I am getting my first BD and want to make sure that I feed him right. He is about 6 months old. There is a lot of information out there and it's overwhelming! I understand to feed things that are not bigger than the width between his eyes but what? And I've also read that I need to give vitamin supplements and dust the crickets??? What all is needed and how do you dust? Also I read they should be given a staple pellet. Is this true? I appreciate any advice.
There are some good resources, right here on this site on what to feed your beardie.
Ours is about 9 months old now. We feed him black soldier fly larva and crickets daily. He loves the larva. We sprinkle the reptile calcium powder on the crickets to supplement them and gut load (feed the crickets) healthy veggies. We also feed him greens every day. He loves turnip greens best. There is a list on the care sheets and articles link above.
Hello, here is a really good list of good/bad things to feed your beardie. Pellets are definitely not needed and should never be staple (I know you are not using them as a staple right now, but I just wanted to make that clear ) As for dusting, there is honestly a lot of conflicting info. Some people say with d3, some say without. If/when feeding multivitamins, don't use them everyday. I believe you can dust them by just putting them in a bag with the powder and doing a 'shake and bake' type method, or if using something less mobile (like worms) you could just sprinkle it on. Hope this helped!
Here is a wonderful care sheet: https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/
Never EVER use mealworms. They are horrible. They cause impaction and are very hard to digest If you like worms there are other options. You can use silkworms, phoenix worms, and hornworms (when he gets bigger). Super worms, although better than mealworms, are still not a good option for beardies under 16".
Ok. Great advice on the worms. I plan on using crickets but have to say that the idea of roaches kind of grosses me out so I'm trying to see what other options I have
Buying in bulk online really helps to save money. When you purchase crickets for like 15¢ each at places like Petsmart and Petco, and your beardie is eating 30-100 crickets A DAY, you're going to go broke
Usually you want to use gut loaded crickets, or dust them. Calcium + d3 3x/week, multivitamin 2x per week for adults. 6 months I think you want to up that so he gets the proper vitamins.
If you use Phoenix worms (black soldier fly larvae) you won't need to dust with calcium as they are naturally high in calcium, which is why they are sometimes called calci worms.
Your food ratio should be 80% protein to 20% veg until they are an adult where it flips to 80% veg to 20%protein.
Check out sites like lindasgonebuggy.com if you are looking to order online.