't bother with small) 500 for $13 or 1,000 for $23. My 4 month old eats between 15-20 each morning, 15-20 early afternoon, and around 10 early evening. So 40-50 a day, except superworm days, when he'll eat only 30 or so. So if you order 1,000 a month you'd be spending $23 a month us shipping...

How much are you paying for crickets, and how many do you think you ideally need per month? I always thought of bulk crickets online being the cheapest option. Maybe you need to go up a size? Or maybe you're not ordering from the correct place online, because I've seen some ridiculously cheap cricket prices online... Starting a dubia colony takes time, but you'd be feeding her for free eventually. Either way, it's not good at all for a young baby/juvenile beardie to not have ample live insects every single day, they need them more during that time period than any other. Just think though, at a year old she'll slow down considerably on insects...
 

TinyCreaturesRescue

Member
Original Poster
From Josh's Frogs it's 500 crickets for $10.00, and sometimes that lasts a month but most of the time i buy that twice a month since I'll find salamanders and snakes and geckos and lizards and other little reptiles that I feed the crix to for a couple days then let go. But anyways, I haven't been able to find cheaper cricket prices. The BSFL is $24.99 from Joshs Frogs. I'll try out the BSFL. And my beardie is 15 inches so when I get superworms for my box turtle I'll get some more than usual for him.

Thanks for replying, I will try that!
Anything else is appreciated though.
 

TinyCreaturesRescue

Member
Original Poster
I'm really stressing out because I've been feeding Oscar BSFL for about 2 weeks maybe? And he is extremely skinny. I was feeding him 50 a day but now I'm feeding him 30 worms 3 times a day. Is that enough? Should I feed him crickets also? I'm getting superworms tomorrow, should I feed him those with the BSFL? I feed him plenty of veggies and he eats them. And is there a better way to prepare the worms? Right now I'm taking 30 worms and rinsing the coconut fibers off w/ warm water then drying them off then putting them in his bowl. Also when I see the worms in his bowl it doesn't look like much. I know you probably have much more beardies than I do but I still ordered 1000 large worms. And you said it lasts about a month.
Please help I can't look at him without feeling sick. I know it's my fault that I haven't cared for him right. I just want him to be okay. Please help me.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That seems like a lot of food. You may want to add crickets to bump the variety a bit. It's good to hear he's going after veges as well. Have you been tracking his weight? I'd do that so you have quantifiable measurements of his progress. Do you have updated photos of him you could post?
 

Savora

Hatchling Member
If you'd like to supplement more calories into your beardie's diet, you could try syringe-feeding Fluker's ReptaBoost, Oxbow Critical Care, or providing Repashy GrubPie (my beardie goes just as crazy for this stuff as she does with her BSFL).

Anyways, if your beardie is eating healthily, that's a good sign, and you could just provide lots of constant food for them to pig out on.

Maybe you should a fecal test from your nearest vet, just to rule out parasites leaching nutrients from your beardie's system. How has their poop looked recently?
 

TinyCreaturesRescue

Member
Original Poster
Thanks so much.
How do I post pics on here? Sorry I forgot.
And his poop has been regularly sized but it has like a white ‘casing?’ On it.
I was going to head to the vet sometime soon to get him sexed, so I can ask them about that too.
Thanks again, I really appreciate the help!
 
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