What does 80% insects, 20% greens actually mean?

[RawrtheBeardedDragon]

New bearded dragon owner here, have a little guy/gal that's been a pretty good eater. Stuff online says at this young age it's an 80/20 split of insects to greens, and then at 1 year old that'll flip to 80 greens to 20% insects.

Here's where I'm probably overthinking things, but what does the 80/20 signify? By calorie? By mass? By number of bites?

Gets fed 3-4 times a day, a typical meal is about one baby spinach leaf (from spring mix, so not a variety not always spinach but about that size) ripped up into pieces smaller than pinky fingernail and dipped in water. Won't eat anything bigger to like, take a bite out of the leaf. Then I'll put in a mix of Dubai roaches, crickets, and these dead worms from a can of worms we got a sample of one-by-one into their cage. Eats anywhere from 2-8 insects each feeding. Once he doesn't go after the latest insect I tossed in (toddler loves feeding it one by one like this), I'll pull that insect out or put it in the inescapable pill box so it doesn't stress in the cage. And him not eating the latest insect in a minute or two is how I feel he's "done" with the latest meal.

Is this the right ratio of greens to insects? One or half a baby spinach-sized leaf to 2-8 insects per feeding? He really varies the number of insects he's hungry for each time. We did realize that we weren't doing vitamin powders and you're supposed to so we're starting that today.

Picture for attention, can’t upload videos I don’t think but he flew out of his log to nom the roach the second my toddler dropped it in his tank

 

[KarrieRee]

New bearded dragon owner here, have a little guy/gal that's been a pretty good eater. Stuff online says at this young age it's an 80/20 split of insects to greens, and then at 1 year old that'll flip to 80 greens to 20% insects.

Here's where I'm probably overthinking things, but what does the 80/20 signify? By calorie? By mass? By number of bites?

Gets fed 3-4 times a day, a typical meal is about one baby spinach leaf (from spring mix, so not a variety not always spinach but about that size) ripped up into pieces smaller than pinky fingernail and dipped in water. Won't eat anything bigger to like, take a bite out of the leaf. Then I'll put in a mix of Dubai roaches, crickets, and these dead worms from a can of worms we got a sample of one-by-one into their cage. Eats anywhere from 2-8 insects each feeding. Once he doesn't go after the latest insect I tossed in (toddler loves feeding it one by one like this), I'll pull that insect out or put it in the inescapable pill box so it doesn't stress in the cage. And him not eating the latest insect in a minute or two is how I feel he's "done" with the latest meal.

Is this the right ratio of greens to insects? One or half a baby spinach-sized leaf to 2-8 insects per feeding? He really varies the number of insects he's hungry for each time. We did realize that we weren't doing vitamin powders and you're supposed to so we're starting that today.

Picture for attention, can’t upload videos I don’t think but he flew out of his log to nom the roach the second my toddler dropped it in his tank

He needs insects roaches 2-3 times per day dusted one time feeding calcium D 3 lightly coated 5 x per week - you want him eating salads or at least some please no spinach - he needs vitamins w beta carotene 2 x per week dusted on the roaches one time feeding lightly coated - he's going to eat the insects more than the salads but you want him eating some even a few bites- I would get him some bsfl for salad lures - I will post websites for nutrition and the bsfl tomorrow

 

[Claudiusx]

You're right to question the ratio. It's arbitrary at best, lazy at worst. In essence the purpose of the ratio is to make a point that growing dragons will eat a lot of protein, which isn't required as much at adult age.

A growing dragon should be eating salad items, and it should be eating insects. Quantity wise, a young growing dragon will eat more insects than an adult dragon, but that doesn't mean a young growing dragon doesn't need to eat its salads too.

Offer a salad every day, which it should eat, along with bugs once or twice a day. Don't worry about weights or volume or comparing the amount of greens to bugs. Just get your little one to be eating both.

-Brandon

 

[Rocky2022]

Yes, I wouldve failed.
More salad, less bugs. The irony is they want the opposite. Anything to make our lives difficult!