Can beardies self-regulate their feeding?

[aquinn]

I'm going away for 6 days soon and can't find anyone willing to feed live food to my two beardies!
They are only a few months old and mostly eat hoppers/locusts. One of them has started taking an interest in salads, the other hasn't.

If the dragons had access to a container of hoppers via a "cat flap" would they help themselves when they were hungry or would they eat until they ate too much and had gut problems?

I would rather not leave too many hoppers in the cage at once!

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Regards
Andrew

 

[mrstuart75]

Would the feeders live that long in such a contraption?

My biggest worry is going away and someone caring for my dragons. Perhaps this is why I haven't gone away since I've had them.

 

[aquinn]

Would the feeders live that long in such a contraption?

Locusts should live for a week, they would have the right temperature, light and access to their own food.
I was going to temporarily section off part of the vivarium with the locusts in one side and the beardie on the other with clear plastic sheet between that contains a flap. It will stop the locusts swarming the beardie and allow the beardie free access to the side with the locusts. Just worried the beardie will over-eat?

 

[randommonks]

They won't overfeed, but I would worry about them getting stuck in that area, or not knowing how to use it. If you do it, test it beforehand. 6 days is a very long time without anyone to look after them and clean their tank, especially for a baby. If you can't find a friend or neighbor, maybe try to see if a vet's office can watch over them or a pet hotel which you can pay for them to clean and feed your animals. Also try to check to see if you can find a babysitter who can come over every other day or so to feed and clean after them. I see them advertised on my local CL all the time.

Also, just in case you didn't know, make sure to put your lights on a timer, instead of leaving them on constantly. It'll interrupt your dragons' sleep and make them cranky.

 

[aquinn]

Thanks for the advice, will check out CL and the local ads in the pet shop. I have someone willing to come and clean up the poo and give them fresh water and salad... they just refuse to go anywhere near the live food

 

[randommonks]

Ahh I see. Yeah most of my potential sitters are like that too

What you can try to do is set out a series of cups for the sitter to simply dump into the enclosure. That way they dont' have to handle any bugs, and your beardies won't have to try to figure out a contraption. Or not sure if you have time to order reptiworms, which you can just leave in a big bowl for them to nibble on.