Save$$$!!

[Lake]

Hey, I just wanted to offer some tips on saving money on your bearded dragons.

1) TERRARIUM. Avoid buying online. I got my exo terra terrarium about $150 cheaper in store than online. At petco they sometimes have sales where you can buy terrariums for 1$ per gallon. In the "enclosures" forum you can find more info on that.

2) FOOD. At tractor supply co. you can get about a half gallon bag of natural freeze dried mealworms. "hen treats" is what they are called and I got mine for about ten bucks. You can also get a small and large sized bag and I would recommend the large as these are freeze dried and won't go bad.

3) LIGHTING. Again, go to tractor supply. They sell lights made for keeping chickens warm in winter. They are just heat bulbs. They sell red and white for about four dollars. They also sell the fixtures for much cheaper than the pet stores.

This was all recommended to me by a local breeder and I used these tips to save money on my own dragon. I'm glad I knew this and I hope it helps you. Thanks!

 

[Pushkin]

Just a quick comment - all about saving money, but mealworms have almost no nutritional value for your dragon, and I'm sure they are much worse when already dead. A varied diet of live insects with higher nutritional value - hornworms, Phoenix worms, crickets, roaches - is a much better choice, even if you have to pay more.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Just wanted to say red lights aren't very good and you can get halogen bulbs for a good price at any hardware store.

 

[Lake]

I know, I only use the mealworms as treats

 

[diamc]

We buy the Dried Mealworms for our chickens but, to be quite honest, I would never consider feeding them to my beardies even as a treat since there are so many more nutritional feeders available.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....those are some excellent tips on the light fixtures ! Places like Agway + tractor supply have the different sized aluminum reflector domes that are cheaper and far superior to the black domes from the pet stores. The aluminum ones reflect heat down into the tank much better. I think Walmart sells them, too. The freeze dried mealies are O.K for treats, and if anyone wonders about nutritional value of mealworms, they can Google it. They do have nutritional value but definitely not on par with other insects like dubia + crickets which can be gutloaded more efficiently. But I used to keep a colony of mealworms for 5 years, and they can come in handy during harsh winter weather when insects could not be shipped for weeks at a time.