Feeding habits for babies - how do you do it?

[ChrisMiller]

So with 3 new baby beardies in the house now, I REALLY want to establish some sort of schedule and method for feeding the little guys.

Right now they will take phoenix worms if I drop them right next to them on their basking spot, or they will come down and eat baby roaches from their stainless steel bowls. I don't necessarily want to feed them "in" their cage with loose roaches because they just run and hide and I feel the need to get them all out before lights out because I don't want them coming out and feeding on my babies (not even sure if they do that like crickets do) I also don't want to keep doing the bowl thing 2 times a day x 3 beardies because it's a pain to get enough into the bowl where they can eat until full, and still keep them from getting out into the enclosure. (They usually kick them out, or one will ride out on their backs when they jump out).

So I really want a better solution that will allow me to feed my beardies roaches easily until full. The problem is, if I take them out and set them in a feeding tub to run around and eat, they won't eat. They just look around and act scared because it's not the same as their enclosure. They are all housed individually and feeding is done individually too.

Looking for any / all suggestions. Thanks in advance!

 

[Dooter]

Honestly, I feed Stanley twice a day. I work, so I can't do 3 feedings a day (I do on the weekends tho).

In the morning, I dust about 25 small roaches and put them in his little ceramic bowl. He eats about 10-12 right away, and he munches on the rest thruout the day (along with his salad, but he doesn't eat much of that). Then when I come home, he gets another helping of roaches (I give him as many as he'll eat in 15 min)

I do run into the problem of a couple roaches escaping thruout the day, but they're not as insane to clean up as crickets - I can easily find and snag them when I clean Stanley's enclosure out each evening before he goes to bed.

Edited to add: I think with babies, it really comes down to keeping the enclosure setup simple, and therefore easier to be more thorough when you clean it out each day - you'll find the rogue bugs easier.

 

[LLLReptile]

*whistling innocently* here, check these out...

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/bowls-drippers-misters-and-humidifiers/reptile-water-bowls-and-food-dishes/-/small-disposable-worm-feeding-dish-water-dish/

I use them for EVERYTHING... the little lip keeps roaches and worms from getting out, and there is a larger size as well for as your beardies get larger. You can just leave a bowl of worms in there for during the day, and switch it up from there.

In addition, you don't necessarily have to feed them twice a day, especially not if you leave a dish of worms in there. Try offering the wigglier food in the morning, in a cup etc, and then leave the dish of worms out during the day. In the stores, we feed babies once a day, and they get either greens, worms, or crickets on a given day. We find that offering as much as they'll eat of only one thing once a day keeps their appetite strong, so they always eat the variety of things we may offer (including the canned insects).

But anyway, those dishes are super helpful, and super cheap. Something to try.

-Jen

 

[casper31]

Hi there,

I have made my scehdule Lil' Miss' schedule. I work so she eats twice a day. I get up, start the coffe pot, and turn on her lights. Now, after 2 wks I kid you not, she hears/smells the coffe she lifts her head. I turn on the lights then. I come back 30 mins later & feed her. She gets about 30 crickets in the morning, but will probably move up to 35 this wk. I just dust them & shake them in around 4 @ a time. I feed them in the a.m. so I don't have to worry about the whole sleeping/biting thing. She's a great eater...if it moves, she gulps. There's never any left by the time I walk out the door for work. I also have tile in her home, so there's no hide spots for them.
I leave greens for her all day. She eats almost all of them. When I come home a put a shallow feed dish of about 30 phx worms in her viv. She can step right into it, but they can't get out. When she goes to bask, I take the dish out, restock the greens, & that's it for the day. Her lights are out between 8 or 9.