Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I'm thinking about getting another beardie, but having done the cricket thing before, I was thinking about getting one raised on pellets. My questions are: What do you guys think about beardies that are raised only on pellets, maybe worms here and there as it get's older, maybe some crickets (I'm thinking in the area of 50 or so a week at the most)? And can anyone recommend any breaders that raise there beardies on pellets only so I don't have to worry about making the transition?

Also...
I've been meaning to ask something else also for a while. What other reptiles can I get that are as sociable as a beardie, I know most lizards like to be left along, but our beardie is quite playful and spends quite a bit of her time outside the cage. (And a vegetarian animal would be a big bonus). Someone suggested a uromastyx, anyone have any expierence with them?)

lisa (beginnerbasics) has started raising her babies on pellets. previous clutches ate dead crix i think theres a couple others here that also feed primarily pellets and greens, but im not sure who.
some people feel that chasing their food is a natural and important part of the beardies life. whether or not that is true (im nto even gonna start that debate heh) i think its generally been agreed that with greens, pellets to provide adequate protein, and thus insects arent nutritionally necessary.

i have two leopard geckos. theyre generally pretty willing to be handled, and one of them will come out to see me if im hanging around his tank. never tried a uro yet
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

Well my opinion on the pellet thing is a no go.....if it is the feeding thing then try other foods...wax worms, meal worms, wild bugs (if you live in an area that would purmit it)....I just was given two beardies that where given pellets(with vita-powder) and nothing eles most thier life, they are 1.5 yrs old and are half the size of my 1 yr old!

As for your other question....I have water dragons as well...they can be very socal animals. But, keep in mind they need a larger cage than a beardie will....and they are tropical too.(but wonderful pets!! )

I had a water dragon for about 9 months. Way to high maintnence for me. It was to hard feed her for starters, she wouldn't eat anything that wasn't moving. I put salad in her cage every single day and she never even looked at it, I also got tired of cleaning out the pond and the wet substrate. I've found it's much easier to maintain a high temp/low humidity cage then a medium temp/high humidity cage. lissag25 adopted my WD.

If you want a dragon that is eating pellets already and from someone in this forum, you should talk to JoelR or Lisa (beginnerbasics.com) and I am sure they will help you out. I have two clutches right now that I am raising that have not seen a cricket and it is great! Most say that they are a little smaller then cricket raised dragons till they get to about a year old, then they catch right up.

Now, for the second question, I just got two orange Saharan Uromastyx from DeerFernFarms.com and they are just like a dragon, but are total vegetarians from the start. His care sheet even said they could go 1-2 weeks with no interaction from a human (feeding and cleaning), although I am sure I will not try this. If you want some more info about them, just let me know...
Good luck,
Steve

though crickets are the easest food to start baby dragons on, you can use other insects. Silkworms, butterworms and hookworm all have better nutrician than crickets and are alot easier to care for and don't have any smell. They are however more expensive. I know another poster here recommended wax worms and mealworms to use instead of crickets, but both are not good as stables. They are fine as occaisonal treats only. Waxworms are high in fat and can cause fatty liver disease in dragons. Mealworms are alot of exoskeleton and little nutrician by volume than crickets. Also, they can cause impaction, especially in small dragons.

From what I learned about the pellets, dragons broght up on them are slower to grow large and only catch up with siblings fed on crickets, when they are close to a year old. I haven't had any success in feeding my dragon pellets though I haven't tried more than one brand. Can't afford to spend $10 per brand of bearded dragon food to see if mine dragon will like it or not. What I do have, however, makes a pretty good gutload for crickets.

What I suggest, is a bit of both worlds. Get some silkworms or butter worms, the smallest size you can get (1" or less should be good for 3 month old baby dragons) and pellets..use the pellets on the greens and offer the worms as well. This way, the dragon has the complete nutrician of pellets and some wiggling protein as well.