Question About feeding my bearded dragon

[matthewm207]

So I'm about to get a bearded dragon in a week and a few days after my trip. I have ordered everything and I'm pretty prepared. I will set up my cage around 3 days before I put the dragon in to make sure the temperatures/humidity levels are correct.

My question is, feeding. I'm thinking about feeding my baby dubias, but what size should I feed a baby, and how many a day, and if I should feed it once or twice etc. I know about the calcium/vitamin and gut loading stuff which I will focus on after these questions are answered.

I'm also looking for a good schedule for feeding, lighting etc for kids who are in high school and are looking to get into the reptile hobby, thanks!

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad to see you're doing research beforehand. It makes a big difference. Young dragons should be offered small dubia (no bigger than the space between their eyes) a couple of times per day for 10-15 min all the want. The actual number will vary.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Do you know how large / old the beardie will be ?

( approx. age in weeks if very young or months if older and larger ).

( can you tell us how heavy in grams ? )

These will help determine the appropriate feeding schedule and feeder insect size.

 

[matthewm207]

Yea, a baby.

 

[matthewm207]

Well I was thinking from getting it from online or at a pet store near me, not sure yet. Thanks

 

[twixy79]

So I'm about to get a bearded dragon in a week and a few days after my trip. I have ordered everything and I'm pretty prepared. I will set up my cage around 3 days before I put the dragon in to make sure the temperatures/humidity levels are correct.

My question is, feeding. I'm thinking about feeding my baby dubias, but what size should I feed a baby, and how many a day, and if I should feed it once or twice etc. I know about the calcium/vitamin and gut loading stuff which I will focus on after these questions are answered.

I'm also looking for a good schedule for feeding, lighting etc for kids who are in high school and are looking to get into the reptile hobby, thanks!

We just picked up our baby last week. Chewies body is about 3 inches, and tail is another 5 or so. He was supposedly 8 weeks old, but we think he is closer to 5-6 weeks, OR was very stressed when moved to the pet store, and didn't eat much. With that being said, now that he has settled in he is eating approximately 16-20 small crickets per day. He is fed 3-5 times per day, and is fed in a large tupperware bowl. We use that same bowl for his nightly bath/soak. He LOVES bath time, and loves lapping water (apparently he/she is an oddball)
We are heading like an hour north to a herp store that sells dubias this weekend, and I think we are going to buy 50 and see if he will even eat them. So far, he will only eat his crickets, and meal worms, and superworms. No veggies or fruits. Last night he was loving the worms, so he had a few mealworms.

Right now chewie is in a 10gal. In 2 weeks, once we have the temperature right, and the humidity right, he will be moving into his 55 gal. In his 10 gal, we have a heat mat (mounted on the back of the tank so he cannot get any belly burns) a 100w basking bulb/heat source and a UVB bulb. I have found out that those coil UVB bulbs are absolutely terrible for them, so in his big boy tank, we are using a ReptiSun 10.0 for now and will upgrade to the Arcadia 12% after the holidays are done and over with. Keeping the temperature high enough has been a struggle. In order to keep the tank warm enough, we have had to use a Ceramic Heat Emitter. We have everything on thermostat timers so they go on and off when outside of the set parameters (which helps greatly) and we regularly check the temperatures with our infrared thermometer.

For our 55 gal set up, we have the Reptisun 10.0 UV bulb in a standard fluorescent fixture which is mounted inside the tank with some command hooks. (Cost us 20 bucks as opposed to the 50 reptisun charges for their fixture). We also have a 100 Watt FROSTED Halogen Chromalux Neodymium which is the basking light, a 150w CHE (ceramic heat emitter) to regulate temperatures overnight and just a regular light bulb on the cool side for visible light.

I highly recommend reading through the Newbies Guide for What to Buy and Lighting Help. I pretty much based what I bought off their recommendations.

 

[matthewm207]

We just picked up our baby last week. Chewies body is about 3 inches, and tail is another 5 or so. He was supposedly 8 weeks old, but we think he is closer to 5-6 weeks, OR was very stressed when moved to the pet store, and didn't eat much. With that being said, now that he has settled in he is eating approximately 16-20 small crickets per day. He is fed 3-5 times per day, and is fed in a large tupperware bowl. We use that same bowl for his nightly bath/soak. He LOVES bath time, and loves lapping water (apparently he/she is an oddball)
We are heading like an hour north to a herp store that sells dubias this weekend, and I think we are going to buy 50 and see if he will even eat them. So far, he will only eat his crickets, and meal worms, and superworms. No veggies or fruits. Last night he was loving the worms, so he had a few mealworms.

Right now chewie is in a 10gal. In 2 weeks, once we have the temperature right, and the humidity right, he will be moving into his 55 gal. In his 10 gal, we have a heat mat (mounted on the back of the tank so he cannot get any belly burns) a 100w basking bulb/heat source and a UVB bulb. I have found out that those coil UVB bulbs are absolutely terrible for them, so in his big boy tank, we are using a ReptiSun 10.0 for now and will upgrade to the Arcadia 12% after the holidays are done and over with. Keeping the temperature high enough has been a struggle. In order to keep the tank warm enough, we have had to use a Ceramic Heat Emitter. We have everything on thermostat timers so they go on and off when outside of the set parameters (which helps greatly) and we regularly check the temperatures with our infrared thermometer.

For our 55 gal set up, we have the Reptisun 10.0 UV bulb in a standard fluorescent fixture which is mounted inside the tank with some command hooks. (Cost us 20 bucks as opposed to the 50 reptisun charges for their fixture). We also have a 100 Watt FROSTED Halogen Chromalux Neodymium which is the basking light, a 150w CHE (ceramic heat emitter) to regulate temperatures overnight and just a regular light bulb on the cool side for visible light.

I highly recommend reading through the Newbies Guide for What to Buy and Lighting Help. I pretty much based what I bought off their recommendations.[/quote]

Thanks so much that helped a lot.

 

[twixy79]

You're welcome!