How much food?

[RedRoseVertigo0]

I have a 1.5-2 year old female beardie. Lately she has been really hungry so I have been giving her crickets and salads twice a day. My question is how much salad should I give her? Right now she is getting about half a cup of a mixture of collard greens, butternut squash, 4 blueberries or 4 small pieces of banana. Should I feed her more salad? The crickets are a temporary thing while I wait for my order of dubia's to arrive. I'm giving her maybe 10 crickets? They are hard to count since they are mediums not large. (Petshop was out of large crickets. Grrr.)

 

[CooperDragon]

I'd provide as much salad as she wants to eat. Especially collard greens. If she's eating the entire half cup every day, try offering 3/4 cup or 1 cup etc and see how she does with that. As you increase the size of the salad, I'd increase the collard greens and a bit more squash. Leave the fruit at the same amount as a garnish or treat.

 

[RedRoseVertigo0]

Thanks Cooper. I upped her to a cup of salad with the same amount of squash and fruit. I also added escarole which she LOVES. My dubias came in and she is getting three of those. Should she get more? They are about an inch long each.

 

[CooperDragon]

Escarole is a good addition. I'd use the same metric for dubias as you would for crickets. You want to keep them around the space between her eyes (not as critical with an adult as it is with the smaller dragons) and just provide as many as she wants to eat within 10 minutes or so. The exact number will probably vary day to day. She should be at around 80% salad now, so keep that in mind with the feedings.

 

[RedRoseVertigo0]

She prefers dubias or crickets to salads. I'm worried if she fills up on bugs she won't eat her salad.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's often the case. If you need to get more salad into her, you can hold off feeding bugs for a couple few days and only offer a salad.

 

[Taterbug]

At her age she doesn't need as many bugs, or as frequently - especially since she eats salads well. I would try to include more items (veggies + greens) for more balanced nutrition. I've read 40-50 feeders per week for adults, but it varies. I'd pay attention to her weight/form and activity. If she is lazy and eating a lot she may start getting over plump, but if she gets lots of time out to burn off the calories more bugs isn't a problem. Some people mix it up, and don't offer a set number per or feed on a schedule for their adults.