PLEASE HELP- FEEDING!

Ok. So I've been feeding nash, my 2-4 month old baby bearded dragon around 5-7 crickets in the morning, then 5-7 before he goes to bed. A lot of people say feed them 50-100 crickets a day for a baby. There's no way in the world I would be able to have that many in a week span for Nash. If 50-100 crickets a day or per serving is the case then owning a bearded dragon would ruin my life. I need to know if this is the case because I only buy around 3-4 dozen crickets every 5 days and he gets fed around 12-15 crickets a day. He seems to be doing fine but I need to know soon!!
-Thanks

Hi there!

A growing baby dragon needs all the live bugs he can eat in 10-15 minutes, at least twice a day, and three times is even better. Is he only eating that many because that's all you're giving him, or is that all he seems to want to eat?

I will say that babies can get very expensive. 30-40 appropriately-sized bugs per feeding is not outrageous at all, actually fairly normal. Obviously, it depends on the bug you're feeding. He'll eat more crickets than he would, say, dubia roaches because the roaches are heartier and more filling. Be prepared to keep feeding him tons of live bugs for another several months, he needs lots of good-quality live protein to keep growing!

If you are buying crickets at the pet shop, a great way to save money is to buy in bulk online.(And if you do it that way, much better for gut-loading them before you give them to your baby!) Some pet stores can charge 16 cents per cricket, and that is nuts! You can buy 1000 crickets online for around $20-30, depending on which site you use. And if you're feeling up to it, starting your own roach colony is fairly easy and will save tons on live feeders.

Good luck!

He usually eats 5-7 then just sits there looking at me so I take him out.

I would start a roach colony but I don't know where to get them other than online and honestly I don't think my family would be happy with roaches in the house . LOL.

When they get older, how many insects will they eat a day? I know the older ones are 80% veggies and 20% insects

Those are approximate numbers, and it always varies from one dragon to another. A full-grown adult (usually 12-18 months old) should get live food a couple of times a week instead of every day, and the same rule applies- all he can eat in 10-15 minutes. Again, they're all different so it's hard to give an exact number. Some people's adult dragons still won't touch their salads! Most of my older dudes ate about 20-30 live insects every three days or so and tons of fresh veg every day. They are cheaper to feed when they're done growing!

I have a month and a half old baby eating small crickets, she gets all she can eat in 10 minutes 3 times per day. She averages 40-40 small size crickets a day, which I'd say is average from 1 month old to a year old. So yeah, you need to start feeding a lot more, this is the most important time they feed because this is when they're growing. You should start ordering your crickets online, you can order 1,000 small crickets for like $12, or find a private breeder or feeder breeder on Craigslist local to you.

My 3 month old eats 8 dubia roaches then walks away from them. Eating abut 25 a day. I have a bowl of 16 offered from 10-2 then add another bowl of 10-15 offered from 3-8. There's always some left in the bowl at night before I go to bed. Personally, I think it just depends on the dragon.
Mine totally refuses greens unless I'm dangling an orange piece. She doesn't eat much at all. Last week I bought 100 dubias and I will finish those up tomorrow sometime.

A few weeks ago I ran out of crickets and couldn't make it to my main supply store in time, so I ran over to Petsmart down the street (it's like a Beardie convenience store, close and has what you need but you pay for it) to get 50 crickets. I brought them home to feed Pascal. He ate them all and wanted more - in one feeding. He was just under 4 months at the time.

I don't count how many crickets per feeding he gets, but it looks like 50+ is the norm. You can tell through his growth as well - he's not even 5 months old yet, but he's almost 15".

I live in a major metropolitan area, and the reptile store I have will sell 1000 crickets at a time for $25 CAD + tax. If you can source something similar and store them in separate containers, you can save a bit. I buy 100 at a time (they end up putting in 200-300) because I don't have the patience or containers to deal with that many crickets at once.