I need some Beardie food help

I’ve had my Beardie Mushu for 2-3 weeks now and he’s been doing great. The first couple of days he wouldn’t eat and was a bit stressed out but I heard that was common for recently acquired Beardies. I believe Mushu is about 3-4 months old but it’s hard to tell because it’s difficult to measure him because he’s very skittish and fast. However now after settling in he eats like crazy!! He absolutely LOVES baby Dubia roaches and I got 50 to start out with and he ate around 5-10 at a time probably 2-3 times a day. There’s only one problem, I’m running low and I live in Florida and when buying them I didn’t realize they were not allowed!! He didn’t seem as interested in worms (I tried calci worms and waxworms and he only ate like 2 waxworms when I first got him) and I have a really hard time with jumpy or flying insects such as crickets. Does anybody have any good protein suggestions? Now that I don’t know if I’ll be able to get Dubias anymore because I can no longer find the seller I originally bought from any food suggestions would help me out because he’s already running so low I’m gonna need to go get something today

Also I guess calci worms and BSFL is the same thing and the last time I tried giving it to him it looked like he tried to eat it and then spit it out and he did that like twice. Then I went on a trip and when I returned I had the big scary flies so I’m a little scared to try them again

Please go to this website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html----------start there --- as far as insects hornworms-
Phoenix Worms (Black Soldier Fly Larvae) those are small and you need to order alot of them -- some others on here can help you w / that --- for now you need to be offering a salad besides the bugs -- but that is the main diet at this time -- the BSFL will not need to be dusted as they are high in calcium--- I am hoping someone else can weigh on on here about other things to feed --- I know there is stuff like Repahsy you can get from pet stores I beleive but he does need the protein
Karrie

KarrieRee":2l3wcwrm said:

Please go to this website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html----------start there --- as far as insects hornworms-
Phoenix Worms (Black Soldier Fly Larvae) those are small and you need to order alot of them -- some others on here can help you w / that --- for now you need to be offering a salad besides the bugs -- but that is the main diet at this time -- the BSFL will not need to be dusted as they are high in calcium--- I am hoping someone else can weigh on on here about other things to feed --- I know there is stuff like Repahsy you can get from pet stores I beleive but he does need the protein
Karrie

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Thank you!!

You could try discoid roaches. I believe they are legal and obtainable in Florida. I have not dealt with them as I live in Texas and use Dubias, but I hear they are a good alternative in Florida. Contact Linda http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/ she can help you with discoid roaches. Other good alternatives are BSFL, silkworms, hornworms, and butterworms. Then once your little one reaches 16-17 inches you could add in appropriate sized superworms. I get most my bugs from https://dubiaroaches.com/ except silkworms I get eggs from https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/. If I am just ordering BSFL I get them from Symton BSF https://symtonbsf.com/.

Kyle

EDIT: There is most likely somewhere better to get discoid roaches, I just referenced Lindasgonebuggie because I have ordered bugs from her before and know she has discoid roaches.

Krystencastillo9807":hykt9hdd said:

Also I guess calci worms and BSFL is the same thing and the last time I tried giving it to him it looked like he tried to eat it and then spit it out and he did that like twice. Then I went on a trip and when I returned I had the big scary flies so I’m a little scared to try them again

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Those flies are harmless, and your beardie can eat them (if he can catch them). They don't bite, and they can be beneficial. ?

I tried the Phoenix worms and mealworms and waxworms and since having Dubia roaches he has absolutely no interest. I found one of the black shoulder flies and when I was trying to catch it it managed to get in the lid of his cage and he ate it? I’m gonna get some crickets later today and if he doesn’t want those either I may try discoid roaches

Yeah my little one definitely prefers his roaches over BSFL. He will eat anything if he gets hungry enough though. He takes silkworms readily too and he will come at you for a butterworm or hornworm. If he gets the choice between roaches and BSFL he will chose roaches every time. They are all different though cause my adult wouldn't touch a roach with a 10 foot pole. He is picky as all get up so I feel your pain.

Kyle

Beardies can also eat hissing cockroaches if you can't find the other two.

I would also like to caution you if you try feeding hornworms. They are super watery and can cause very loose and wet bowl movements if fed to many, causing dehydration.

Good luck with finding what foods your beardie will eat! If they stop eating something that is normally a favorite, they may just want a change in variety