icelore
Juvie Member
I got my baby when he was young, and I never spent more then $40 (maybe $50 MAX) feeding him, even though he's still in his "bottomless pit" stage. I bought crickets in bulk, the largest size he could eat, and that saves a lot. If you buy really tiny feeders, they are still priced per individual insect, so you pay more to feed your dragon. That goes with worms as well. Even with things like large super worms, I would cut one in three pieces so he would get one a day instead of feeding him a handful of small ones. When you think about it like that, there is a vast difference in price between one large a day (30 a month) and 4 small a day (120 a month), but it's the same *amount* being fed. If I ended up with too many crickets, or they were starting to die off, I would freeze them to be fed later so they didn't go to waste. I made sure to take as good a care of my feeder insects as I possibly could to minimize deaths as well, and stuck to cheaper insects (crickets, superworms).
As for greens, I would buy smaller amounts, wash, cut and mix them, and put most of it in a storage bowl packed with paper towels (to absorb moisture). I only opened that large bowl once a week to fill my smaller "every day" bowl, and that way saved money cause the bulk of the greens stayed fresh for approx. 3 weeks. All left over veggies (including what he didn't eat daily) went to feed my insects so none was wasted. I have never bought commercial insect food, gutload, or water crystals this way, against saving money.
There are TONS of corners you can cut to be thrifty if you don't have the money to just charge in and buy whatever. As long as you check prices at lots of different places, buy in bulk when you can, you're good to go.
As for greens, I would buy smaller amounts, wash, cut and mix them, and put most of it in a storage bowl packed with paper towels (to absorb moisture). I only opened that large bowl once a week to fill my smaller "every day" bowl, and that way saved money cause the bulk of the greens stayed fresh for approx. 3 weeks. All left over veggies (including what he didn't eat daily) went to feed my insects so none was wasted. I have never bought commercial insect food, gutload, or water crystals this way, against saving money.
There are TONS of corners you can cut to be thrifty if you don't have the money to just charge in and buy whatever. As long as you check prices at lots of different places, buy in bulk when you can, you're good to go.