Am I messing up her diet?

[ToughPrincess]

I just got my beardie not too long ago. I have been feeding her a few different things, trying to add some variety. I feed her crickets daily (not a set amount- I just throw some in) I fed her kale at first as a staple food, but she didn't seem to like it so I switched to romaine. I just read that this was to be fed rarely. She loves ground up carrots, and my mom says she loves cucumbers.

I read squash was good for her. We have alot of zuchinni and squash in the garden.
How should I feed these to her?
Can I freeze them and serve them through winter?
How should I do this?

Also, I need to find a solution to the $10 trip to the petstore for crickets that hardly last a week. I was thinking of just spending the $20 and ordering online for tons of crickets so she can eat as many as she wants! Where could I order them?

I bought the zoo-med pellets, and she didn't seem interested. Can I somehow encourage her?

Pheonix worms?

And can I use crushed eggshells to dust her crickets or offer them on the side?

If anyone could throw in some extra tips it would be greatly appriciated.

Some extra info:
I am a little squeamish.
She is an adult beardie.
I haven't confirmed her sex, but the guy who had her before me said someone checked.
I dust her crickets, but I think they are outdated.vv :?
I'm on somewhat of a budget (I can spend money, but I'm not throwing down $100 all at once on my pet if I don't have to)
I gutload her crickets.

 

[Catalyst]

If she's an adult beardie then she only need 25-50 live bugs a week - any more and you risk her becoming overweight or developing other health problems. If you decide to stick with crickets, then you'd be looking at the higher range of that (about 50 per week) or if she's 16 inches or longer you could go with superworms - they're very easy to keep and even breed if you want and she should only get 25-30 of them a week. There are a variety of sites you could order bugs in bulk from, what's best will depend on where you are.

For squash, you can offer it in a variety of ways depending on how your dragon likes it - the most common are to chop it into small chunks or you can shred it through a cheese grater (raw both ways, no need to cook it). My dragon preferred it shredded, plus by shredding coloured fruits and veggies into her salad it got her to eat more of the greens because it was harder for her to just pick out the parts she wanted (not that she didn't try, haha).

As far as the pellets go, you can soften them in water or a bit of fruit juice and sometimes that helps. For my dragon I would soften them in a bit of warm water and then sprinkle them over/in her salad. Sometimes she ate them, sometimes not. You can also use them to feed your feeder bugs since that way your dragon is still getting the nutrition.

Pheonix worms are a great source of nutrition, but are more expensive than crickets or supers. I used them as treats, although there are some who use them as their main staple feeder.

Hope this helps

 

[ToughPrincess]

Thank you so much!!! That at least reduces my cricket costs from $10 to $6.

Also- what is the opinion on freezing crickets?

 

[mudskipper]

Check out this list of what to feed your beardie

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

There are plenty of veggies you can rotate all year round. Feed those that are in season.

 

[Catalyst]

Thank you so much!!! That at least reduces my cricket costs from $10 to $6.

Also- what is the opinion on freezing crickets?

Not sure if freezing would affect the nutritional value of the crickets. Also, many dragons prefer to have their bugs move and won't eat pre-killed, although you could try and see what her reaction would be. The general consensus seems to be that live is best, but it's certainly something worth researching further if you're interested in that option.

 

[mikewithsfi]

Thank you so much!!! That at least reduces my cricket costs from $10 to $6.

Also- what is the opinion on freezing crickets?

If you gut load the crickets for about 2 days before you freeze them that would be fine. There will not be much of a nutritional loss if any during the freezing process. As soon as you take them out of the freezer dust them. Do not wait until they are thawed, I find it makes a clumpy mess.

 

[ToughPrincess]

Also, many dragons prefer to have their bugs move and won't eat pre-killed, although you could try and see what her reaction would be. The general consensus seems to be that live is best, but it's certainly something worth researching further if you're interested in that option.

You're right. She wouldn't eat them. I think I'll switch to the smaller super worms as a staple. I hear these would keep longer and be okay. I was going to slowly introduce them to her and see if she likes them. :mrgreen: