Is it normal for 2 beardies to eat 500 roaches in 2 weeks?

[GoBigGuy]

Hi All,

I have two piggy beardies that have gone through 500 dubia roaches in just two weeks. They are about a week apart in age and almost about the 11" long, (the female is the older one but has a nipped tail which is why they are the same length).

They both have been averaging about 10g per week in weight gain except for last week when my female gained 17g!

Is this normal eating?

Here's their growth chart

 

[Rampagingraptor]

No, that is not unusual at all for 2 beardies. They can actually eat even more than that faster sometimes.

 

[HKzForDayz]

Hungry hungry beardies. Where do you get the dubias from? Discountdubias.com has them pretty cheap. Sounds like you could use the discount. Actually 500 for beardies in 2 weeks sounds about right. Mine would each eat close to a dozen in a sitting. My tegu, on the other hand, will eat upwards of 50 if I let him. That is one hungry lizard.

Please quit spamming on our forum.

 

[syoung27]

Sounds about right.
Crickets probably aren't as filling but I easily go through 250 in 5 days at best, feeding one beardie.
They won't usually over eat, and if its not constantly fatty foods you shouldnt have much to worry about. So feed away.
A full dragon is a happy one.

 

[usmcfamily]

500 in two weeks?! That is so many! I cannot imagine feeding that much, our dragon hardly eats 5-10 a day :/

 

[Rampagingraptor]

500 in two weeks is actually kind of small. Just think about the math. If you divide it out, it would equate to about 18 roaches per day per beardie, which is still very little for a young beardie to eat a day.

 

[HKzForDayz]

500 in two weeks is actually kind of small. Just think about the math. If you divide it out, it would equate to about 18 roaches per day per beardie, which is still very little for a young beardie to eat a day.

I will second Raptors math lol. between my two beardies , on everage they would eat about 1700 roaches in a two week period. And I only feed my beardies dubias for 2/3 of their daily live feedings.

 

[AHBD]

It does seem like an excessive amount of food, especially when some pet stores may say that 5-6 bugs a day is enough. But 18 is a very sensible number of bugs per day, depending on what size they are, or a few more. If the bugs are on the small side [ and sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry ] then the number of bugs eaten per feeding can be increased, almost doubled. Still, it seems that some beardies are being overfed on insects leading to obesity + lack of interest in greens, also there is an unusually high number of threads on beardies with gout which may be caused by too much protein along with not enough hydration. But all in all, beardies are eating machines.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Rex, Peppa and Toothless polish off about 800 - 900 x 2/3 sized crickets in about 2 weeks.

So yes, espectally young and rapidly growing beardies will really chow down on their live crickets.

Peppa and Toothless have eaten up to 30 x 2/3 sized crickets each spread over 2 meals (15 - 20 crickets in am, and 10 - 12 crickets + their greens and veg each in the pm).
They are now 5.5 months old and growing like crazy. I've a thread about them here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=221328&start=60
Rex my big 3.5 yr old girl gets a daily cricket feed (usually about 12 med- large crickets + some salad and greens). Yes I know people say insects to an adult beardie 2 or 3 times a week, she gets hers daily .... mega spoilt !

A well fed beardie is a HAPPY beardie. I also say feed away, when the beardie is full it'll loose interest in the insects being offer.

If your two are housed together, I can guarantee one will be getting the lion's share of the goodies. I recommend separating them into their own rearing enclosures (100L converted tubs are ideal) ASAP if not sooner.

 

[Toddzilla1108]

My one beardie cleared 1000 in 2.5 weeks. At that point I went up to the next size...(she's 13" now)

 

[Toddzilla1108]

Double post...but I noticed we got our beardies at similar times and similar sizes, so here's Rey's growth chart if it's any use to you. Beardies grow and eat at different paces, yours sound like they have a consistent appetite which is important