New Beardie Owner needs feeding advice

[matthawk04]

I am the proud new owner of a juvenile beardie...my first. He's very friendly and seems very healthy so I want to make sure he is as happy as can be. I have spoken with several people where I purchased him and they have all told me to feed him crickets 3 times a week and greens everyday. Everything I have been reading on the care sheets online say to feed juveniles live food everyday as much as they can eat in a 5-10 minute span. I want to make sure I am feeding him enough. Can anyone please advise me on this??? Thanks!!

 

[Claudiusx]

Don't take the advice of the petstore. The advice you read in the caresheet is correct. When a dragon is young it needs insects everyday because it needs to nutrients to grow. Once the dragon is older is when you can cut down to feeding less insects, like 3 times a week if you wanted.

For feeding, I always recommend offering a salad first thing in the morning, an hour or two after lights on. Then later in the day offering insects. The if the salad is gone replace it. Basically, always have a fresh salad in there. You don't need to go making a big huge salad at the start because chances are he won't eat it, or will only eat a little. So adjust the salad size accordingly.

-Brandon

 

[matthawk04]

Great! Thanks you for your advice!!

 

[Toyguy]

Definitely some kind of live feeder every day, two or three times a day. Crickets should be dusted with Calcium + D3 about 5x per week, and with a multivitamin like Herptivite 2x a week. Phoenix worms do not need dusting as they are very rich in calcium, but a little pricey. As Brandon noted, keep a small salad in there and adjust the size based on how much gets eaten. In the beginning it won't be much. Make sure you have a good UVB tube bulb - the ReptiSun 10.0 is the only recommended US bulb. The coils are garbage and will lead to an inability to absorb calcium and thus bone disease.