Are the crickets I’m feeding too big?

[Bmjo]

I picked up my 4 month old beardie a week ago and i am currently feeding him 1 inch large cricket. I would post a pic of him but idk how.

 

[Bmjo]

 

[Bmjo]

1" is too large for his size. The typical recommendation is to feed them insects no longer than the space between their eyes. I tend to err on the conservative side with crickets though and just feed a larger number of smaller ones. If you're buying from petco/petsmart, I recommend the medium sized crickets at 4 months, but make sure they are not larger than the space between the eyes.

I order in bulk a box of 1000 because of my other reptiles. How many should i be feeding him. I’ll probably go pick up some medium crickets from the reptile store or pick out some of the smaller ones

 

[kingofnobbys]

Short answer : YES too big .

Your dragon is only a hatchling/juvenile and way to small to be fed adult crickets or any crickets larger than 1/3 size .

Also definitely NO SUPERWORMS or MEALWORMS for him either. His GIT is not well enough developed to handle their hard exoskeletons , there is a very strong risk of these two types of insects causing a GIT impaction or blockage (VERY BAD).

Best insects to feed him are
BSF lavae ( large size white prepupate gents )
Silkworms ( my gang at his age were eating silkworms as large as 40mm long - excellent highly nutritious feeder insects)
Crickets or roaches or locust (no longer than the space between his eyes) which are dusted with calcium and gutload with calcium rich greens.

AT his age ( 4 months old ) , NO LESS THAN 2 meals of live insects EVERY DAY , 3 meals of live insects every day is better if you can manage it. He needs huge amounts of live insect protein, UVA and UVB ,and dietary calcium every day to grow and develop properly and I'd have him on a 15-16 hour photoperiod to ensure plenty of time to bask and digest his food.

As far as feeding - fast moving insects , give a couple at a time , let him chase them down and eat them , then drop another couple in with him, repeat until he looses interest (indicating he's full).
Slow moving worms / lavae, leave in a feeder dish for him to eat at his leisure .

 

[Bmjo]

Could i have caused him to be impacted from 3 days of feeding a couple superworms a day and the large crickets? I’m very worried. And are you saying i should be feeding 1/3 in crickets?

 

[Caters]

I think what he is saying is that instead of feeding 1 inch crickets, you should feed him crickets about a third that size.

 

[Catzo]

At 4 months a few 1" crickets is not likely to harm him. Just switch to 1/2"-ish or what the pet store may call medium size crickets for now to be on the safe side.
If temps are fine he should have no problem digesting a few large crickets. When I first got my beardie at 2 months old he ate a couple full grown 1" crickets and it took him a day longer than normal to digest because it was such a big meal for him but he was fine.
The main issue with big crickets is choking. Their long legs can get stuck in a beardies throat.
The supers are a bigger issue but again if temps are good and he is basking after eating he should be ok. If you are really concerned just wait to see if he poops. If he poops normally he did not have an issue. If he goes several days without pooping and shows the physical symptoms of impaction then we can treat from there but he should be fine. Just switch to smaller crickets now to be on the safe side.

No need to worry yet. Just make the switch now and keep an eye out for a poop

 

[Brittany26]

At 4 months a few 1" crickets is not likely to harm him. Just switch to 1/2"-ish or what the pet store may call medium size crickets for now to be on the safe side.
If temps are fine he should have no problem digesting a few large crickets. When I first got my beardie at 2 months old he ate a couple full grown 1" crickets and it took him a day longer than normal to digest because it was such a big meal for him but he was fine.
The main issue with big crickets is choking. Their long legs can get stuck in a beardies throat.
The supers are a bigger issue but again if temps are good and he is basking after eating he should be ok. If you are really concerned just wait to see if he poops. If he poops normally he did not have an issue. If he goes several days without pooping and shows the physical symptoms of impaction then we can treat from there but he should be fine. Just switch to smaller crickets now to be on the safe side.

No need to worry yet. Just make the switch now and keep an eye out for a poop

So... first you recommend sand, and now you are saying it's fine for a baby to eat size large crickets- I'm not trying to be rude but please don't mistakenly give out any more bad info to people who may not have much knowledge about beardies to begin with. All it takes is 1 large cricket to paralyze a juvenile's back legs.

 

[Bmjo]

At 4 months a few 1" crickets is not likely to harm him. Just switch to 1/2"-ish or what the pet store may call medium size crickets for now to be on the safe side.
If temps are fine he should have no problem digesting a few large crickets. When I first got my beardie at 2 months old he ate a couple full grown 1" crickets and it took him a day longer than normal to digest because it was such a big meal for him but he was fine.
The main issue with big crickets is choking. Their long legs can get stuck in a beardies throat.
The supers are a bigger issue but again if temps are good and he is basking after eating he should be ok. If you are really concerned just wait to see if he poops. If he poops normally he did not have an issue. If he goes several days without pooping and shows the physical symptoms of impaction then we can treat from there but he should be fine. Just switch to smaller crickets now to be on the safe side.

No need to worry yet. Just make the switch now and keep an eye out for a poop

So... first you recommend sand, and now you are saying it's fine for a baby to eat size large crickets- I'm not trying to be rude but please don't mistakenly give out any more bad info to people who may not have much knowledge about beardies to begin with. All it takes is 1 large cricket to paralyze a juvenile's back legs.

I have owned reptiles for the past 6 years lol I’m not new to the hobby i just thought he could have them cause the woman i got him from she was feeding him large crickets. I knew it didn’t sound right that’s why i asked.i grabbed the smaller ones they are about 3/4 inch. He pooped today too which was a huge sigh of relief. Thanks for the advice

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Feeding

 

[kingofnobbys]

At 4 months a few 1" crickets is not likely to harm him. Just switch to 1/2"-ish or what the pet store may call medium size crickets for now to be on the safe side.

<<<< actually .... oversized hard insects like crickets are an issue - while the young dragon will eat them , there is a strong risk of the insects causing severe nerve damage when swallowed , which is going to result in paralysis (which can in extreme cases be permanent and disabling).
Best way to avoid this is to only feed insect (crickets , roaches, locusts) that are shorter than the distance between the hatchlings eyes.
Only insects that are OK to be larger than this length are silkworms (very soft and squishy).





If temps are fine he should have no problem digesting a few large crickets. When I first got my beardie at 2 months old he ate a couple full grown 1" crickets and it took him a day longer than normal to digest because it was such a big meal for him but he was fine.
The main issue with big crickets is choking. Their long legs can get stuck in a beardies throat.
The supers are a bigger issue but again if temps are good and he is basking after eating he should be ok. If you are really concerned just wait to see if he poops. If he poops normally he did not have an issue. If he goes several days without pooping and shows the physical symptoms of impaction then we can treat from there but he should be fine. Just switch to smaller crickets now to be on the safe side.



No need to worry yet. Just make the switch now and keep an eye out for a poop

 

[Bmjo]

At 4 months a few 1" crickets is not likely to harm him. Just switch to 1/2"-ish or what the pet store may call medium size crickets for now to be on the safe side.

<<<< actually .... oversized hard insects like crickets are an issue - while the young dragon will eat them , there is a strong risk of the insects causing severe nerve damage when swallowed , which is going to result in paralysis (which can in extreme cases be permanent and disabling).
Best way to avoid this is to only feed insect (crickets , roaches, locusts) that are shorter than the distance between the hatchlings eyes.
Only insects that are OK to be larger than this length are silkworms (very soft and squishy).





If temps are fine he should have no problem digesting a few large crickets. When I first got my beardie at 2 months old he ate a couple full grown 1" crickets and it took him a day longer than normal to digest because it was such a big meal for him but he was fine.
The main issue with big crickets is choking. Their long legs can get stuck in a beardies throat.
The supers are a bigger issue but again if temps are good and he is basking after eating he should be ok. If you are really concerned just wait to see if he poops. If he poops normally he did not have an issue. If he goes several days without pooping and shows the physical symptoms of impaction then we can treat from there but he should be fine. Just switch to smaller crickets now to be on the safe side.



No need to worry yet. Just make the switch now and keep an eye out for a poop

Would 3/4 inch be good or should i do 1/2 inch. I picked up some bsfl yesterday and he loves them. He is about 11 inches head to tail

 

[kingofnobbys]

At 4 months a few 1" crickets is not likely to harm him. Just switch to 1/2"-ish or what the pet store may call medium size crickets for now to be on the safe side.

<<<< actually .... oversized hard insects like crickets are an issue - while the young dragon will eat them , there is a strong risk of the insects causing severe nerve damage when swallowed , which is going to result in paralysis (which can in extreme cases be permanent and disabling).
Best way to avoid this is to only feed insect (crickets , roaches, locusts) that are shorter than the distance between the hatchlings eyes.
Only insects that are OK to be larger than this length are silkworms (very soft and squishy).





If temps are fine he should have no problem digesting a few large crickets. When I first got my beardie at 2 months old he ate a couple full grown 1" crickets and it took him a day longer than normal to digest because it was such a big meal for him but he was fine.
The main issue with big crickets is choking. Their long legs can get stuck in a beardies throat.
The supers are a bigger issue but again if temps are good and he is basking after eating he should be ok. If you are really concerned just wait to see if he poops. If he poops normally he did not have an issue. If he goes several days without pooping and shows the physical symptoms of impaction then we can treat from there but he should be fine. Just switch to smaller crickets now to be on the safe side.



No need to worry yet. Just make the switch now and keep an eye out for a poop

Would 3/4 inch be good or should i do 1/2 inch. I picked up some bsfl yesterday and he loves them. He is about 11 inches head to tail

11 inches nose to tail is a pretty meaningless indicator , as many hatchlings have cropped tails and there can be several weeks of difference in age between a dragon with a completely intact tail and one with cropped tail where the cropped tail hatchling is actually older and "bigger".

Only meaningful measurements are vent to snout length and body weight.


If he loves the BSFL , they are a much better staple feeder insect than crickets , let him pig out on them , as many as he wants .

How heavy is he in grams ? without even that very basic information it's virtually impossible to say with seeing him and the crickets you propose if 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch are the best size... if in doubt I'd simply err on towards the smaller insects (and let him eat more of them rather than risking the larger insects).

At 4 months old my Peppa was 120g and her brother Toothless was 91g and eating 1/3 size crickets and medium sized silkworms.