How much should I be feeding my Beardie? She's 5 months old.

[IzzyLizard]

How many crickets should I be feeding her a day? Everywhere I read has been telling me something different, and the guy at the pet store where I got her said six a day, I usually give her 6-10 but Im worried that might not be enough...

 

[Spikey92]

Feed her 2-3 times a day as many crickets as she wants to eat in 10 minutes.. Also offer greens even if she just eats a little bit or if it seems she doesnt eat it all all, keep offering.

 

[beardedgibbons]

Mines also about 5-6 months and was also curious. When does the transition to 80% greens and 20% insects begin? When do I stop 2-3 times a day with crickets?

 

[soleil]

Our gal was born in July, so 4.5 months old and recently she eats 20-30 med/large crickets or small dubias a day, this is double what she was eating when we 1st bought her in Sept. It took her a while to settle in and eat in the voracious way I heard beardies do. She has been offered greens from birth and in the last week or so has gone from occasionally nibbling at something to finishing her entire salad. She is suddenly growing like a weed! 6-10 a day seems like very little. Does she gobble those 6 up right away? I stand over the tank with the tube from the cricket feeder and keep feeding until she isn't racing for them anymore in the AM, then giver her a salad mid-day which she has been finishing, and then repeat with crickets/dubias in the PM.

 

[Aboyle143]

I've always read (other sites, & here, which is my fave) that you should NOT offer greens until AT LEAST 2 months of age, (and NEVER ICEBERG LETTUCE, it'll give them the runs). Ours is about 4 months, & I just bought the veggie pellets you soak in H2o, or juice. Although we haven't offered yet, (we just moved so been sooo busy w/packing, moving/un-packing, etc.) I really need to start. If you don't start early enough, they will have hard time adjusting. Also, yeah, they do increase their cricket intake considerably! Ours only took about 5 per feeding when we first brought home, now it's like 10-15 per AM/PM feeding!
I also use a tube if he goes through all pretty quick, (just shake the crickets to end of tube w/your hand over so they don't fall out). I'll put by his face to see if he 'attacks' the crickets he can see.
You'll get a feel for how much he needs, just let him be the judge, he knows if he's hungry!
Hope it helps,
Amber

 

[IzzyLizard]

Thank you guys, you're a lot of help ^_^

 

[Mariah94]

I have never heard of NOT offering babies greens, in fact I hear the earlier the better so they can get used to chomping on them. Most babies won't touch them, but I always offer them so they get used to having them there and eventually they will get curious and nibble. I would check out beatufil dragons website they have a great caresheet on what to feed.

Babies should be offered as many bugs as they can eat in 10-15 mins 3x a day. My babies eat 60+ a day each and Chomper will nibble on his greens while I'm away. Malachi has yet to touch them.

 

[Aboyle143]

I admit, I am by no means, an expert! So, I will defer to those w/more experience on the feeding of greens & veggies. I did check out the Beautiful Dragon feeding guide, & it was a lot of help. Thank you, whomever posted the link!
I have also learned not to believe everything you read on the Internet! I may have gotten my info wrong, or from a 'not to be trusted' source! Even the care guide that came with the starter kit SPECIFICALLY made for Beardies, had what I later found to be, inaccurate information. I looked @ many sites before finding this one, which seems, in my opinion, to be the best, (or at least for me)! Although, I did see again, that iceberg lettuce is a big NO-NO! So I do believe I'm right on that aspect! Or at least, won't be feeding any to ours. I'm sure someone out there, somewhere, has fed iceberg, had no problems, & would argue it's fine. Isn't that always the case with opinions? Ha! ;-)
So, newbie question for Mariah: When you say your babies are eating 60+ per day, do you mean each baby, or together combined? And, how old are they? Ours is approximately, 4 months, & eating @ least 30/day, sometimes more, & I can tell I am about to have to adjust again. Hubby has been home last couple days, & fed a few hrs after I already had (he didn't know). Although (according to hubby) Misun jumped at the first 3-4 crickets dropped, quickly lost interest. I wasn't home, so there were 10 or so running around for a few hours, & I guess eventually got eaten, as I didn't see any @ the PM feeding time. Also, then he gobbled up the first 10, but I had to pull out around 5 or so after 'lights out.
Just wondering, someone else told me he was a bit on the small side, & to watch his weight/length.
He's exactly 9", not sure about the weight, but can tell he is growing, & not 'losing' any weight.
Thanks,
Amber

 

[Mariah94]

Chomper who is 1.5 months old will eat an average of 60+ a day, sometimes more depending on how he feels. Chomper is 7 inches long and weighs 23 grams

Malachi who is 3 months old will only eat 40-50 a day, but her appetite is increasing. Malachi is 7 inches long and only weighs 24. She is small for her age as well.

Malachi is very picky while chomper is a pig. Chomper will likely outgrow Malachi very quickly.

As long as they are eating well and are healthy, then small size is fine. They grow at their own little rates

 

[Erok000]

Our lil guy who is about 8-10 weeks old and prolly 8" eats 30-50 small dubia a feeding now. At first he only ate like 10 crickets a day if that. A few weeks settling in and getting everything right and now he eats over 100 small dubia and prolly 15-30 phoenix worms a day. Occasionally eating some greens.

 

[Mariah94]

Oh and any lettuce is just a no-no. It's like eating nothing! So you are absolutely right on that part

 

[Aboyle143]

Oh my gosh! So, do you like, breed your own live food, or buy direct from a warehouse somewhere? It scares me to think of Misun eating 100 crickets a day, that's like $12-15 per day! Not that I can't afford it, but that's a week's grocery bill for my household of 4! I do shop smart, & do the grocery game as well though!
And, the PetSmart around us, only get crickets on Tue & Thur. I went last week in the evening on Tue, & they were already sold out! I did have enough to last well past Thur, though, so please don't think he starved until then! I buy 100 @ a time, (up from 50 first few weeks) & I knew I was going to need more earlier than normal this week, so I popped in right @ noon (delivery time) Tue, to get my 100! Good thing, as he did not have enough to last through Tue night! I buy in advance to make sure they are gut loaded, but have had problems with them dying or getting too big before he can go through them all if I buy too many. I have a small & a large cricket keeper, so I transfer the existing crickets to small, then clean, & take large w/me to the store. From another thread, I posted how much he eats, (about 30+/day) & someone else said that seemed low. I do make sure he eats all he wants, & have started w/the greens but don't think he's eaten any yet. Also, since he went through the hundred in less time than ever before, it's obvious, & I know he IS eating more.
Another question: I've heard of people keeping the starter tank to use as a feeding tank. I took that to mean: put the live food in there, & transfer BD to the feeder for 10-15 minutes, however many times/day, and they will eat what all they want. Seemed like a good idea. Does anyone do this, or have experience w/it? Any drawbacks, (besides the cleaning of the tank) like, can't mix different live foods, unhealthy for the BD? I probably wouldn't mix foods anyway, just use other types as treats. Haven't done so yet, I know I need to start. Worms are hard to come by around here, I've found,,, good, live ones, that is. Easy to find freeze dried, but I wouldn't want to eat that, & how good could the nutrition be in that case? The live I have found, seem to be withered. Maybe that's what I heard/read about the 2 month mark, certain worms can't be fed, bc they're too big, outer skins too hard, something?
Which worms should I be feeding? I remember something about some have much higher fat/protein content,,, think it was the meal worms that have the hard shells, maybe? And since I haven't, will he jump after it 1st time, or have to get used to it? Should I just leave in there until he eats it, or take out after feeding time?
Ok, so maybe a FEW more questions!
Thanks, everyone, for all your advice, support, & sharing of your experience w/newbie owners!
Amber
Mariah:
Happened across your post about the velcro incident! So sorry to hear about that, but looks like she's much better now! VERY cute pics!

 

[Mariah94]

It is too expensive to buy from local shops while they are babies. I breed my own Dubia and buy bulk online. It is much much cheaper. It's still expensive to feed these babies though. Check out some online feeder breeders. But my Dubia colony will save a lot of money when te established.

Do the math on how much it costs per cricket and add that up for year and you will see buying online and in bulk is much cheaper!

Okay worms. The first two I mention have hard shells the rest are soft bodied

Mealworms are NOT suggested feeders at all and super worms can be fed once try are 16"

Silk worms are a fantastic staple feeder and you can grow your own I would suggest looking that up

Pheonix worms are a great feeder, expensive, but SO EASY to care for!!

Horn worms are a great feeder not a staple but great for beardies

Wax/butter worms are like candy bards so feed sparingly

And thank you for the kind words on Malachi she is doing great. Her and Chomper have a thread with updates on their adventures In the photo expression section

Yes a lot of people use it as feeding tank just as you thought. Jus put him in there and let the bugs loose and watch nature happen! My beardies are a bit spoiled and get fed by hand or by a small cup since Dubia don't jump. If I fed crickets I would use a feeder tank though. Sorry for any spelling mistskes or if I missed something I am on my phone. Let me know if you have any more questions

 

[Aboyle143]

Mariah:
Thanks for all the great info! I went to the feeding section to browse, last night also.
I was wondering about the large quantities of crickets, how others got/kept them. Do you buy in bulk? Have any problems w/them dying, or getting too big?
So the feeding tank: I was going to put ALL the crickets in, (replace as needed) and just let Misun loose in there @ each feeding time. Is that what you mean? Or do I need to still only put as many as I think he'll eat? I would think that would 'defeat the purpose' though, as if I didn't put enough, he'd still be hungry. Also, that would train him to eat all he can, bc he knows he won't be in there again until whatever time.
I keep the cricket keeper next to the viv, (not intentionally, but he can see it) so sometimes I can see he is 'stalking' prey, & know he's hungry. Then I will feed as many as I think he'll eat, depending on time from last feeding.
Thanks, again, for your help! One thing to read all info you can on care, but a whole different thing to be able to communicate w/other owners! So much better!
Thanks,
Amber
And, I'll check out the breeders online as you (& others) suggest.

 

[Mariah94]

I am not totally sure on how to keep crickets in large quantities because I house Dubia. I hear it's possible just stinky and you have to clean it out more often. I would check out the feeder section and see if anybody has posted tutorials on how to house bulk crickets. But if you house more crickets they need more space. I use two large bins that somebody would normally use for clothes and whatnot for my dubia.

Since my colony is not established and I cannot feed from it I buy bulk 1,000 nymph (baby ones) and approx. 120ish silk worms every 1.5-2 weeks, this may increase or decrease as their appetites fluctuate. It costs me about 70 bucks each time though, which I think is fairly cheap given the amount of bugs I'm buying.

As for the feeding tank, I would just drop in what you think he would eat in 10-15 minutes (or a bit more) and if he finishes them off before the 15 minutes drop some more in. Just let him eat until he doesn't wanna eat anymore Most lizards stop eating when they're full, there are a select amount of big boys on the forum that would just keep eating if alowed. Honestly I don't even check the time when feeding, I just let them eat until they stop eating...which I don't think goes on for more than 15 minutes.

And I agree, although all the info is on the forum, it is scattered and it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what you are looking and talking with somebody about it is much better this forum is the best thing I have ever done for my beardies. Cannot imagine where I would be if I didn't have this forum!