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This is probably a question that has been posted before…but I will ask anyway. I was just wondering how many crickets I should be feeding everyday. I have only had my beardie for about a week, and he is slightly over a month old (I am guessing due to his size). I feed him twice a day, in the morning (about an hour after his lights have turned on) and at night (an hour and a half before his lights turn off). Sometimes I will skip feeding him at night, at that time I am often not home. I feed him between 6-8 crickets each feeding time. Is that too much? Or too little? He eats them eagerly, and will even chase down more if I put them in there, but I don’t want to over feed. I also put in green veggies (kale, endive, collard, etc.) into his cage in the morning; he eats this throughout the day. Does this feeding routine seem okay?

And one more question. I dust his crickets twice a week with ReptoCal (the frequency that the ReptoCal label suggests). I dust about 4 to 6 crickets. I am worried if this is too much ReptoCal. I know that giving dragons a good calcium supplement is important, but ReptoCal also contains vitamin A and I know that too much of this can cause a dragon to die. Is he receiving the proper amount of ReptoCal?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions anyone can give.

i dont think overfeeding is really a risk...dragons (except mine of course) grow A LOT early on...if he's still looking for crickets, he can probably handle more, unlses you notice regurgitation or anything when you feed him more. 10-15 crix at a feeding is probably a little bit more like it. the general rule is as much as they can eat in ten minutes. the biggest risk to feedign mroe than that is probably just that leftover crix might munch on the beardie if there's nothing else for them to eat. (personally, if i notice a few runnign around, ill put in a tad of gutload for them). its especially important to feed plenty in the morning if you might miss that evening feeding. i dont remember if you said, but youre offering appropraite greens as well, right?

as for dusting, go ahead and dust one feeding a day, all the crix at that feeding. good for you for noticing the vitamin A issue, but the calcium and D3 are super important Especially if the UVB may not be adequate.

so in my un-expert opinion, not a bad start, just go ahead and treat your baby to a few more crix and a few more dustings.
also, check out http://www.beginnersbasics.com/beginners_basics_reptiles_010.htm for a much better description of when to feed what
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.0.0 leopard gecko (sebastian),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.0 bearded dragon (kaipo and dulce), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

2 hours is a little better to let your beardie digest before the lights go off. and make sure the crix are no bigger than the space between the eyes to reduce the risk of impactation, yada yada
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.0.0 leopard gecko (sebastian),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.0 bearded dragon (kaipo and dulce), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

At 1 month old my beardies are eating 15 crickets 3 times a day! EVERY cricket they eat is dusted with repcal vit.d3, EVERY FEEDING. I breed dragons, so I have had hundreds at this age, and none of them have eaten less then 35 1/4 inch crickets a day. And 35 is being conservative. You really CAN NOT over feed a dragon at this age. The greens you are feeding sound good however. Keep up the collard greens if nothing else. At about a year old you can back off on the crickets and feed more greens, but your baby is growing right now...Every week is A TON of growth, my dragons grow over an inch in 1.5 weeks at that age. Right now is the most important time to be getting the correct nutrition, without it he will have a weak foundation. Always let him decide when he has had enough...and don't be suprised if he eats 20 per feeding. Good thing you asked!! I am glad you found the site.
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MY Dragons!!