I really want to get a BD, but am not thrilled of keeping crickets. I was wondering how the freeze dried insects work for these guys? If I could get away with them eating those instead of live, I would have bought a dragon yesterday. I know live would be the best way to go, but I really don't want crickets running lose in my new house. Please offer you experiences on freeze dried and pellet foods. Thanks a bunch!
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BD Food
Snaix
Jan 07, 2008 05:13 PM
Replies (5)
BDlvr
Jan 07, 2008 05:29 PM
Sorry but you won't like my opinion. But anyway, I feel live food is extremely important for normal development at least for the first year. There really is no good substitute for crickets for baby dragons either.
Snaix
Jan 07, 2008 05:38 PM
IF I went live, how many crickets per feeding and how many feedings per day? I work a 6:30am to 4pm shift atm. Sometimes longer. Thanks.
BDlvr
Jan 07, 2008 08:09 PM
IF? First off it would be unethical to knowingly not do what's right for the animal. If your schedule or personal preferences don't allow that, then you should choose an animal that works within your parameters.
Anyway, a hatchling dragon needs to be fed 3 times a day so that won't work with your schedule. If you get a healthy started baby from a breeder you will only have to feed live food twice a day. A well started baby would be 6 - 7" long.
The maximum daytime for the species is generally accepted as 14 hours. So if you have the lights come on at 5:15am and let the dragon warm up for an hour you could feed at 6:15 and then go to work. The lights would then go off at 7:15 so you could do the 2nd feeding up until about 6pm if you needed to.
Feeding a growing dragon is a moving target. A 6-7" dragon should eat 20-25 crickets per day in 2 meals but in a month that number will grow to about 70-80.
mwrinkle
Jan 07, 2008 08:25 PM
BlDvr, where do you get your silks from?
BDlvr
Jan 07, 2008 08:31 PM
I breed my own. Just too many animals and the suppliers are often shaky as they are now. I really don't understand why the suppliers buy all their eggs rather than just breed the moths as I do. I only mate the moths once a year and I get a years supply for my 17 and other people I work with in the area.
