New owner, not sure how much to feed baby dragon

[co1ytm]

Hi, I just got my first beardie a few days ago. The pet store I got him/her at said that he/she needed to be fed five crickets once a day with some veggies. He/she is eating, but I've been looking around online trying to find out how much I'm supposed to be feeding. I've found places that say 20-60 crickets a day, giving three meals a day and places that say however many crickets can be eating in 5-10 minutes. This has resulted in me being very confused and worried that my poor baby is starving. I went ahead and gave him/her ten more crickets today, so he/she has had 15 today. I don't think that's enough. Help!

 

[BigDaddyK]

Feed it as much as it can eat. It's almost impossible to overfeed it as it won't just eat until it bursts. Most people say it should be 20% vegetables and 80% insects. I've had mine for 2 months. I give it squash/greens daily until it stops eating them, then I give it crickets until it stops looking hungry. Usually about 20-30 decent size crickets. Mine is doing beautifully so far at 3 months old and 12 inches.

 

[co1ytm]

Thank you! I was starting to get the idea that I should feed it as much as it wanted. I haven't been able to get Elliot to eat greens yet.

 

[DragonRudy]

Feed it as much as it can eat. It's almost impossible to overfeed it as it won't just eat until it bursts. Most people say it should be 20% vegetables and 80% insects. I've had mine for 2 months. I give it squash/greens daily until it stops eating them, then I give it crickets until it stops looking hungry. Usually about 20-30 decent size crickets. Mine is doing beautifully so far at 3 months old and 12 inches.

Are you kidding me? 12 inches at 3 months? Maybe my beardie is younger than I thought! S/he's just shy of 7 inches and I was told at the store that they usually sell them at about 2 months old. I've had Rudy for a month today. I was assuming he was 3 months old. If so, he's really small! I guess I'd better start feeding more to get him bigger, eh? :shock:

 

[pyffersnpaws]

general rule, feed as much as they want within the 10-15 mins... mine (I have 3) will slow down when they get full, here is a great website on diets that this forum recomends. It is all color coded and easy to follow. Hope it helps. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[DragonRudy]

Well this morning I fed him till he slowed down and that took less than 5 min! He ate 15 small crickets and left one wandering the tank. So I guess I know for now how much to offer. He also accidentally ate some of the mustard greens because he was looking for a cricket in his salad. Seemed to like it, although he doesn't go to the bowl willingly.

 

[pyffersnpaws]

be careful leaving any uneaten crickets in the tank as they can bite the beardies which could lead to infections.

 

[DragonRudy]

Thanks....it was just the one left in there and I think it was only because it was hiding. As soon as it came out in the open, Rudy snatched it up!

 

[pyffersnpaws]

sounds like it should have stayed hiding... lol