What Is The Real Answer?

[Ronzie]

This is a cricket question. I have 3 books on beardies and all give different opinions.
I've read online and even talked with the breeder I got my gal from.
I've seen growth charts, but there needs to be a chart on age/amount of crickets fed, at least an estimate.
I've read even on this form with different opinions.

My gal is 7.5 weeks old. I've read from 30-40 aday over 2-3 feedings to as little as 4-5 aday.
I'm new here and this seems to be one of the most confusing topics with alot of different anwsers.
Some say as much as they can eat in 10 minutes.

My breeder freaked when I said she ate 12 crickets in one feeding and 6 later on for dinner. She thought that was way to much for her.
I think if someone knows of a good link to age/amount would really clear things up.

Yesterday she ate 15 in the morning and 12 at dinner. I stopped her at 10 this morning and put in her veggie/fruit dish to let her eat some of that. I usually put it in at lunch time.
I just want to know like alot of other new owners what is the real correct answer.

Thanks

 

[mickeysmomma]

I was told as many as they can eat in 10-15 minutes. Mickey, my 3 month old, eats 6-30 a day. Depends on how hungry she is. And, she eats her greens too...maybe not a lot, but she eats some!

 

[ziggy23]

Yeah I've read in a number of places as many as they can eat in 10 minutes.

I don't time it. I feed them in a separate enclosure. Usually when their done, they start clawing at the sides. Or I take them out when they seem uninterested. My 2 smaller ones eat anywhere between 0-20 a feeding, my larger one can eat as many as 100 at a time. I've noticed how much they eat depends on how big their last feeding was. If they had a big meal last, they'll eat little or nothing the next and vice versa. Also time of day seems to matter. Too early or too late, they barely touch them.

 

[Ronzie]

I feed crickets around 1.5-2 hrs(8:30am-9am)after the lights come on then about 3 hrs (5-5:30pm) before they go out.

She grew 2 cm this week (3/4").

 

[ziggy23]

That's not good growth there. Average is about 1/2 inch.

My dragons prefer 3 hours after lights go on but they eat a lot of salad first thing in the morning. Their evening feeding is around 6. They typically don't eat a lot for that one, sometimes not at all.

If they're going through a growth spurt, they're going to need more. Raising many different types of animals and 2 human babies, I'll tell you they can be ravenous during those times. That's another good reason to let them eat as much as they can when they're babies.

 

[Ronzie]

That's not good growth there. Average is about 1/2 inch.

Yes,but the breeder I got her from was feeding her only about 4-6 aday total. She was feeding her mostly pellets and greens.
She looks more "normal" now, not as thin. It's definitely not from being over fed. Some days she won't eat any veggies/fruit and others she does.
I don't think she'll have a big gain week like that again.

 

[ziggy23]

Diet in the first year should be mostly insects, it's like 75% insects, 25% greens give or take. They will be nearly full grown by the 1 year marker, that takes a lot of protein.

Pellets, eh, I don't mind them as a supplement. But I wouldn't depend upon it. It's like replacing food with vitamins and meal replacement shakes. You can survive off of it, but that's about it. We really don't know exactly how much they need of what to thrive. That's why you get so many varied answers when it comes to feeding. But every single living creature is born with the instinct to know what they need. IMO it's best to let them choose. Offer healthy choices, vary their diet, and they'll eat what they need.

And if well cared for, you might see that much growth and then some. I've seen 3/4-1 inch a week many times between my 3 beardies and I've only had them 8 weeks.

I don't know anything about the breeder you got yours from. But some people and stores feed them so little because that's what they can afford. I've seen many care guides that state they can eat 60-100 a day. That would get very expensive if you have a bunch of mouths to feed.

 

[Sapphire]

My gal is 7.5 weeks old. I've read from 30-40 aday over 2-3 feedings to as little as 4-5 aday.
I'm new here and this seems to be one of the most confusing topics with alot of different anwsers.
Some say as much as they can eat in 10 minutes.

I don't time my feedings. My baby tells me when he's had enough. The past couple days I've been giving him phoenix worms in addition to his crickets. When he seems disinterested in the crickets (normally after about 20), I drop in a phoenix worm, and even after he has lost interest in the crickets, he'll eat an additional 5-10 phoenix worms before he finally stops eating and looks at me as if to say "Why do you keep shoving food in my face? I'M FULL!"

I've been doing this twice a day--so basically he's eating around 40 crickets and 10-20 phoenix worms a day. I haven't measured him since i got him, but he was 6.5 inches two weeks ago (at age 6wks). It doesn't look like he's grown any but I'm sure if I measure him I'll see that he has.