New beardy owner with lots of questions :)

[Celeste]

I've had Levi for 3 weeks, and being my first bearded dragon I have alot to learn, and alot of questions
He is 2 months old, eats veggies (butternut, yellow peppers, green beans, peach etc.) and about 20 crickets a day.
He is very healthy and is growing very fast!

I dont know if these are the right veggies, but its all he eats, and he prefers anything yellow.
I dust all his crickets with calcium and feed him crickets 3 times a day, for 10 minutes.
Is this too much calcium, should i only dust some crickets?
I also don't use any extra vitamin supplements? is this necessary?

And I also have a non-food a related question. What should i use in my beardies cage? I have sand as a substrate, but want to get rid of it asap, what is the best to use? can I use newspaper?
I hope I am doing everything right there are so many forums on bearded dragons, but I don't really know which ones to trust. Hopefully I can get trusted advice from here

 

[keen77]

make sure you offer greens too like collard and mustards. as you go you can try different feeders, mine love roaches. may want to only dust every other day just once. you can use news paper or paper towels. I use tile they are 4inch tiles kinda rough, really cheap, stay away from sand

 

[Kaiser]

Here's a helpful list in finding out what kind of vegetables and fruits you can feed your bearded dragon, as well as how often they should be offered: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html. I think most of what you are offering your bearded dragon should be fed occasionally, and they really do need a staple green vegetable, such as collard, mustard, or dandelion greens.

The most commonly suggested schedule for dusting is calcium one feeding per day, five days a week. The other two days, the live feeders should be dusted with vitamins one feeding per day. The other feedings can go without, as excess calcium and vitamins can lead to overdose and possible health complications. I would say that yes, vitamin supplements are necessary, or at least, recommended.

It's good that you're going to get rid of the sand substrate. You can use newspaper or paper towels, or reptile carpet if available. Tile and non-adhesive shelf liner, as mentioned, are also viable options. Just try to stay away from loose substrates.

And from my experience from being on this site, it is incredibly helpful and trustworthy. I have learned a lot of things from here that have saved me from making a lot of mistakes, and so far, my bearded dragon is doing incredibly well. So if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask, as I'm sure you'll get good advice and answers. Best wishes!

 

[Celeste]

Thanx so much for the helpful info!
I do have more questions though...

"I think most of what you are offering your bearded dragon should be fed occasionally, and they really do need a staple green vegetable, such as collard, mustard, or dandelion greens."

I stay in Pretoria, South Africa, and I have no idea where to find collard, mustard, or dandelion greens, don't really know if i've ever seen them either? If anyone can give me a staple that is available in SA, please let me know!

I dont feed Levi the same veggies every day, and he is starting to eat more green beans and butternut, but I still struggle to find all the right veggies, also cant find specific leaves like basil, which is also apparently good for them.

Thans for the link, it does help a lot, but all the green marked items (staples) like Alfalfa, Cactus, Collard(never heard of it), Dandelion Greens, Endive, Escarole, Mustard Greens, Squash Hubbard, Squash Scallop and Squash Summer I have honestly never heard of or actually seen! Either it has a different name, or it is not available. Im sure there has to be an alternative, or an easy way to get hold of these items?

 

[Kaiser]

You're welcome. Though I'm not sure I can answer your new questions, since I'm not really sure about the availability of those vegetables on distant continents. I am relatively sure, however, that there are different names for some, if not all of those three listed vegetables, but I can't recall what they are called elsewhere, and even if I could, I unfortunately wouldn't know if they'd be available. But the least I could do is comment so as to bring this post up in hopes that someone else may be able to provide input.

Something I noticed, however, is that you mentioned feeding him butternut, which can apparently be used as a staple. However, from my experience and from what I'm usually told (or have seen been told) is that leafy, green vegetables should be included as a regular staple. I'm not sure if butternut can completely replace a leafy, green vegetable, however, so unfortunately, I can only help in bringing this post up for others to see.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I'll try to find the alternate names of some of those vegetables, and if I find anything, I'll let you know to see if those sound more familiar.

 

[Celeste]

Thanks so much for the advice.
I found a packet of mixed salad herbs (containing some of the greens you mentioned) as well as a petshop that sells ready-made beardie salad!
My little Levi is eating everything!