Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a couple clutches incubating and when they hatch I plan on holding a few back to experiment with. Having no experience in feeding pellets I disagree with the diet. I feed my dragons fuzzies, roaches, superworms, and veggies as the main staple and has been working for several years. By working I mean successfull breeding, no impactions or other health problems which means I have healthy dragons. I don't see how they can get everything they need from pellets but want to see for myself. I am going to try raising a couple of my new hatchlings on pellets. I was just curious as to how you are feeding pellets? Do you feed them only pellets or do you feed pellets and veggies or pellets and bugs? Do you always soak them in juice or water or do you feed them hard? What brand are you using? Thanks in advance for any replies.

I have fed dragons very sucessfully on pellets, and I cannot see the reason in risking infection by feeding live foods frequently. Mostly I feed soaked repcal pellets, but I have used a few others brands. I avoid any brand that has ethoxyquin in it. It causes some sort of damage, liver or kidney, but I honestly can't remember which of the two it is. I feed them soaked in water. I soaked them once in juice, and it really makes no difference. I do feed greens, and worms occassionally. I also sometimes get can o crickets. The size of the dragons is not really affected that much. I have noticed that it does take them a bit longer to start getting fat, and at aroudn 6 months old they will be smaller then their cricket fed counterparts. However, by age 1 year they should be caught up. At 1 year my dragon is 18 inches and was fed on pellets from the time I got him (2 months) forward.

I use Rep Cal pellets which can be bought in 5lb. bags. I'll try to find their card so I can give you the link to the site that sells it in bulk.

Anyway, I am steering away from crickets so I am just replacing the crickets with the pellets. I do however give a small amount of tiny mealworms to be sure they are getting some real animal fat & proteins. I know mealies have more fat than crickets etc. but I'm not loading them with the mealies as the staple, just a supplement. I know the Pellets claim to be all they need but I'm just making sure. I also know that the mealworms are controversial but I haven't had any problems. I think good judgment is essential when using mealies. If you think they are too big, don't risk it. Also don't over do it, I only use a few.
My reasoning behind not wanting to feed crickets besides the smell & care issues of the crickets is:
This year I haven't feed any crickets and the smell of their poo has gotten soooo much better is one and... Most dragons that are fed crickets will pop positive for pin and or round worms. Now,, in most cases it doesn't cause a problem however when you add the stress of shipment and a new home/ diet changes etc. it really makes them more susceptible to other more serious problems such as coccidia. I know I have heard others say they get coccidia from the crickets etc. but it is a part of their natural gut flora and dragons love to taste their own poo in their cages. It is the same as Ecoli in people (not wanting to taste it, just that it's already in our gut). Once again, under normal conditions, this causes no problems but when the parasites are there and added stress, it just opens the door.
Now I know this is touchy but that is what I believe and how I have been doing it has worked for me.

I also do still feed the mixed veggies. I use Riviera,and spring mix along with prepared Mustard, collard, Kale, and others. I alternate between the Riviera and Spring. Also between the others, when the bag runs out, I get a different kind.
I do soak the pellets in warm water and several times a week I add pedialyte or electrolytes to the soaking water for the pellets.
I then cover the salad with the pellets so they either have to go through the pellets to the salad and or they get salad when they try for the pellets.

Also I still use the Rep Cal Calcium alternating between plain and D3 and I use once a week Repti Vite. All of which is sprinkled over the salad/pellet platter.

So, there you have it, that's how I do it and it seems to be working, take a look.

Joel R

I think he/she is real nice looking. Love the contrast of colors. Hopefully the orange stays like it is in that pic. Sometimes as they grow the orange will spread out throughout the body. It would be cool to have an adult with such sharp coloring.

I like them both. On each one, they just kind of turned real nice seemingly right before my eyes. Neither one was expected to be as nice as they are and I had decided that if they hadn't sold from the add I had them in, that I was going to trade them for my hold back and keep them instead. Both sold though. (supposedly,, no money yet)
I also have a female that I "think" is going to look like the full body orang male,(the one in the big pic) She is in full shed now so I can't quite tell yet but I think I'm going to keep her

Thanks
Joel R

I fed my bearded dragon nothing but pellets for a few months, then I switched him back to crickets and greens. He didn't eat as much or grow as fast on pellets. He just wasn't crazy about them. But he loves crickets and greens, so I prefer to stick with those.