Perfecting the BD Diet

[pierceofthereptiles]

My beardie Mizu is an adult on the thin side. Previous owner was not generous with feeding regularly.

I have been feeding him gut-loaded crickets and mixed greens (collard, kale, turnip) powdered with calcium and multivitamin and he readily gobble that up--the crickets and the greens. But since he's on the small side I don't know what ratio of feeding I should have. Bugs every day? Alternate bug day/greens day?

I also want to know what options are good for the insect portion of Mizu's diet. I hear of roaches, silkworms, hornworms, and such but should I get all of these and alternate them or see which ones he enjoys and feed till he's satisfied and never change up the critter type I feed him?

 

[CooperDragon]

Since he's an adult I'd focus on healthy meals that are heavy on the veges. As long as he is maintaining a roughly stable weight then I wouldn't worry about the actual number. My adult is thin too and hovers between about 510g to 530g. He is hyperactive and eats well so I don't worry much about his size.

Offer as much variety as you can in salads. I rotate based on what looks freshest at the store. My guy likes collard greens a lot so I get plenty of those. I also mix in turnip greens and mustard greens. He likes dandelion greens when I can get them. He likes rainbow chard and bok choi too so I mix that in once in a while. He loves squash so almost always has that in his salads. Likes chopped green beans as well. I try to mix in some green bell peppers and other veges if they're fresh and sometimes a little bit of fruit like a cut up blackberry or blueberry. Variety is the key so offer 2-3 items per salad and just rotate what you offer to ensure a balanced diet.

For bugs, I only offer them every few days as a full meal. He'll get an occasional worm treat as he passes through the room most days but not a full meal. I use dubia roaches as the primary bug because I have a colony. Crickets will work too as will other types of roaches. I usually have some black soldier fly larvae on hand to offer as a snack and I like to have silkworms on hand when they are in season. He LOVES silk worms. He hasn't tried hornworms yet but I'm sure he'd like those as well. He likes supers too but I only offer those as an occasional treat. Variety is good there too but as an adult the bugs shouldn't make up the majority of the diet. If he's digging into at least a little salad every day and his weight is stable and he's active that's a good point to shoot for. They are opportunistic feeders in the wild so they don't need to eat constantly and will go after and make the best of what is available so it's best to give them a variety to try and mimic that a bit.

 

[pierceofthereptiles]

Thank you for your thorough reply! Exactly what I was looking for.

I need to vary my greens. I think the most challenging part between him and I will be seeing which things he likes and what he doesn't. His previous owner fed him on crickets once every three-ish weeks and only kale for greens and not daily salads. As I wander through the grocery, I'll be keeping my eye out for squash and dandelion greens but he does enjoy turnip greens and collard greens mixed with some kale to draw his attention and some shredded carrots. So far he hasn't really shown much interest in the fruit I've attempted to show him but there's all the time to see what he does enjoy.

 

[CooperDragon]

It takes time to develop a system, be patient. Keep in mind their moods vary like ours too. What he refuses one day he may be craving the next. Keep this list in mind as a general guide for items to offer but go with what looks freshest at the time. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html