Diet Change

Status
Not open for further replies.

Venidara

Member
I've read in many places that you should change your bearded dragon's diet when he or she gets older. I've read in a few places that once a bearded dragon is an adult, it's supposed to become more focused on their salad, with lower amounts of large crickets or other feeders, and less frequent supplements.

Could anyone suggest a good balance for an adult and when/how to transition from a previous diet, or tell me if this information is wrong? My bearded dragon is currently a juvenile, 11 months old. Most sources I've read say adult age is usually 1 1/2 years. I currently feed him 7 large crickets dusted with calcium in the morning and evening and a salad throughout the day, which usually contains kale and/or collard greens yellow squash, and often it will include some amount of apple, banana, mango, berries, cactus pear, bell peppers, carrots, or tomato. I'm also about to introduce him to cactus pad.

Thank you. :)
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi. You really should check out beautifuldragons.com it gives you a list of what to feed. Kale is no good or bananas, tomatoes and carrots.
 

icelore

Juvie Member
destiny1998":m9s4pm0d said:
Hi. You really should check out beautifuldragons.com it gives you a list of what to feed. Kale is no good or bananas, tomatoes and carrots.

Actually, according to the site you linked, it says kale and carrots are fine to feed to beardies, just not as a main staple.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Actually kale binds calcium and your dragon can get to much vit A from carrots so they should not be fed very often.
 

icelore

Juvie Member
destiny1998":3txplwem said:
Actually kale binds calcium and your dragon can get to much vit A from carrots so they should not be fed very often.

not be fed very often = not as a main staple

I really don't understand why people link to this site, then say not to feed things that it says you can.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
OK just trying to help you. Also your dragon should be eating way more than 14 crickets a day. He should be eating as much as he wants twice a day for 15 mins. So he could easily eat 50 crickets a day.
 

Venidara

Member
Original Poster
I feed vegetables very strictly based on that list, actually.
And I have NEVER heard of feeding 50 crickets a day, ever. Even when he was younger and I gave him more crickets, I gave him closer to 35 or so. And multiple sources told me that an adult should be getting no more than 50 a week.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
OK well I know I've read on here of peoples beardies eating 75 a day,but maybe yours just doesn't have a big appetite. Every dragon is different. Good luck.
 

icelore

Juvie Member
destiny1998":2exkav5u said:
OK well I know I've read on here of peoples beardies eating 75 a day,but maybe yours just doesn't have a big appetite. Every dragon is different. Good luck.

This depends highly on the size of the food. if I put 75 crickets the size of my beardie's mouth in a bag, it would be almost as big as he is and weigh more.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
My 11 month old eats 10 to 15 adult roaches a day which is equal to about 40 crickets a day. Just saying.
 
Mine can eat 80 1/2 inch dubias in a day no problem or 100+ crickets if I let him. When it comes to feeding, dragons are little pigs so as a rule of thumb you should be feeding him/her as much as he likes for a period of 10-15 minutes twice a day. When they reach adulthood they should transition to 80% greens 20% protein.
 

icelore

Juvie Member
destiny1998":3i7bqnnt said:
My 11 month old eats 10 to 15 adult roaches a day which is equal to about 40 crickets a day. Just saying.

Which is fine, especially if you compare the weight of the food items with the weight of your dragon. As I stated, compared to the size of *my* dragon, if he ate by quantity number only, he would be eating his own weight in crickets due to the size I feed. I seriously doubt that your dragon only weighs as much as 10-15 roaches. By all means, if I'm wrong and you are feeding your dragon 100% of his weight in one sitting, feel free to correct me. The point I was making was that it's not about he number of bugs they eat by quantity, but by mass amount. Which is why when you order crickets from most places, they ship by weight, not by number of bugs in a box.
 

Venidara

Member
Original Poster
The 80%/20% thing is what I'm talking about.
He's getting older, so I think based on that I should be feeding less crickets. I may be wrong.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

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
155,899
Messages
1,255,678
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom