Can someone help figure out a feeding schedule? First time

[Minnonikki]

Hi. I'm a first time beardie owner. I work at a pet store, and I had to get this not-so-little guy that kept grabbing my attention as I walked by. But I cannot figure out how many crickets to feed him!! I am used to leaving dog and cat food out for my pets and that's it! Lol.

When I first got him, a little over a week ago, they said that they were feeding him 3-6 crickets most days of the week, and 3 mealworms for 3 days of the week instead. Well.... I did that for about a day. And then I gave him 8. And then 10. And he ate them all, no problem. He's about 6-7 months old they say. But I can put like 20-30 crickets in there and he'll eat ALL of them, or almost all of them within 15 minutes.

So... Do I give him less and put him on a schedule/diet, or give him as much as he'll eat within 10-15 minutes? He eats a ton of small ones, no problem. But large ones, I have tried giving him just a few of for the past two days, and he seems to get more full. Then he loses interest. I'm just so lost on how to feed him crickets. Ahhhhh!

Yes, I do keep pellets out too, and feed dandelion greens.

 

[Soulwind]

At his age, he's growing VERY fast and needs as much protein as he can get.

For a juvi dragon during their fast growth stage, the recommended feeding
is to give him as many live feeders as he wants to eat per sitting/feeding,
limited to about a 15 minute time period.

They'll usually get full before the 15 minutes is up and stop eating on their own.

Feed him live feeders 2x a day, leave salad (and softened pellets if you insist on using them)
available continuously. Ensure that you dust said feeders with a calcium supplement
for 1 of those feedings (5 days a week), and with a multi-vitamin supplement
(2 days a week).

[For a hatchling, it's actually 3x a day -- but you said he's 6 months old, so you're probably
ready for just 2x a day with big meals].

A growing juvi dragon can often put away anywhere from 30-60 appropriately sized
feeders per day (quantities really depend on the dragon and what kind of feeder...
they'll eat a lot more phoenix worms in a sitting than dubia, for example, since dubia
are so much more filling).

Make sure he's been up and getting warm for about an hour before the 1st feeding
and make sure he's got at least an hour or so to bask and digest after the 2nd feeding
before lights out time.

Once he gets to adulthood you can drop down to 1 live feeding per day. Still letting him
have as much as he wants over 15 minutes, although that will most likely be a lot
less than he wanted while growing. Some dragons even start not wanting live feeders
every day, so you just kind of have to feel him out as he grows up.