So I see everything online talking about the diet of a bearded dragon being so much percent veggies and so much percent insects. What percentage is this exactly referring to? Is this by calories or is it by weight or something else? Just want to make sure I understand everything correctly.
Adults insects 2-3 time per week ---- babies 20% bugs 80% vegies -- main diet for them is the insects as they need the protein --- here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the thing about the kale its a good staple feeder--
Karrie
So I see everything online talking about the diet of a bearded dragon being so much percent veggies and so much percent insects. What percentage is this exactly referring to? Is this by calories or is it by weight or something else? Just want to make sure I understand everything correctly.
I've asked the same question and never gotten a good answer. If you have a baby/young dragon, offer fresh salad every morning, and keep track of what s/he will or will not eat. IME, you can lead a dragon to veggies, but you can't make them eat without starving them. If an adult, a few days fast won't hurt them if it entices them to eat their veggies.
It wont hurt a young dragon either. It's how I get ALL of my dragons to eat their salads from a young age.
I dont like the ratio either. I dont know where it came from and even more so, i dont know how youd hit that ratio. 80/20 by weight? By volume? By meal frequency? Who knows. It's more arbitrary than anything. Just an "answer" to a question that has no real answer.
What's important is having a healthy dragon. And the best way to do that is to ensure you are offering a varied diet, and that your youngins are getting both salad and live insects.
I, too, have questioned the 80/20 "rule" for babies and the 20/80 "rule" for adults. My 11 month old dragon gets a salad offered to him every day; sometimes he'll eat a little of it, sometimes, he'll eat a lot of it. But he ALWAYS eats his insects, every single one of them. I think as long as you're trying to make sure your dragon gets both, you're on the right track, regardless of what the percentages say. For salads, definitely keep track of what your dragon eats more vigorously and what he avoids... Figment is NUTS for any bright colored veggies, for example, but not so keen on his greens, unfortunately, so I try to mix the brights in with the greens to encourage healthier eating.
Mine is around 4 months this old at 15inches and I feed 60% bugs and 40% veggies or maybe even 50/50 but the rule of thumb is 80% insects or protein as a juvenile and 20% veggies and it flips as an adult 20% insects/protein and 80% veggies
My Petey Boy is 2.5+ yrs old and has salad daily, using greens, squashes, shredded carrot or sweet potato, maybe a sliced grape or berry and proteins every 3rd day in addition to the salad. Variety is healthy. Nothing should be fed in exclusion to all else, if it can possibly be avoided.
-Dee