When to feed a Bearded Dragon?

[TheReptile838]

I'm getting a Beardie soon and I just had this thought. When do I feed my Beardie? I wake up about 7ish everyday and go to bed about 8 or 9pm. I go to school quarter past 8am and get home half 3pm. Do I wake up and give the veggies straight after waking up my beardie which would be when I get up? Should I leave the veg with him all through the time I'm at school until I go to bed?

Thanks
~Abi

 

[Ralis]

Hi Abi, I'm still new to this but I fit feeding my beardie around the school run. We do lights on at 7:30am and off at 8:30pm and I feed crickets at 9am when I get back from taking my eldest to school and 7pm after dinner and make sure there's greens available during the day. His lights go out at 8:30pm when my kids go to bed.

I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't feed beardies for an hour after their lights come on so they have time to warm up, and an hour before they go to bed so they have time to digest.

In your situation I would see about getting a timer for the lights, or getting up a bit earlier so they would come on at 6:30am, then you could feed about 7.30am and put some veggies in the tank, then you could feed again around 5-6pm and lights off anytime between 7-8pm. Beardies need around 12-14 hours of UV light a day but I think this can be a little less in winter.

I also fit in a bath 3 times a week to make sure he stays hydrated.

I hope you enjoy your new beardie. I've only been a beardie owner for a short while, but honestly one of the best pets we've bought!

 

[abbyxelizabeth]

Ralls gave great information. That's more of a schedule than I've ever been on! I need to get on a more consistent schedule, honestly.

 

[amsmith5297]

Great info Ralis! Yes, beardie do require a consistent schedule... much like having a child!

 

[TheReptile838]

Thanks Ralis! That's probably the best answer I could get there. So hopefully I will be getting my Beardie in February. I will defiantly take your suggestion into consideration

 

[Ralis]

Thank you Like I said, I'm still learning. Plus just because I have a schedule, doesn't mean I keep to it. It went completely out the window yesterday because I had evening plans that ran over so I came home to a grumpy lizard!

 

[TheReptile838]

Haha, I've heard adult Bearded Dragons can be left up to 5 days with no food? Is that true? Of course I won't deliberately do this, but I was just concerned if that was true :wink:

I think what I'll do is get up 6:45, like I normally do, and turn on his lights and heat and wake him up. At 7:45 I'll feed as many Crickets as my Beardie will want in 5 to 10 minutes. After that (about 8ish) I'll put out a bowl of Kale, carrots and pepper (for the greens/veg), put out a bowl of pellets soaked in water first and leave a bowl of water sometimes (I heard it raises the humidity so I'll only put it in some days, correct me if I'm wrong). I'll leave the water, veg and pellets for him to snack on and drink whilst I'm at school. I'll get home about half 3ish in the afternoon from school. When I get back I'll feed as many crickets as he wants in 5 to 10 minutes again. At 6pm I'll take away any uneaten veg and pellets. I'd probably get the new veg ready in the evening and put them in the fridge over night, then in the morning, get them out and give a quick rinse then feed them. I'll probably turn off his lights in between 7 and 8pm.

We have plenty of Kale and Greens and Carrots stocked up in the fridge as my Mum has 2 rabbits.

I know that as Bearded Dragons get older, they eat more veg than insects, so once they an adult I think I might do one session of cricket feeding every other day? The Beardie in the reptile shop I'd be going to are 6 months old, but I think I'm getting one next month so they would probably be 7 month by then.

If I have put anything incorrectly up there that should be different, please let me know as I want my Beardie to be a happy Beardie

 

[Taterbug]

You should start with some better veggies. Carrots and pepper used in quantity will severely limit the amount of calcium available to your dragon. Kale can have long term health problems too if used too often/too much. Collard greens, turnip greens and endive are usually easy to get and much better, the rabbits may like them too. Dandelion and turnip greens are good as well but can be harder to find. The first sticky in the feeding forum has a link to a good starter guide for food.

Have you changed your mind about the crix or are you meaning freeze dried? Feeding dried ones won't need a schedule, he probably won't be chasing them and you don't have to worry about them hurting him/soiling the tank.

Id leave water for him since he will be getting less moisture from his food. Monitor the humidity and adjust if its a problem. Keep it on the cool side an it should raise the humidity.

They can go for along time without eating if the conditions are right (brumation). But I wouldn't advise withholding food or not worrying if it doesn't eat for a week.

 

[TheReptile838]

Thanks. This helped quite a bit. I will feed freeze dried crickets but I just said crickets as I thought it would be the same. I thought getting the vivicator thing that makes them vibrate can help with that. When should I feed the crickets then? I think to keep my beardie into hunting, I will place them at different areas of the tank to go after each one.
My mum also feeds her rabbits these greens but they just say 'Greens' on them.

 

[Taterbug]

The fifteen minutes is a good time so that they get nice and full, but left over crickets aren't left in the cage. You might be fine leaving them in a bowl, just count them so you know how many get eaten. I put veggies in in the morning before I leave for work. I do this even if the lights are off since he won't go eat them till he warms up and gets hungry anyway. Some days I leave a bowl of feeders, but he hasn't been eating too many lately so I feed him in the evening when I get home. He has his salad all day so I know he isn't going hungry.

The vibrating device might help, maybe someone who has used it could offer advice. I can't make any good suggestions other than to try it for getting the dragon to eat the bugs since their hunting instinct is really keyed to motion. Some won't even go after live bugs if they don't move enough. Feeding tongs may help, I don't know.

Check out the feeding guide, id link it but I'm on my phone. It's going to be extra important to offer good veggies and a really well planned diet. The ones I suggested should be easy to get at any grocery for pretty cheep.

 

[TheReptile838]

Well I started looking for Collard Greens on Super Market websites but couldn't find them. I found out that Collard Greens is the American term for Spring Greens, which my Mum feeds the rabbits, so we have plenty of them. I found out that watercress and rocket are good greens too? I think we have rocket in the fridge at the moment but I'm not quite sure when I'm getting my Beardie. I think I will mostly feed Spring Greens with Butternut Squash and the occasional carrot maybe once a week of every two weeks for the veg.