larger than pinkies?

[yoyofanatic]

So my beardie loves pinkies but there a bit small for him. Can you feed them fuzzys? Or other inscets that are large?

 

[peera]

You shouldn't even be feeding him pinkies, they're not good for them. The only time they're ever recommended is for gravid females. They're way high in fat and they can choke or get impacted on the bones.

 

[Elora]

how old is your beardie? I have read in many places that adults don't need as much protein as juvies. What veggies do you feed your beardie?

 

[jscott]

hello, and welcome to BD.org .

to answer your question; yes there are larger things for your dragon to eat besides pinkies and mice.

if you have an adult dragon, then they could probably handle silkworms, superworms or roaches.

if you really wanna go all out, i suggest buying madagascar hissing cockroaches. they're huge(3"-4"), meaty and most importantly, a safe food source.

here is a site you can order them from:
http://www.bestroach.com/index_files/Page843.htm

they are pretty expensive as far as feeder insects go but you could use them for a hearty snack or try your hand at breeding them; im breeding some dubia roaches right now...

as some of the people on this site mentioned, pinkies/mice or any other vertebrate for that matter, are not an appropriate food item for a bearded dragon. other people may have told you mice/pinkies/lizards are an acceptable, sustainable food source but they are mis-informed people spreading harmfull information.

there are a couple reasons pinkies/mice/lizards are not ok as food items for BDs:

bones: BDs should only be fed invertebrates, meaning things without bones. most kinds of feeder insects are acceptible, with the exception of mealworms, waxworms and a couple others.

P:Ca(phosphorus to calcium ratio): calcium is important to BDs for maintaining healthy muscles and bones. just because your dragon is getting plenty of food dosnt mean hes getting all the nutrients in that food. phosphorus(among other things) binds calcium, meaning it blocks it from being absorbed.

foods high in phosphorus should either be dusted with calcium powder or avoided all together. in the case of vertebrate animals, they are very high in phosphorous as well as fat. being that they have sharp bones as well, your better off avoiding them.

stick with crickets as a cheap easy feeder, just be sure to dust them with calcium powder first. if you can afford them, silkworms are great as are roaches; both can be ordered from the internet.


hope that helped a little. feel free to ask any questions reguarding anything that concerns you and once again, welcome to this site :wink: .