what is the best live food for a 7 inch bearded dragon?

[chunky]

ive heard many things about different foods. well which is best to you and why do you preffer it? 7 inch dragon because thats how big mine is

 

[runningguy]

For only one bd 7" long, I would buy crickets in bulk. You could go with roaches but they are expensive to start and a heated bin is needed so I have always thought they would be too much trouble for only one dragon.

 

[Trogdorpheus]

a heated bin is needed so I have always thought they would be too much trouble for only one dragon

I have one dragon, and its totally worth it. I've never had to buy bulk crickets and am very thrilled about that, considering they smell like sin. Heat isn't necessary either, I've had mine breed at as low as 70 F with success. They breed more slowly sure, but for only one dragon this might be ideal anyway.

 

[runningguy]

Heat isn't necessary either, I've had mine breed at as low as 70 F with success. They breed more slowly sure, but for only one dragon this might be ideal anyway.

Interesting that you can breed them without heat. You are the second person that has said this. I guess the the next question is would they become pests if they escaped in the house? My dragon is now adult and doesn't eat as much and certainly less meat, so I rarely buy bulk insects anymore. When I do, it's superworms. I also just got a few madagascar hissers for him. I was shocked at how fast he pounced on it!

 

[keen77]

mine LOVE Dubia roaches! I have a colony that I'm workin on, super easy set up and upkeep. Crickets suck

 

[Cheline101]

I personally like crickets the best. just make sure that they are no bigger than the space between their eyes. When I first got my beardie, I was really bad at getting the crickets from their container to the calcium bag without loosing some, and we would find them in random places in the apartment, but they never reproduced in the apartment, they were just crickets that got loose... lol They only live for 6 weeks, so It's not so bad... It is a real pain if a cherping one gets loose, and you know it's somewhere in the bedroom, but can't quite figure out where... that's no fun... 7 inches is still pretty little, I would stick with crickets for a couple months, you can get really, really small meal worms for them (I did and it was fine) but I've heard that it's not the best to give to young beardies, but you can get them pretty small and I've never had a problem with it. You can get phoenix worms (you probably want small sized phoenix worms). I didn't even know what those were when Puff was young, but if they're small enough, i'd say go for it...

 

[definitions]

the only real feeder you can go wrong with is a feeder that is too large for your beardie. Thats how I see it. I started out on crickets went to dubia roaches now I feed Lobster roaches and reptiworms.I just picked up about a 7 inch beardie a couple days ago and she is eating dubia roach nymphs along with everything else I have mentioned. She doesn't really care for the Reptiworms which I think is really odd but, My other dragons love the worms. So as long as you dust your feeders with the correct amount of supplements (not including reptiworms or Phoenix worms) you shouldn't have a real problem with something your dragon will like. I think a variety is always better.

 

[Trogdorpheus]

Avoid mealworms, especially for a young growing beardie. They're basically little shells of nothing nutritious that can impact your little guy.

 

[Grogshla]

small crickets are the best mate they have a soft shell and 16x the protein for their size compared to steak.
Mine have never smell bad. I just purchase a the boxes we get here in australia. They are probably 50 crickets per box and they are about 5 bucks. I normally go through 3 or so a week.

 

[runningguy]

I just purchase a the boxes we get here in australia. They are probably 50 crickets per box and they are about 5 bucks. I normally go through 3 or so a week.

50 crickets for 5 dollars three times a week? Yikes! I don't know what the exchange rate is compared to the US dollar, or how much money you make, but that would be quite expensive for crickets here in the USA. Sorry to hear that.

 

[techdave]

Dubias all the way. Definitly no meal worms. Start a colony, expensive up fornt, but worth it when you never have to buy another feeder.