How many dubia?

[DeeDee1990]

I have 2 adult bearded dragons and I was thinking about switching them from superworms to dubias and I was wondering how many they're suppose to eat a week.

 

[CooperDragon]

I think it all depends on their appetite and the size of the bugs. I'd stick with the 10 minute rule while feeding and just offer what they want in that time. Since they're all a bit different it's hard to say for sure.

 

[DeeDee1990]

That rule still applies even though they are adults?
Would it be better to feed them 1 inch ones or adult dubias?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah I still go by that rule with adults. I only give 1 bug feeding per day though instead of 2-3 as you would with a growing dragon. I would probably go with the 1'' roaches but still follow the space between the eyes rule to an extent (adult dragons have a bit more flexibility in that regard). Try some different sizes and see how they react. If they seem to have trouble with a larger bug, just switch to a smaller size.

 

[DeeDee1990]

Alright thanks.

I'm thinking about getting 2 babies next year and was wondering if you think it would be best to start a colony. If I do start one when should I start and how soon could I feed from it?

 

[Taterbug]

Since your using superworms now I'll warn you, your dragons may or may not be as enthusiastic about the roaches as you hope.

Depending on how big your colony is to start with will determine how soon to feed from it. It would probably work fine to get a small starter colony now and let it grow out so its ready for your babies. It's cheaper to buy mixed sizes with a handful of adults than to buy a breeding ready colony, and If it isn't big enough by then, you can add more nymphs.

Since your dragons are grown feeding them as much as they want works if they aren't piggies. It depends also on how well they eat their salads, if they are holding out for insects then you'll want to reduce how much they are getting so they are more willing to fill up on veggies. You can also skip days for healthy adults. If they binge everyday on bugs but don't get much exercise that's not good. Some will happily eat themselves into obesity, while some know when to stop and will only eat what they need.

 

[Sauzo]

My personal experience with Harley is DON'T feed them as much as they want of any insect. I did that with Harley and let her eat her hearts content on hornworms, dubias, silkworms, phoenix worms and butterworms as she was growing up and now she is 17 inches(yeah I know that's a bit small but I've had her since she was a month old and always fed her 3 times a day as much as she wanted and had her set up just right) and at last weigh in at the vet just over a week ago, she weighed 695g. She holds out for bugs all the time and getting her to eat salad is like pulling teeth. Luckily the vet said her blood work came back fine except a little high protein level but that was probably all the bugs and that she was overweight. She is a sweetie though and I just cave in when she cocks her head side to side staring at the salad and then looking at me like "This stuff is for you! Give me my sweet sweet bugs!"

As for how many, I'd say for an adult dragon, probably around 5-6 roaches around the width between her eyes a day.

If you are planning on getting 2 babies, I would definitely start a colony now. Harley ate around 50-60 roaches a day as a baby. It was expensive keeping her fed til I started my colony. So multiply that by 2 and yeah you get the idea. Plus you can always sell off the surplus on Craigslist or something. I usually make enough a month that the roaches more or less pay for themselves.

 

[DeeDee1990]

Would 100 females, 25 males and 1,000 mixed be a good starter size?

 

[Sauzo]

Yes that would be a good starter. The general numbers are 1 adult female will produce about 20 babies a month. So you want about 3x the number per month that your dragon eats to cover random deaths and enough to grow to adults to replace old dying adults. Example is your dragon eats 1000 a month. You want 3000 a month. One females makes 20 babies so you need 150 adult females.