Commercially prepared products

[Mirthy]

Hello Everyone,
I haven't seen too much mentioned about commercially prepared products mentioned on the boards.
When I bought Norris at a pet store chain I got a number of items that I needed and didn't need. (no surprise, right? ) One item I bought was Flucker's buffet blend for juvenile bearded dragons. It's small pellets with dried bugs mixed in.
Now Norris is happily chopping away at his crickets and occasionally nibbling at his greens, however right from day one I've had a few pellets of this Fluckers in a dish in his viv which he has more or less ignored. (I've left out the dried bugs because of the dried meal worms and too large crickets) I've kept the pellets fresh and kept a count of how many were in there so I'd know if he ever did go after them and just recently he's started to nibble on them. He is eating about 5-10 a day in addition to his live crickets, etc.
So my question and concern is, should I leave them in? Are they any good? Is he wasting tummy space that would be better spent on crickets? His crickets are dusted with Cal/Vit on the 5/2 day ratio. Since he isn't chewing all that much on the greens is this a good thing? Any ideas or thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Many thanks!
-Mirthy

 

[Claudiusx]

The only concern I would have is how much protein the little bites have. If they are very low in protein, and he is filling up on them, he won't be getting the protein he needs to grow.

I have no experience with the product you mentioned so i don't know if its high in protein or low in protein but if you could check that would be great. All in all, he isn't eating that much of it so it should be fine anyways. Maybe try offering it after his last cricket meal for the day?

-Brandon

 

[Mirthy]

Hi Brandon,
Thanks for the response. This is the nutrition information on the back of the bottle.
Min Crude Protein 32%
max ash 10.5%
max moisture 9.0%
min crude fat/oil 7.5%
max crude fiber 6.5%
min calcium 2.25%
min phosphate 2.0%

I don't know if that means anything to you or not. There isn't a daily % of vitamins like on a human vitamin list but as I'm rereading the ingredients I'm seeing something that makes me concerned. I see vitamin A acetate as well as beta carotene. I know from earlier advice that bearded dragons can get too much vitamin A. And now, because it is late I'm doubling back on that thought...since my bearded dragon is a baby who isn't eating very many greens at all, do I have to worry about vitamin A yet? Since he isn't getting it from his greens? I apologize if this is making no sense. I have a migraine related typo/thought loop issues

This particular bottle says it is vitamin enriched for juveniles under 7"
I was just wondering... I honestly didn't think he'd touch it. I was surprised to find them missing. I was checking under his carpet and his tree trying to figure out where they went!

-M

 

[Claudiusx]

Well actually, that does have a pretty high amount of protein in it. I'm not sure about the vitamin A. It would depend on how much is actually in it.

I think the best idea would be to use it as a salad topper. Like bacon bites haha. It might entice your dragon to eat its greens :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[Mirthy]

HAHA! It does look a lot like bacon bits! good idea