New to feeding baby beardie, help! :)

[draco614]

We just got Draco, 4-5 inches, a little while ago and were just wondering what we can feed him besides pinhead crickets. We've been giving him bearded dragons bites (wet of course, humans wouldn't eat dry pasta, why would animals eat dry food) and some fruits and veggies (ie, blueberries and carrots). We understand babies won't necessarily eat the fruits and veggies quite yet, but it's in there. We would like to vary his diet and make sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs through out the day. We've been feeding him 3-4 times a day, 30 crickets total. He seems normal and is pooing normally. We live in NY, so we are just curious on where we can get other insects. The pet stores in our area (about 5 total) carry various sizes of crickets, meal worms (small and large) and wax worms (mostly large). But that's it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

(He's in a 20 gallon tank with slate tile substrate with the hot side of the tank with the basking rock at 110-80 with the air temp at 90-80 the cooler temps are at night. We are currently in process of getting an UTH.)

 

[NegativeCreep]

Any soft-bodied worms are good to give him; just be sure they are appropriately sized. He can have phoenix worms, horn worms, silk worms, etc (I'm sure I'm missing one or two types). Phoenix worms are likely your best option, as they are small and packed with calcium (which is great for a growing dragon!). You can get them at http://www.phoenixworm.com

Do you limit your beardie's crickets to 30, or is that about how many she usually eats? Most people on the board (including myself) offer as many crickets as they can eat in 15 minutes, which can be as many as 50 crickets (some people stop at 50 - I don't!).

Stay away from the meal worms, as they have a hard outer shell and they are low in actual nutrition. Super worms can be given to beardies 16" or larger.

Hope that helps!!

 

[draco614]

30 crickets are as much as he'll eat right now, we put a couple in there and walk away incase he gets hungry while we're gone and they're still there. we'll order some phoenix worms, thank you for the site!

 

[NegativeCreep]

The phoenix worms are really great! There have been a few cases of beardies refusing them, but most beardies consume them readily (just so you know - because beardies are known to be silly, picky eaters).

Beware of leaving the crickets inside his enclosure, as they can nibble at him and cause sores. They also can attack their eyes, due to the moisture. It's best to remove any uneaten crickets or feed in a separate tub/enclosure. 30 crickets a day is not very many feeders, though. What kind of UVB source are you using?

Also, the UTH is unnecessary, and they can be dangerous. Your temps are fine; and they can drop as low as mid 60's safely at night. If you find that you need additional heat, you can use a stronger bulb or adjust the basking spot height. If you need heat at night, get a CHE - Ceramic Heat Emitter.

 

[draco614]

We're using the repti-glo 10.0 and are in the process of getting the repti-sun 10.0 the pet shops in our area didn't have any repti-sun, so we're ordering off line. and for the crickets, he's still new and we're not sure what they fed him at the store before us. we're going to order some of the phoenix worms to vary his diet. how many should we feed him in a sitting/day?

 

[NegativeCreep]

I feed the worms at lunch (and crickets for dinner). I put about 25-30 on top of a bed of salad. She could totally eat more, maybe 50 or more, but she eats her veggies now. I'm so proud! I would use the 15 minute rule - and give her as many as she can consume in 15 minutes.

That's wonderful that you are getting the reptisun. He/she will benefit from it!