Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi there again..can anyone help...theres only one reptile store near me and ive heard there crickets are rubbish....so i was wondering wat else to feed my baby beardys...i know food needs to be small at first....but can i feed earthworms as the main source of food????? what abour beattles and earwigs?????or maggots???espesialy maggots as i can get them easy???i have been told my babys wont eat veg...should i persist and try gettinmg them to eat veg????if any you guys could take the time to tell me all the foods i can feed i would appreaciate it very much....thanks guys...bigbaddad1uk2001@yahoo.co.uk or message here ill be checking non stop to see anyway...

the best diet sheet i have found is on www.beautifuldragons.com. other than crickets, silkworms are the next best thing to feed you baby dragon and you can order them over the internet. they come in 1-2 days. as for that matter, you can buy your crickets online too. as for all of the other bugs, i don't know...my guess would be no. someone feel free to jump in if they know different. and yes, babies will not eat that MUCH salad but it should always be availble to them at all times during the day so they can eat it whenever they want. i know it may seem like a waste to put salad out there that doesn't look like it's getting eaten, but they eventually will eat it and need it there to get used to the idea of eatting veggies. hope this helps.
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Jamie
0.0.1 corn snake (Rio)
1.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Zeus and Koda)

You need to offer ther veggies daily. They may not eat many at first but they will eat them. The more they eat the better. Make sure you get some good quality greens. Not lettuce. Go to www.beautifuldragons.com for a complete list with nutritional value. If you are going to feed live insects I would reccomend using the crickets. Gutload them 24 hours in advance for more nutrional value. They are a good source of protien. You may also want to get them started on the pellets. Another good source of protien. The babies will need calcium about 5 times a week (easiest to do this on the crickets) and a vitamin supplement at least a couple times a week. Crickets are great for getting the dragons to ingest the calcium and vitamins. For your salad get some color in there. Endives are great for babies if they are available in the UK. Try dropping it in the cage from above a little at a time. The movement will attract them to eat and they may eat it more readily. You need to get them started on salads for sure. I would avoid maggots and worms as a staple. They may like them as a treat. Beetles may have too tough of a shell for babies depending on how old they are. Silkworms are another great staple food. They are slow and nutritional and they will eat them readily. Good luck,

Mike
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

thanks guys..i feel stupid here but ive been reading about gutloading....what is this????

Aside from the protien crickets are essentially non-nutrional. I prepare a cricket food that consists of oatmeal, crushed corn, powdered milk and some kind of powdered baby cereal. I mix this all together and that's what I feed to the crickets. After 24 hours of eating this highly nutritional mix they have their bellies full and that nutrition is then transferred to the lizards eagerly gobbling them down. As long as they are fed a mix similar to this everyday then they are always ready to be fed to the lizards. I keep a couple thousand around at all times. In addition to the belly contents I then dust the crickets as explained above, making every cricket a small power meal for the dragons.

Mike
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

cheers mike...the crickets at my store are very expensive about$5 your money for a wee tub...do you buy all them or breed the crickets????if you breed ..how do you do it..and thanks again mate..it makes sense now..i was a little embaresed to ask as everybody was talking gut load..but i gotcha now...

In addition to that mix of baby cereal, powdered milk and such, I also give my crickets the same greens I feed my lizards, and slices of orange to provide water. If you don't provide some source of water like orange or potato, they won't last long. They really thrive on this combination of foods, and it's all great stuff to pass on to your lizards.

I don't have any info on breeding, but it's a good idea if you want to save money. I buy my crickets online, but I still pay almost $10 a week on them, and this is just for 1 young beardie!
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

cheers mate..ill get all that tomorow....can i use normal milk???i see you have a wee ferret...i love usa ferrets there great...i lived in upstate newyork and fostered one for a year..i have 2 here..but its illegal to descent here.....so my males just neutered ..pongs a bit but he rocks...noises my labradors up....your ferrets over there are better tho..as over here there all from working stock..my ferrets can jump high etc..my ferret in usa just used to lie and sleep on my lap...try getting a scottish one to do that..no chance...lol..but there great anyway..
ps..i know its beardy site but hey my ferrets are my babies..

I own a female rescued ferret named Weezy. Any ferret owners that want to talk ferrets, drop me an email.

>>cheers mate..ill get all that tomorow....can i use normal milk???i see you have a wee ferret...i love usa ferrets there great...i lived in upstate newyork and fostered one for a year..i have 2 here..but its illegal to descent here.....so my males just neutered ..pongs a bit but he rocks...noises my labradors up....your ferrets over there are better tho..as over here there all from working stock..my ferrets can jump high etc..my ferret in usa just used to lie and sleep on my lap...try getting a scottish one to do that..no chance...lol..but there great anyway..
>>ps..i know its beardy site but hey my ferrets are my babies..
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Bill DiFabio
Garden State Herpetoculture...website to follow...
Email Me
"The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense,
not between right and wrong." - Carl Jung

I'd like to see wheezy ! LOL
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Eve

I'll have to snap a pic of her...will post soon

>>I'd like to see wheezy ! LOL
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>>Eve
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Bill DiFabio
Garden State Herpetoculture...website to follow...
Email Me
"The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense,
not between right and wrong." - Carl Jung

I don't know how you would give them liquid milk. Crickets have a tendency to drown themselves. A lot. That's why we give them water through oranges or potatos.

As for ferrets! My ferret's name is Playstation 2. (long story, lol) He was a rescue from a petshop. He was in a cage maybe big enough for 2, with twelve other ferrets. He was the smallest of the group, and obviously not getting any of the food. He also had fleas and other parasites. We got him home and now he's a butterball! Also incredibly smart, 100% litter box trained, the works. We love, love, LOVE him!

Here's some pics of him playing with the cat and our old dog who has since passed away.......

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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

I have bred crickets and decided against it. They can be more work than the lizards. I buy them. They run about $12-$15 per 1000. If you decide you want to try it ask for the info. There are several people on this forum who have or do raise their own.

Mike
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

if i could get crickets at that price i wouldnt need to try breeding them..i pay £2.50 ($4.50) for about 25...and hoppers(locust)you get 6 of them for same price...im gonna searcg the net for sales i think..thanks guys...my email is bigbaddad1uk2001@yahoo.co.uk ferrets are cool..i dont know how to upload pics on here or i would show you my wee guys