Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i'm a beginner with beardies and i have a slight problem. My beardies about 5 months old and he's got quite a ferocious appetite. He usually eats about 30-40 crickets a day, but today when i fed him in the morning, he only ate like 3, then after school he wouldn't even move from his log to go after the crickets, but when i put a worm in, he went right after it.

someone please help!!
I'd appreciate it a lot!

He might have just been full of crickets! Thats like you eating pizza for a month straight and the next day wanting some variety??? haha I dunno ...

But if he/she is active and seems to be in good health i wouldnt worry about it.
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2.0 Ball Pythons (Kurt the Snake ~ Frosty McFry)
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat (OogieBoogie)
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa (NoFingers McGee)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Saku ~ GracieJ)
0.0.1 Albino Ornate Pacman Frog (Jabba the Frog)
0.0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog (Hooter)
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion (Still Thinking)
0.0.1 Usambara Tarantula - (FBD - Fire Ball of Death)
2.0 House Cats (Bill ~ Ted)

And a partrige in a pear tree...

~!Bearded Dragon Custom Cage Design!~

30-40 crickets a day?! I have a 6 month male I've raised from hatchling, and he only eats ~10 adult crickets or superworms a day,5 days a week. Every day he's also offered a supply of vegetables such as romaine, cauliflower, broccolli and apple.

Be careful not to overfeed your dragon - the key is to ensure that the base of the tail doesn't look too fat. Powerfeeding the dragon can cause him to grow too fast leading to underdevelopment.

BTW, I've just upgraded to a 70 gallon tank and I'm looking for a good colored female to join him. Any suggestions of good breeders (pref local to Miami) out there, that dont charge ridiculous prices?

Ross
Fuego the Dragon

Ive heard that you let them eat as many crickets as they want?? And that its not unnormal for them to eat 20-30 cricets a day especially if they are eating the small crickets!

But make sure you are feeding him/her its greens! Feed greens in the morning then let them have crickets later in the day. If you feed them crickets first they will not eat their greens all the time.
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2.0 Ball Pythons (Kurt the Snake ~ Frosty McFry)
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat (OogieBoogie)
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa (NoFingers McGee)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Saku ~ GracieJ)
0.0.1 Albino Ornate Pacman Frog (Jabba the Frog)
0.0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog (Hooter)
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion (Still Thinking)
0.0.1 Usambara Tarantula - (FBD - Fire Ball of Death)
2.0 House Cats (Bill ~ Ted)

And a partrige in a pear tree...

~!Bearded Dragon Custom Cage Design!~

I have a 4.5 month female that eats 100-120 1/2" crickets daily and I have a 3.5 month male that eats 80-100 1/2" crickets daily. I feed them twice a day, they eat that many in less then 10 minutes. They also eat all of their greens, pellets and veggies! They aren't overfed. They are just very big and healthy.

thanx man, i was misinformed, i was worried my beardies was too small and some "perfessional" told me in a chat room to feed him as much crickets as he'll eat twice a day and that turned out to be a lot. I'll cut back on his cricket consumption to 10 a day and nothin on the weekend but veggies

Much depends on how old your dragon is, as to how much to feed it.
You should only cut back protein for adults.
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www.classylizard.com

I've been wondering when I should cut back on the crickets & worms for my 15 month old.

>>I've been wondering when I should cut back on the crickets & worms for my 15 month old.
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Rob Talkington

The proffesional is correct, as long as you supplement you don't have to worry about under development. Last night my beardie ate 100 total.

Perhaps his isn't eating adult crix. Even if it was, a growing dragon should eat all it wants.
They are SUPPOSED to have nice thick tails at the base, as well as filled out fat pads on the top of their heads.
Unless your dragon is adult sized at 6 mo, it should probably be eating smaller crix too.
This is the fast growing period, they need protein and lots of it.
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www.classylizard.com

Also buddy if you boy is 6 months old you should not be adding a female for quite sometime. Also I do not think housing boys and girls together all the time is good for them.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

he's about 5 months, he was born near the end of august, he's about 12.5-13 inches long, and kinda chubby. so what do i feed him? Lots or little, and ya i only use the adult crix (approx 1" long)

Copied from Beardiecrazy.com

HATCHLINGS: 2-3 WEEK OLD CRICKETS 3-5 TIMES PER DAY NOT ANY LONGER THAN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE

DRAGONS EYES ON TOP OF THEIR HEAD. FINELY CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY. FEED THEM ALL THEY CAN EAT AT EACH FEEDING.

JUVENILES: 2-4 WEEK OLD CRICKETS, KEEPING IN MIND THE SIZE OF YOUR DRAGON 3 TIMES PER DAY, ALL THEY CAN EAT. CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY.

SUBADULTS: 4 WEEK TO FULL GROWN CRICKETS 1 TO 2 TIMES PER DAY AGAIN KEEPING IN MIND THEIR INDIVIDUAL SIZE. CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY.

ADULTS: FULL GROWN CRICKETS EVERY OTHER DAY AND CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY EVERY DAY. YOU CAN GIVE WAX WORMS OR SILKWORMS AS A TREAT TO BEARDIES 2 MONTHS AND UP. SUPERWORMS CAN BE GIVEN AS TREATS TO BEARDIES OVER 12 INCHES IN LENGTH BUT NEVER TO BEARDIES SMALLER THAN THAT. MEALWORMS CAN CAUSE IMPACTION IN SOME BEARDIES DUE TO HIGH AMOUNT OF CHITTIN OR EXOSKELETON. THIS CAN BE DEADLY, ESPECIALLY TO SMALLER BEARDIES. GREENS CAN INCLUDE COLLARD, MUSTARD, PARSLEY, TURNIP, ENDIVE, ESCAROLE AND DANDELION. VEGATABLES MAY INCLUDE GREEN BEANS, PEAS, SQUASH, YAM, CARROT, PARSNIP, CORN, AND RADISHES. FRUITS MAY INCLUDE GRAPES, BANANA, APPLE, PEACH AND PLUM. ALL GREENS AND VEGETABLES SHOULD BE MISTED SO AS TO PROVIDE ANOTHER WATER SOURCE FOR YOUR BEARDIE.
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www.classylizard.com

>>Copied from Beardiecrazy.com
>>
>>
>>HATCHLINGS: 2-3 WEEK OLD CRICKETS 3-5 TIMES PER DAY NOT ANY LONGER THAN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE
>>
>>DRAGONS EYES ON TOP OF THEIR HEAD. FINELY CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY. FEED THEM ALL THEY CAN EAT AT EACH FEEDING.
>>
>>
>>
>>JUVENILES: 2-4 WEEK OLD CRICKETS, KEEPING IN MIND THE SIZE OF YOUR DRAGON 3 TIMES PER DAY, ALL THEY CAN EAT. CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY.
>>
>>SUBADULTS: 4 WEEK TO FULL GROWN CRICKETS 1 TO 2 TIMES PER DAY AGAIN KEEPING IN MIND THEIR INDIVIDUAL SIZE. CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY.
>>
>>ADULTS: FULL GROWN CRICKETS EVERY OTHER DAY AND CHOPPED GREENS AND VEGATABLES AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY EVERY DAY. YOU CAN GIVE WAX WORMS OR SILKWORMS AS A TREAT TO BEARDIES 2 MONTHS AND UP. SUPERWORMS CAN BE GIVEN AS TREATS TO BEARDIES OVER 12 INCHES IN LENGTH BUT NEVER TO BEARDIES SMALLER THAN THAT. MEALWORMS CAN CAUSE IMPACTION IN SOME BEARDIES DUE TO HIGH AMOUNT OF CHITTIN OR EXOSKELETON. THIS CAN BE DEADLY, ESPECIALLY TO SMALLER BEARDIES. GREENS CAN INCLUDE COLLARD, MUSTARD, PARSLEY, TURNIP, ENDIVE, ESCAROLE AND DANDELION. VEGATABLES MAY INCLUDE GREEN BEANS, PEAS, SQUASH, YAM, CARROT, PARSNIP, CORN, AND RADISHES. FRUITS MAY INCLUDE GRAPES, BANANA, APPLE, PEACH AND PLUM. ALL GREENS AND VEGETABLES SHOULD BE MISTED SO AS TO PROVIDE ANOTHER WATER SOURCE FOR YOUR BEARDIE.
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>>www.classylizard.com
>>
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Rob Talkington

juvies 3-6 mo
subadults 6-12 mo
adults 12 mo and over
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www.classylizard.com

Thanks Christy. I did a search and, well, you know how convenient this forum search engine is !
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Rob Talkington

Thank you for your collective advice - its noted. I'd been warned previously not to overfeed and was working on a recommended feeding schedule but I appreciate the advice. Sometimes I need reminding I've only been doing this for 5 months. Maybe I'll up the feeding slightly but he rarely eats more than 10 at a time

Ross

Whatever you do, unless your beardie is extremely large for its age, those adult crickets you're feeding him are WAY too big, and may very well cause serious health problems, including paralysis of the hind legs and death! Your beardie shouldn't eat any crickets larger than the space between its eyes. This is a widely known, well established, and very easy to follow "rule", which I've seen in almost every care sheet, on every web-site and forum I've ever visited.

To sum it all up: Feed your beardie once or twice a day, with as many PROPERLY SIZED crickets he'll eat in about 15 minutes. Don't let him starve.

My beardie is 6 months old and is 17 inches long (Don't know the weight haven't got my scale yet). I feed her as many crickets as she can eat. Should I cut back?