removing food at night?

[MrsHolly]

Hi,
I've read that you should remove crickets before going to bed so they don't bother the dragon. Does everyone do this? I have to feed my dragon in the evening so I'm wondering how long I should leave the crickets in? For an adult dragon how many crickets should I feed at one time? Also, how does everyone store the crickets? Do they make noise at night?
Thanks!
Holly

 

[Goonie]

Hello. Welcome to BD.org.

Now to answer your questions.
1. Yes, you should remove the crickets when your beardie is finished eating. Crickets will bite/gnaw on the beardies in their sleep, causing severe bite wounds; because beardies sleep quite soundly, they won't feel the cricket bites.
2. If the only time you have to feed your beardie is at night, make sure to give at least 1.5 hours before lights out so your beardie would have enough heat for proper digestion.
3. Adult beardies typically will eat less crickets and more worms; they'll start losing interest in crickets around 2 years old (some earlier). The general consensus is approx. 50 crickets per week for adults.
4. Depending on how many crickets you buy at one time, you may keep them in Rubbermaid totes with holes punched in on the lids. Make sure that the totes are tall enough so the crickets will have no chance of hopping out. Or, if you have extra 10-20 gallon tanks around, you may use those, but make sure that the mesh lids are securely fastened.

 

[jennybud]

if you are worried about not getting all the crickets out at night i would suggest getting a feeder cage. basically a tank or rubbermaid container that you can put your beardie in then put in the crickets. i started doing this with my beardie after a horrable incident that i was trying to dig out crickets from my beardies cage and accidently dropped my cricket keeper. about 500 crickets escaped into my apartment and sent me running to the store for glue traps which i put about 20 at 4 feet intervals all around my entire apartment. yuck.

as for storing them i use a 10 gallon tank but i also keep 1000 at a time. you only need a few hundred a month so i would say get a cricket keeper they are about 5 gallons with cricket feeder tubes and such and yes if you get adults they will make noise. . . lots of noise. i usually keep my cricket in the back room so i don't have to hear them at night when i sleep. i does mean moving them back and forth to my beardie but you can't imagine how loud such little things can be!

 

[deeharidimou]

I agree. My worst nightmare was crickets darting around my living room. I first put a cricket in the viv, it just vanished and my youngster could not even see it. They can hide anywhere. I now feed mine in a seperate tank. It is much easier and your not on the cricket hunt after feeding. I am new to this and the first time I put a cricket in the viv it scared me how quick they are to hide.

 

[beardiesrus112]

I'm equally new to this BD stuff, but somewhat hoping the owner of mine doesn't return for her. Anyway, my girl's owner told me that crickets are stupid and will drown themselves if you put even a small bowl of water in their container. I found "water pillows" at our pet store, relatively inexpensive for six and they're reusable. I like the sound of them at night, but know that could drive some people nuts. Appreciate seeing the other responses as to the # they should get as I was told no more than 3-4 crickets every 3-4 days. Good luck!

Another "new mom" - Brenda

 

[jennybud]

up to adulthood they should get about 50 a day or some say as many as they will eat in ten munutes two to 3 times a day. after adulthood 50 a week is best