Feeding schedule for adult beardie.

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So i have an adult beardie who is not really on any sort of feeding schedule, he is just fed whenever I decide to feed him. I had his calcium and vitamin supplements mixed and gave him that like one a week at the most. I wanted to add more order to his diet so I was going to try to come up with a feeding schedule, I just wanted to make sure this is healthy before I actually use it. Here's what I came up with:

Daily salads with mixed veggies. sprinkled with calcium 2-3x a week

Twice a week a full meal(as much as he'll eat in one sitting) of insects, usually Madagascar hissing cockroach nymphs(these are good like dubias write?) or occasionally superworms. One day dusted with calcium and the other with his vitamin supplements.

And he's a little overweight so if he gains weight with this I'll decrease insects to once a week.

Let me know what you guys think of this and if there is any thing i should change.
 

Claudiusx

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What I do for adults is a daily salad, and insects 2 to 3 times a week. I dust the insects not the salad.

And I also don't allow adults to eat as many insects as they want in those feedings, they are given a set amount depending on the type of insect.
Adults don't need large amounts of protein anymore, and high levels of protein can lead to issues later down the road.

-Brandon
 

LouieLizard

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claudiusx":18m7urob said:
What I do for adults is a daily salad, and insects 2 to 3 times a week. I dust the insects not the salad.

And I also don't allow adults to eat as many insects as they want in those feedings, they are given a set amount depending on the type of insect.
Adults don't need large amounts of protein anymore, and high levels of protein can lead to issues later down the road.

-Brandon
So how much insects in a feeding is good?
 

Claudiusx

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Staff member
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LouieLizard":g47gmk6z said:
claudiusx":g47gmk6z said:
What I do for adults is a daily salad, and insects 2 to 3 times a week. I dust the insects not the salad.

And I also don't allow adults to eat as many insects as they want in those feedings, they are given a set amount depending on the type of insect.
Adults don't need large amounts of protein anymore, and high levels of protein can lead to issues later down the road.

-Brandon
So how much insects in a feeding is good?
It would depend on what type of insect you're feeding. For instance, a couple large silkworms would be a good meal. Or a couple adult dubias. If you were using crickets youd obviously want more than a couple.

Eating a salad daily and bugs every other day is hardly a famine. A bit dramatic there lol. And I'd hardly call a few insects a feast. No need for histrionic vocabulary to push an opinion.

We see it time and time again, adults fed high protein diets have a significantly increased risk of developing organ issues and gout.
Adults fed high fat diets have an increased risk of developing organ issues.

Adults simply dont need feeders that often, and it's a good idea to limit their intake as you already know :)

Not to mention, you mention your dragon being overweight, which is why i'd imagine you're asking. you're doing the right thing for his health. :D

-Brandon
 

LouieLizard

Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":3k45muab said:
Best guide I've seen for an adult bearded dragon is this : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=237167

Routine is everything.

I believe a small meal including some healthier types of insects each day is better than long periods of famine followed by a feasts .
Wow thanks! This will be very helpful. I'm a little confused as it says insects make up 42% of the diet of wild dragons but they should be fed very little of it in captivity. It also lists collards as occasional?

With my individual lizard if sees any bugs at all that will be all he wants to eat and he will not eat anything else. That is why I usually have designated insects days. I guess I could just wait and give him insects after he eats his green though.
 

LouieLizard

Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":9as2q819 said:
LouieLizard":9as2q819 said:
claudiusx":9as2q819 said:
What I do for adults is a daily salad, and insects 2 to 3 times a week. I dust the insects not the salad.

And I also don't allow adults to eat as many insects as they want in those feedings, they are given a set amount depending on the type of insect.
Adults don't need large amounts of protein anymore, and high levels of protein can lead to issues later down the road.

-Brandon
So how much insects in a feeding is good?
It would depend on what type of insect you're feeding. For instance, a couple large silkworms would be a good meal. Or a couple adult dubias. If you were using crickets youd obviously want more than a couple.

Eating a salad daily and bugs every other day is hardly a famine. A bit dramatic there lol. And I'd hardly call a few insects a feast. No need for histrionic vocabulary to push an opinion.

We see it time and time again, adults fed high protein diets have a significantly increased risk of developing organ issues and gout.
Adults fed high fat diets have an increased risk of developing organ issues.

Adults simply dont need feeders that often, and it's a good idea to limit their intake as you already know :)

Not to mention, you mention your dragon being overweight, which is why i'd imagine you're asking. you're doing the right thing for his health. :D

-Brandon
Ok so I guess like 2-3x a week I'll give him a bug snack after he eats his greens(if I give bugs first he won't be interested in greens. So maybe like 8 roaches for a meal?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
LouieLizard":15nv5iuh said:
kingofnobbys":15nv5iuh said:
Best guide I've seen for an adult bearded dragon is this : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=237167

Routine is everything.

I believe a small meal including some healthier types of insects each day is better than long periods of famine followed by a feasts .
Wow thanks! This will be very helpful. I'm a little confused as it says insects make up 42% of the diet of wild dragons but they should be fed very little of it in captivity. It also lists collards as occasional?

With my individual lizard if sees any bugs at all that will be all he wants to eat and he will not eat anything else. That is why I usually have designated insects days. I guess I could just wait and give him insects after he eats his green though.

I can't even find collard greens here (in NSW Australia) so if I want to give them I'd have to grow my own.

What I've found works is for my adult dragons over the years is a small meal each day :
some live high quality insects for my adult dragons every day ie 1 large or 2 - 3 medium silkworms (I raise my own silkworms using fresh mulberry leaves) , or some large BSFL
+ gutloaded medium to large crickets ( maybe 8 ) who have been dusted ( feed my crickets very well using the veg and greens I want my dragons to eat , so if the dragons ignore the salad, they get it inside the crickets anyway, and I offer fresh salad as well daily.

You can do the same with the roaches. Be aware large roaches are much larger than large crickets so I'd restrict to 2 - 4 large roaches per day if that's your choice of insect , gut load and dust them.
 

LouieLizard

Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":thmqpskx said:
LouieLizard":thmqpskx said:
kingofnobbys":thmqpskx said:
Best guide I've seen for an adult bearded dragon is this : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=237167

Routine is everything.

I believe a small meal including some healthier types of insects each day is better than long periods of famine followed by a feasts .
Wow thanks! This will be very helpful. I'm a little confused as it says insects make up 42% of the diet of wild dragons but they should be fed very little of it in captivity. It also lists collards as occasional?

With my individual lizard if sees any bugs at all that will be all he wants to eat and he will not eat anything else. That is why I usually have designated insects days. I guess I could just wait and give him insects after he eats his green though.

I can't even find collard greens here (in NSW Australia) so if I want to give them I'd have to grow my own.

What I've found works is for my adult dragons over the years is a small meal each day :
some live high quality insects for my adult dragons every day ie 1 large or 2 - 3 medium silkworms (I raise my own silkworms using fresh mulberry leaves) , or some large BSFL
+ gutloaded medium to large crickets ( maybe 8 ) who have been dusted ( feed my crickets very well using the veg and greens I want my dragons to eat , so if the dragons ignore the salad, they get it inside the crickets anyway, and I offer fresh salad as well daily.

You can do the same with the roaches. Be aware large roaches are much larger than large crickets so I'd restrict to 2 - 4 large roaches per day if that's your choice of insect , gut load and dust them.
Thanks! I used to grow my one collard greens. It's pretty easy except for caterpillars. Sounds like your beardies are very healthy. For insects I may do less feedings with more in them as it's easier and more fun to watch him hunt. I can't give him large though as a large hisser is like three inches long, spiny, and armor plated. Only the younger ones are soft enough to eat :roll: .
 
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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.

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