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I have kept leopard geckos, but have been thinking about getting a bearded dragon at the next show. I keep my gecko on mealworms, superworms, and waxworms because I have a low tolerance for crickets. I have heard about people feeding pellets instead and offering veggies and greens on the side. Does anyone have any advice or opinions on this? Also, what would you consider a good size tank for a dragon. The books and caresheets say 40 gal. minimum. for a single one is this accurate? Anything else that I should know would be appreciated. Thanks

I have not had much luck with the pellets/veggies only diet; mine would starve to death without their live food. If you don't want to deal with crickets get a larger dragon that is big enough to eat superworms(I use these as the staple source of protein for the larger dragons of mine) or buy from a breeder who already has the lizards on pellets. If you get a small lizard you will have to deal with crickets until it gets big enough. A forty gallon breeder tank is fine for a single bearded dragon, but unless you want the tank to look all pretty, large rubbermade containers work just as well and are alot cheaper. I have found my bearded dragons(as adults) tend to be more lazy than my leopard geckos so they really don't need anything much bigger than a 40 gallon breeder tank unless you intend to keep multiple lizards in the cage. Since mine are so lazy, (I recommend everyone do this with their beardies) I release crickets, supers, and waxies on my bedroom floor and let the beardies hunt for their exercise. Good luck with your new lizard if you decide to get one!

Thanks for the help. I would be willing to get a whatever size tank the BD needs. I thought the 40 breeder would be better than the 50 just because I found the 50 gallon to not have much depth. The 40 breeder was smaller, but it had more ground space. I could get a hotter basking spot without the use of high perches. I think that's what I am going to do. Thanks again.

I'm not to sure on the pellet thing, my beardies dont pay much attention to them, but like all humans beardies have different likes and dis-likes. But as for the tank size, i would go with a 50 gal. Hope this helps, and good luck purchasing your beardie! n/p
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Just Another Herp Crazy Person

0.2.0 Leopard Geckos - Lea, Cleo [4 eggs cooking so could be 0.2.4]
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon - Loki/Chimera or Persephone (still trying to figure out what sex it is first i thought it was a female, now it looks like a male?!?)
0.0.1 Fire Skink - Blaze

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>> I keep my gecko on mealworms, superworms, and waxworms because I have a low tolerance for crickets. I have heard about people feeding pellets instead and offering veggies and greens on the side. Does anyone have any advice or opinions on this?

My babies eat pellets, they also eat Ectotherm moist food and veg and fruit. As to the low tolerance for crickets.... I have a 5 year old daughter who is scared to death of them.... ALL my babies eat pre killed crix (my leos do too). My adults haven't even seen crickets in over 6 months and they are all healthy producing adults.

Beginners Basics Reptiles

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Beginners Basics Reptiles

http://www.beginnersbasics.com