Questions of a soon to be a beardie owner

[Sushi]

Hello everyone!

I usually avoid forums of any kind, as I usually get bad experience on them.

Although, since I'm gonna be a beardie momma.. what else can I do?

So.. my questions are:

Any specific basking temperature for a beardie of any age? (I need that in Celsius)

How to tame them?

What to feed them? How often?

Can you "potty" train them? If so, how?

How warm should their water bath be? (Celsius)

Can baby to juvi beardies eat mealworms?
(I am scared of crickets, and hoppers [to death lol])

Or should I be getting small dubia roaches?

If any new questions arise, I'll ask here ^^

Thank you!

 

[Echoing]

Makes sense. I heard mealies are not very good food for any reptiles. You are right, it does vary per reptile, and some may not even touch these funky worms. I had my gecko for over a year now, and he mostly gets mealworms due to my phobia of crickets and hoppers (insert PTSD here lol). He does have issues pooping though. But just overall. Even after dubias he wouldn't poop for 2 weeks. Been that way for over a year, never thin nor lethargic. He was tested for parasites and all that, and nothing. Guessing genetics.

Yeah makes sense crickets and hoppers hop ALOT and so easily they can become a problem. Yeah I don't personally like mealworms but if you do then just keep on going but be careful apparently beardies are known to become addicted to mealworms.

 

[Sushi]

I think your better off doing a stand alone calcium, they only need multivitamins a couple times per week, but they need calcium everyday when they are little. You will see when you get your beardie, they grow like nothing I've ever seen. I swear if you watch i think you just might be able to see them growing lol. But because of how fast they grow they need abundant calcium and protein.

Ah I see. I do have Komodo's pure alone calcium too. I know that Earth Pro A can be used for beardies too, and is hard to overdose on the vitamins it contains.

Since I am gonna feed my beardie everyday.. Can I give it Komodo calcium for 5 days, then 2 days it will get Arcadia Revitalise D3? It is the same as Earth Pro A, just with D3.
Can I also give my beardie Arcadia Earth Pro Magnesium? It has added magnesium, for muscle things.

So dubias are good for beardies. They are very meaty and contain a lot of proteins.

 

[Sushi]

Yeah makes sense crickets and hoppers hop ALOT and so easily they can become a problem. Yeah I don't personally like mealworms but if you do then just keep on going but be careful apparently beardies are known to become addicted to mealworms.

First batch of crickets died off, ammonia smell burned my throat. Second batch of crickets was more hoppy than the first, and had long sticks on their butts lol. I had to use vinyl gloves to catch them, those stick things scared me. Those crickets also jumped out multiple times out of their box onto the wall, which made them look like spiders. Some time later I got hoppers. They escaped and went everywhere. I kept finding them everywhere. Never again. Nope lol. Got PTSD from all that..

So I could use mealies for my beardie? What signs should I look out for? Mainly wanna know which signs that they do harm to the animal?

 

[Groggyfroggie]

First batch of crickets died off, ammonia smell burned my throat. Second batch of crickets was more hoppy than the first, and had long sticks on their butts lol. I had to use vinyl gloves to catch them, those stick things scared me. Those crickets also jumped out multiple times out of their box onto the wall, which made them look like spiders. Some time later I got hoppers. They escaped and went everywhere. I kept finding them everywhere. Never again. Nope lol. Got PTSD from all that..

So I could use mealies for my beardie? What signs should I look out for? Mainly wanna know which signs that they do harm to the animal?

If you’re getting a baby/juvenile beardie, mealworms just isn’t a very good idea. The reason for that is they have hard chitin shells and can be difficult to digest. Sure some people have successfully raised beardies solely on mealworms, but the prerequisite for that are absolutely on par uvb lighting and basking temperature, a very healthy and tough beardie, also luck.

Honestly for me it’s the same thing as using pure sand for substrate. Is there a chance that your beardie will be completely fine? Yes. But more commonly I see beardies getting impacted and needing treatment because of it. Often times it’s also too late when the owner find out impaction, and the beardie eventually dies.

If you have to feed them mealworms, give them the soft ones that just shed, and make sure they have 3 hours basking time with the right temperature afterwards. Monitor their poop closely and if they are off schedule just stop feeding mealworms.

 

[Rocky2022]

First batch of crickets died off, ammonia smell burned my throat. Second batch of crickets was more hoppy than the first, and had long sticks on their butts lol. I had to use vinyl gloves to catch them, those stick things scared me. Those crickets also jumped out multiple times out of their box onto the wall, which made them look like spiders. Some time later I got hoppers. They escaped and went everywhere. I kept finding them everywhere. Never again. Nope lol. Got PTSD from all that..

So I could use mealies for my beardie? What signs should I look out for? Mainly wanna know which signs that they do harm to the animal?

I am picturing all of this regarding the crickets...sounds like something that would happen to me!

 

[Sushi]

I am picturing all of this regarding the crickets...sounds like something that would happen to me!

I had bad luck for those jumpy stuff
Never getting them again, and such stuff always happens to me.

 

[Sushi]

If you’re getting a baby/juvenile beardie, mealworms just isn’t a very good idea. The reason for that is they have hard chitin shells and can be difficult to digest. Sure some people have successfully raised beardies solely on mealworms, but the prerequisite for that are absolutely on par uvb lighting and basking temperature, a very healthy and tough beardie, also luck.

Honestly for me it’s the same thing as using pure sand for substrate. Is there a chance that your beardie will be completely fine? Yes. But more commonly I see beardies getting impacted and needing treatment because of it. Often times it’s also too late when the owner find out impaction, and the beardie eventually dies.

If you have to feed them mealworms, give them the soft ones that just shed, and make sure they have 3 hours basking time with the right temperature afterwards. Monitor their poop closely and if they are off schedule just stop feeding mealworms.

Oh I see. Pupated mealies are good too?

 

[Groggyfroggie]

Oh I see. Pupated mealies are good too?

I've never kept mealworms only seen pics of the pupa- yes if they are those white soft pupa. They are just not super nutritious for young beardies, good for a treat or two.

 

[xp29]

Dubias are your best bet black soldier fly larva are also great staples.after your beardie is older superworms can be used. Silkworms are FANTASTIC if you can get them.

 

[Sushi]

Dubias are your best bet black soldier fly larva are also great staples.after your beardie is older superworms can be used. Silkworms are FANTASTIC if you can get them.

I'll order 1000 if not 2000 small dubias. Can BFS be stored in the fridge? I had once a box of them, but they all changed into flies that scared me to my very core lol, and they even flew into my leopards vivarium.

 

[Sushi]

I've never kept mealworms only seen pics of the pupa- yes if they are those white soft pupa. They are just not super nutritious for young beardies, good for a treat or two.

Mealworm pupas are mainly white, they're soft, and full of water if beetle isnt fully formed yet.

 

[Sushi]

Also, full menu for a beardie? Which veggies to feed rarely, staple or as a treat.

 

[hdochow]

Also, full menu for a beardie? Which veggies to feed rarely, staple or as a treat.

here's a great list for food. ignore what it says about kale. it has been found to be a great staple green and this page hasn't been updated for that. Nutrition Content

in our house for greens we rotate through kale, mustard greens, collards, watercress, and all time favorite dandelion greens. then zucchini, various color bell pepper, sweet potato, and occasionally raspberries or blueberries. topped off with about 1/4 tsp bee pollen granules (he hates powders). whatever salad is left at the end of the day gets fed to the roaches.

 

[Groggyfroggie]

I'll order 1000 if not 2000 small dubias. Can BFS be stored in the fridge? I had once a box of them, but they all changed into flies that scared me to my very core lol, and they even flew into my leopards vivarium.

Yes BSFL can be stored in the fridge. I’ve had an escape situation as well, those little worms ended up everywhere in my house. Advice: if you decide to keep the worms in something like a critter keeper, MAKE SURE the gaps on the lid are sealed off, only leave a couple tiny holes for air. Otherwise they can and will crawl out…

If you’re ordering 1000-2000 dubia roaches make sure get a large bin to put them in! Set up a good dubia colony can really save you money

 

[xp29]

You will find out fairly fast beardies are picky eaters, they will have some food they will devour and others you couldn't get them to no matter what ya do. Or you might get lucky and get one that eats anything.