Will A non-cricket diet be okay?

[combuya]

So I just got my beardie 1 day ago. Anyways, will a non-cricket diet be okay? I unfortunately don't have the luxury of driving. Driving to the pet store every day for crickets just isn't possible. Not to mention, they're loud and I live with others. If I don't feed my baby crickets what would be a good alternative?

 

[shazbaz123]

Hi,
I don't feed my beardie crickets but I do offer him locusts. It's essential that they get protein especially if they are only young. I recommend locusts and as they don't make any noise. Sometimes you can hear them jump around but that's it. I get 3 boxes every time I go to the pet store and they tend to last me about 3 weeks, I don't drive either so I know your issue about transporting them.
Also in the UK you can get silent crickets, don't know where you're from but see if you can get them

 

[Gail]

How old/big is your dragon? If its still a baby then the crickets it will be eating won't make any noise. You can order them by the 500 or 1000 on the net, much cheaper then buying them at the pet store.
If you have a adult, dubia roaches or superworms are a good option. The dubia are better then supers, supers can be fattening.

 

[Esha]

Of course it will be okay A good alternative is dubia roaches or if your beardie is over 15-16 inches then superworms would work too. dubideli.com has good prices if you live in America.

 

[combuya]

Hi,
I don't feed my beardie crickets but I do offer him locusts. It's essential that they get protein especially if they are only young. I recommend locusts and as they don't make any noise. Sometimes you can hear them jump around but that's it. I get 3 boxes every time I go to the pet store and they tend to last me about 3 weeks, I don't drive either so I know your issue about transporting them.
Also in the UK you can get silent crickets, don't know where you're from but see if you can get them

Locusts are illegal in the us :/

 

[SpacialCoogs]

How old is your dragon?

Babies need 80% protein and 20% veg, while Adults need 80% veg and 20% protein.

I would suggest getting some Phoenix Worms (aka. calcigents, black soldier fly larvae) then feed them up like this article https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/growing-phoenix-worms to make them last longer.

I feed worms, i hate crickets and Phoenix Worms are the best for calcium.

I often reference this chart http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[kingofnobbys]

I've been housebound for over 12 monthswith a very bad right knee (from a nasty slip in the bath) and pressure ulcers from being forced to sit around a lot as a result.

So I order my live insects in bulk by mail order , in my case :
800x 2/3 sized crickets weekly (to go to my 4yr and two 10month old beardies and some to my two 5 yr old bluetongues)
about 500 mealworms once every 2 or 3 months (treats for the pet lizards and I give to the local resident wild lizards and frogs too)
about 200 superworms every few months (treats for the big beardie and bluetongues)
and occasionally I order food grade garden snails for the bluetongues as treats.
I have also bought silkworms and mulberry leaves in bulk by mail order.

The all come by express post ( can take 2 days to get from the supplier to me if they have to travel 2000km ie from Melbourne to Newcastle or Cairns to Newcastle).

I highly recommend you provide your baby beardie with LOTS of high quality live insects DAILY and you work out your logistics of ensuring you have a constant supply of suitable sized live insects on hand to allow you to feed the little beardie two or even better three feeds of live insects per day.

Your choices are:
calcigents (sold as phoenix worms in the USA)
silkworms (these can be fed / raised on either fresh mulberry leaves, blanched / frozen the thawed mulberry leaves , or silkworm chow (made as a paste)
gutloaded and calcium dusted crickets
or
gutloaded and calcium dusted roaches
or a mix of the above (excellent to offer variety to a lizard).

If your hatchling is from 4weeks to under 3 months old, I'd offer small silkworms (up to mealworm size about 1.5in long) , and an appropriate size of cricket will be crickets about 25days old and up to 1/3 size.

A young bearded dragon needs LOTS of high quality insect protein and fats to grow

BTW only adult male crickets churp. (I quite like the sound.)