Feeding a baby beardie [New Owner]

[Sparx]

So I bought a baby bearded dragon a few weeks ago - well, she's about 3 months old now.
As of now I give her as many crickets as she pleases 2x per day (I try to squeeze in a 3rd feeding but am not always successful) as well as Kale for a leafy green and she eats almost all the Kale I provide - which the Kale is sprinkled with Calcium. The crickets are also gut-loaded with a calcium rich food and water before being fed.
My questions are:
1. What other veggies can I use on top of using Kale? I know I've seen people mention things like collard, turnips, and squash. What else can I use (preferably raw as I don't have a ton of time to cook things for myself more or less my critters)?
2. What fruits can I use as a treat?
3. Seeing as I gut-load my crickets with a calcium rich food and water as well as sprinkle calcium on her daily salad (I'll skip dusting a day per week), should I still dust crickets 5x a week with calcium?
4. What are the most reputable places for me to buy crickets online? I'm needing a place where they can ship a large abundance of crickets for a relatively low cost, with fairly inexpensive yet quick delivery and minimal deaths upon arrivals. She eats anywhere from 30+ crickets a day (most of the time will eat substantially more) and it's an expensive in-store purchase especially as the closest store that sells the size of crickets she needs is a 2 hour drive (one-way).

Is there anything else I should be aware of when it comes to feeding? Anything I may have missed or might be unaware of? I feel as if I have some knowledge on this topic - but I'm sure I'll learn a handful of things(;

 

[AHBD]

Hi there.....welcome to the wonderful world of beardie ownership. You'll find lots of helpful info on this forum. As far as good greens, kale should be used sparingly [ it can bind calcium ] you can use the others you mentioned along with dandelion, cilantro, mustard greens, low growing clover from your yard [ as long as you + your neighbors don't use chemicals on your lawn or have dogs pooing out there ] also various types of squash finely grated, not just cut in pieces.

A good company for crickets is Georgia crickets...pretty good prices + good service. You can look up cricket companies to compare prices though.

 

[wes]

Sounds like your beardie is getting great care. A nice website I found helpful for what else to feed is http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html.

I'm not an expert on calcium, but we never dusted every feeding. I'm not sure if it's different with babies, because our beardie was about one year old when we got him. Make sure you have a UVB bulb so he can absorb the calcium properly.

If you haven't already, please read the Care Sheets and Articles at the top of the page, or the Top Content to the right.

Another reputable cricket supplier we used to use (before raising dubia) is Ghann's. It's been years since I bought crickets, but they've been around a long time and I'm sure their service is just as good.

 

[Sparx]

Hi there.....welcome to the wonderful world of beardie ownership. You'll find lots of helpful info on this forum. As far as good greens, kale should be used sparingly [ it can bind calcium ] you can use the others you mentioned along with dandelion, cilantro, mustard greens, low growing clover from your yard [ as long as you + your neighbors don't use chemicals on your lawn or have dogs pooing out there ] also various types of squash finely grated, not just cut in pieces.

A good company for crickets is Georgia crickets...pretty good prices + good service. You can look up cricket companies to compare prices though.

Thank you for your help! I didn't know that about Kale - guess I'll make a trip to the store to pick up some other veggies for her!

 

[Sparx]

Sounds like your beardie is getting great care. A nice website I found helpful for what else to feed is http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html.

I'm not an expert on calcium, but we never dusted every feeding. I'm not sure if it's different with babies, because our beardie was about one year old when we got him. Make sure you have a UVB bulb so he can absorb the calcium properly.

If you haven't already, please read the Care Sheets and Articles at the top of the page, or the Top Content to the right.

Another reputable cricket supplier we used to use (before raising dubia) is Ghann's. It's been years since I bought crickets, but they've been around a long time and I'm sure their service is just as good.

I'm trying my best to be a good owner :3 Thank you for the link to the Nutrition Guide/page! I appreciate it. I've been doing my own bit of online research - but figured people here would know which foods would have a higher nutritional value and what not.

As far as the calcium goes, I keep reading that baby beardies need their crickets dusted 5x a week, but I wasn't sure if I could skip that due to having my crickets gut-loaded with a calcium rich diet and sprinkling some Calcium on her daily salad. And I do have an UVB light (however I have a coil and am looking to purchase the ReptiSun 10.0 here today).

And I have read into the Care Sheets and various articles already. Hence the reason I know I need to change a few things that I'm doing. x]

Thank you again! Your information is much appreciated!