Questions of a soon to be a beardie owner

[Sushi]

Hello everyone!

I usually avoid forums of any kind, as I usually get bad experience on them.

Although, since I'm gonna be a beardie momma.. what else can I do?

So.. my questions are:

Any specific basking temperature for a beardie of any age? (I need that in Celsius)

How to tame them?

What to feed them? How often?

Can you "potty" train them? If so, how?

How warm should their water bath be? (Celsius)

Can baby to juvi beardies eat mealworms?
(I am scared of crickets, and hoppers [to death lol])

Or should I be getting small dubia roaches?

If any new questions arise, I'll ask here ^^

Thank you!

 

[Sushi]

here's a great list for food. ignore what it says about kale. it has been found to be a great staple green and this page hasn't been updated for that. Nutrition Content

in our house for greens we rotate through kale, mustard greens, collards, watercress, and all time favorite dandelion greens. then zucchini, various color bell pepper, sweet potato, and occasionally raspberries or blueberries. topped off with about 1/4 tsp bee pollen granules (he hates powders). whatever salad is left at the end of the day gets fed to the roaches.

Yeah, I had look at that food sheet before, but it's layout is so confusing to me lol. It's overwhelming to me, if you know what I mean.

Yeah, I heard they need variety if not mixes daily of their food.

Arcadia Earth Pro A contains bee pollen. It's hard to overdose (true), and contains all vitamins needed. I used it on my gecko for 1 year.

 

[Sushi]

Yes BSFL can be stored in the fridge. I’ve had an escape situation as well, those little worms ended up everywhere in my house. Advice: if you decide to keep the worms in something like a critter keeper, MAKE SURE the gaps on the lid are sealed off, only leave a couple tiny holes for air. Otherwise they can and will crawl out…

If you’re ordering 1000-2000 dubia roaches make sure get a large bin to put them in! Set up a good dubia colony can really save you money

They never escaped, worms themselves. I kept them in cricket tub, the ones you get at a pet store. Worms changed into flies, and these escaped :/ I put them once in the fridge, then read they should not be put in one since it will kill them. I take them out, they go back alive when they got warm.

In fact, I used to have a huge dubia colony, but they ended up dying to unknown issues. I only have a few leftovers along with a fist amount of roachlings. Though my madagascan hissers.. Oh boy! Do they breed worse than rabbits! Came back from Greece, from a holiday, to another 50 of evil seeds (I call their roachlets that xD). Got over a 100 of them now. Invlude adults.

And the 1000-2000 dubias are only smalls.
I might infact keep getting BSF larvae for both of my dinosaurs
I totally forgot about them. Was scared of more flies cause they "cannot" be in a fridge. Now I know they can be in a fridge.

 

[Sushi]

You will find out fairly fast beardies are picky eaters, they will have some food they will devour and others you couldn't get them to no matter what ya do. Or you might get lucky and get one that eats anything.

I'm scared about that
My leopard is such a foodie boi, he'll vacuum up literally anything lol. I hope my beardie will eat their larvae. Along with that I might get some small dubias too.

 

[Sushi]

Are large calci worms fine for small beardies? Found a pack of 1000 of them for £13.95.

 

[Sushi]

Also, how to prepare cork bark? My friend said she just puts it in her leopard's tank, and that most people/sellers sterilise before packing it. The thing is, those pieces are tad too big for boiling. My oven is not working, and wood would catch on fire while baking.

 

[Groggyfroggie]

Are large calci worms fine for small beardies? Found a pack of 1000 of them for £13.95.

Yeah just make sure they’re not bigger than the space of between beardies eyes.

Also, how to prepare cork bark? My friend said she just puts it in her leopard's tank, and that most people/sellers sterilise before packing it. The thing is, those pieces are tad too big for boiling. My oven is not working, and wood would catch on fire while baking.

You can just wash it then put it in the sun until it dries, then rip off some parts that look moldy or whatever. That’s how I prepare my decor at least.

Yeah, I had look at that food sheet before, but it's layout is so confusing to me lol. It's overwhelming to me, if you know what I mean.

Yeah, I heard they need variety if not mixes daily of their food.

Arcadia Earth Pro A contains bee pollen. It's hard to overdose (true), and contains all vitamins needed. I used it on my gecko for 1 year.

I definitely know what you mean haha! Just start with one or two types of veggies, those “staple” ones like endive/escarole mustard greens or collard greens. Then you can explore other options one at a time.

What I did as a new beardie parent was writing down greens he can eat on a list, then just go to grocery store, stroll down the aisles, find a couple veggies to bring home with. You’ll formulate your own menu for beardie over time, don’t worry

If you scroll through this thread there are lots of info about feeding bearded dragons. Errors in widespread nutrition guides for beardies | Page 2 | Dietary Needs | Bearded Dragon .org At the end of the thread you can find a wonderful graph, basically a meal plan for beardies. Follow that plan if you don’t know where to start!

 

[Sushi]

Yeah just make sure they’re not bigger than the space of between beardies eyes.

You can just wash it then put it in the sun until it dries, then rip off some parts that look moldy or whatever. That’s how I prepare my decor at least.

I definitely know what you mean haha! Just start with one or two types of veggies, those “staple” ones like endive/escarole mustard greens or collard greens. Then you can explore other options one at a time.

What I did as a new beardie parent was writing down greens he can eat on a list, then just go to grocery store, stroll down the aisles, find a couple veggies to bring home with. You’ll formulate your own menu for beardie over time, don’t worry

If you scroll through this thread there are lots of info about feeding bearded dragons. Errors in widespread nutrition guides for beardies | Page 2 | Dietary Needs | Bearded Dragon .org At the end of the thread you can find a wonderful graph, basically a meal plan for beardies. Follow that plan if you don’t know where to start!

Awesome, thank you!

As for the cork bark, some pieces have lichens and pieces of moss on them. How do I prepare such piece? Or do I just ignore the moss and lichens?

 

[Sushi]

Now after reading the chart, I got a bit confused. What should be a staple, and what should not be a staple? How often to feed my beardie orange highlighted foods? How often to feed my beardie green highlighted foods? How often to feed my beardie red highlighted foods?

 

[xp29]

dark leafy greens everyday. collard, mustard, turnip, ect. then add other stuff as toppers, just mix it up. the dark leafy is always the base though.

 

[Groggyfroggie]

Now after reading the chart, I got a bit confused. What should be a staple, and what should not be a staple? How often to feed my beardie orange highlighted foods? How often to feed my beardie green highlighted foods? How often to feed my beardie red highlighted foods?

If you look at the chart again the frequency is on there as well. If a veggie is labeled “staple” that means it’s safe to feed it everyday. However variety is key. Personally I keep two staple greens for a week, mix them with something else that can be fed occasionally, then use some other staple greens next week. Does that make sense? Everyone feeds a different way just make sure your beardie isnt eating the same thing every single day.

 

[Sushi]

dark leafy greens everyday. collard, mustard, turnip, ect. then add other stuff as toppers, just mix it up. the dark leafy is always the base though.

So those are foods green highlighted on the chart?

 

[Sushi]

If you look at the chart again the frequency is on there as well. If a veggie is labeled “staple” that means it’s safe to feed it everyday. However variety is key. Personally I keep two staple greens for a week, mix them with something else that can be fed occasionally, then use some other staple greens next week. Does that make sense? Everyone feeds a different way just make sure your beardie isnt eating the same thing every single day.

Makes sense

 

[Sushi]

But how do I prepare the cork bark though?

 

[Groggyfroggie]

But how do I prepare the cork bark though?

Wash it, bask it in the sun, pick out the moss/lichens parts, make sure there's no sharp edges, sterilize it with reptile friendly disinfectant, rinse it again then you're good to go

 

[Sushi]

Wash it, bask it in the sun, pick out the moss/lichens parts, make sure there's no sharp edges, sterilize it with reptile friendly disinfectant, rinse it again then you're good to go

Okay, thank you
Hopefully I will be able to pick out the lichens and moss.