Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there, I'm interested in becoming a proud owner of a new baby Bearded Dragon. I've been scouring the web for information and I think I know everything I need to know, but I'd like to ask a couple questions just to make sure.

Feeding:
I currently own a Ball Python, and feeding is easy. One rat every 1 to 2 weeks. I know that Bearded Dragons eat much more frequently, on a daily basis. However, I'm not quite sure how much a baby will eat.

I know that you feed them as much as they can eat in a 5-10 minute period, two to three times a day. I've read that they can eat up to 50 crickets a day. I'm assuming these are tiny crickets, but that seems to be an enormous amount for a baby to consume. I've seen baby's at petstores and they are only 4-6 inches long, how could they possibly eat 50 crickets a day? I asked the petstore employee how much they eat and he said about 3-4 crickets a day. This sounds like way too few. Are those petstore dragons grossly underfed, or are the articles I read exagerating the appetite of the baby dragons?

I bought some reptile powder (I believe it's ReptiCal, but I don't remember for sure) for calcium and D3. Should this be used every feeding, once a day, or even less often than that? I had planned on using it once a day, would that be giving the dragon too much? I also bought some Bearded Dragon pellets. I plan on moistening these and adding them to the daily greens and veggies.

Is it important to remove all leftover crickets after the 10 minute period? Would it be a problem to leave a few crickets in during the day? I would remove them before lights out, of course.

Housing:
I have a 10 gallon enclosure. I know that it's small, and I plan on getting a new enclosure after a couple months, this is just to start the baby out in. I have a UV light and I will use a regular lightbulb for the basking area. I plan for a basking area temp of about 95-105 and a daytime temp of between 80-85. Nighttime temps will drop down to about 70-75. Are these temperatures acceptable? I also plan on having 14 hours of the UV light for the summer and dropping it to 12 hours during winter. I know that my python needs hides on both the cool and hot side. I don't recall reading anything saying that dragons need this too. Is a single hide on the cool side appropriate?

Okay, that's all I can think of right now. I plan on purchasing my dragon in the next day or two. Any comments or suggestions you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh yeah, I will definitely post pictures when I get my new dragon

In my experience the dragon appetites on this board are exaggerated. I feed my dragons twice a day, mostly veggies in the morning and crickets or superworms/meal worms in the evening. When young, crickets are usually the staple food. I've seen beardies eat about 30 crickets in one sitting, but day to day its doing to vary on how many they will eat. Its typical for them to eat lots and lots (20-25 crickets or so a day plus some veggies) for a few weeks when they hit a growth spurt and then to kind of lay low for a few days and eat less (maybe 5-10 crickets plus veggies). Overall, it sounds like you've done your research pretty well. I don't remember if you mentioned substrate but avoid any kind of substrate that your beardie might accidently eat because it can cause impaction.

I was hoping that 50 crickets a day was an exageration. 15-25 a day sounds much more reasonable. I didn't want to be thinking that if my dragon doesn't eat 50 crickets a day that he's sick. Like I said, my only other reptile keeping experience comes from a Ball Python that eats once a week or every two weeks.

As for substrate, I'll start him off on paper towels. Once he graduates from the 10 gallon tank, I'll most likely switch to cleaned play sand. I've read that babies are sloppy eaters and I don't want him to ingest anything other than his food.

Thanks for your input!

It sounds like you have done your homework!

They do eat a ton of crickets, I never really counted, I just bought a thousand at a time and fed her as many as she wanted. I have other critters to help eat that thousand, so I have no real idea how many crickets mine actually ate, just that it was a lot.
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at least yours wille at crickets i have two adults that wont touch them it is like they are scared of them. anyone have any advice? i give them superworms because i find that meal worms will get them constipated. i give them like 10-15 every two days. but they love there veggies, they cant get enough of kale and mustard greens, but i also put other stuff in there as well. i am thinking of getting pellets and see if they eat them. well anyways that is my little experience

ken

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The next time the shuttle lands, lets all get dressed up in ape suits and charge at the astronaughts yelling and ranting. That way they can try to figure out where they took a wrong turn.

"I know that you feed them as much as they can eat in a 5-10 minute period, two to three times a day. I've read that they can eat up to 50 crickets a day. I'm assuming these are tiny crickets, but that seems to be an enormous amount for a baby to consume. I've seen baby's at petstores and they are only 4-6 inches long, how could they possibly eat 50 crickets a day? I asked the petstore employee how much they eat and he said about 3-4 crickets a day. This sounds like way too few. Are those petstore dragons grossly underfed, or are the articles I read exagerating the appetite of the baby dragons?"

It is true that a baby can eat up to 50 a day, and sometimes more. The main thing is to be prepared for however many it can eat in that 10 minute period, and let it decide it's own pace for eating. Some may eat only 30 a day, and some (mine for instance) can pound down 100 a day. They all grow at different rates. And yes, those petstore beardies are being grossly underfed!

"I bought some reptile powder (I believe it's ReptiCal, but I don't remember for sure) for calcium and D3. Should this be used every feeding, once a day, or even less often than that? I had planned on using it once a day, would that be giving the dragon too much? I also bought some Bearded Dragon pellets. I plan on moistening these and adding them to the daily greens and veggies."

Rep Cal is great. For the baby dust his food one time a day, and once he's an adult you can cut back to 2-3 times a week. You'll also need a good multivitamin suppliment like Herptivite, give this to your beardie 2-3 times a week and when he's an adult cut back to 1-2 times a week.

"Is it important to remove all leftover crickets after the 10 minute period? Would it be a problem to leave a few crickets in during the day? I would remove them before lights out, of course."

Yes, for two reasons. Excess crickets left in the enclosure can stress the beardie, especially a young one. Also, they have been known to nibble on beardies.

"Housing:
I have a 10 gallon enclosure. I know that it's small, and I plan on getting a new enclosure after a couple months, this is just to start the baby out in. I have a UV light and I will use a regular lightbulb for the basking area. I plan for a basking area temp of about 95-105 and a daytime temp of between 80-85. Nighttime temps will drop down to about 70-75. Are these temperatures acceptable? I also plan on having 14 hours of the UV light for the summer and dropping it to 12 hours during winter. I know that my python needs hides on both the cool and hot side. I don't recall reading anything saying that dragons need this too. Is a single hide on the cool side appropriate?"

All of this sounds fine except that when the beardie is young the basking spot should be more like 110-115. When it's an adult then 95-105 will be more appropriate.

Also I saw you mention in another post you plan on moving it onto sand when it outgrows the 10 gallon. It is much better to wait until the dragon is fully grown, and even then impaction is always a risk, especially if you feed the dragon inside it's enclosure. The smaller it is the more the risk, so even if you wait until it's 3 months old it's still at greater risk than a full grown beardie.

"Oh yeah, I will definitely post pictures when I get my new dragon"

Please do!
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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)

It is true that a baby can eat up to 50 a day, and sometimes more. The main thing is to be prepared for however many it can eat in that 10 minute period, and let it decide it's own pace for eating. Some may eat only 30 a day, and some (mine for instance) can pound down 100 a day. They all grow at different rates. And yes, those petstore beardies are being grossly underfed!

100 crickets a day!? I'm assuming these are small crickets (a week old, maybe?), but still. I can't comprehend such a small lizard eating so much. I guess I'll have to see it to believe it. Should I plan on breeding my own crickets?

Rep Cal is great. For the baby dust his food one time a day, and once he's an adult you can cut back to 2-3 times a week. You'll also need a good multivitamin suppliment like Herptivite, give this to your beardie 2-3 times a week and when he's an adult cut back to 1-2 times a week.

I'll look for the multivitamin the next time I'm in the petstore. Anything specific in the multivitamin that I should look for?

Yes, for two reasons. Excess crickets left in the enclosure can stress the beardie, especially a young one. Also, they have been known to nibble on beardies.

Okay, I wasn't sure if leaving a few crickets in during the day would be harmful. I will make sure they are all out after 10 minutes.

All of this sounds fine except that when the beardie is young the basking spot should be more like 110-115. When it's an adult then 95-105 will be more appropriate.

Also I saw you mention in another post you plan on moving it onto sand when it outgrows the 10 gallon. It is much better to wait until the dragon is fully grown, and even then impaction is always a risk, especially if you feed the dragon inside it's enclosure. The smaller it is the more the risk, so even if you wait until it's 3 months old it's still at greater risk than a full grown beardie.

I'll try to keep the basking area closer to 110. I just worry about overheating the rest of the enclosure. I'll work with it to try to get the temps to what you recommend.

I've read that sand is recommended only after 5-6 months of age. I know they aren't fully grown at this age, but they grow like weeds, so they're pretty big at this age. Should I wait longer than this?

Thanks for your input. You seem to know your stuff. I look forward to posting pics soon!

"100 crickets a day!? I'm assuming these are small crickets (a week old, maybe?), but still. I can't comprehend such a small lizard eating so much. I guess I'll have to see it to believe it. Should I plan on breeding my own crickets?"

LOL! Sorry I'm not trying to scare you. 100 crickets a day is above average, my baby is a pig. He started at 1 month old on 1 week crickets ( 1/8" ) and now at 5 months old is eating 4 week crickets ( 1/2" ). I'm just telling you there is a higher end of the scale so you can be prepared. As long as he is growing and getting his fill, whether it's 30 in one day or 80, you don't need to worry if he's not getting enough. Your lizard will decide how many he wants to eat.

"I'll look for the multivitamin the next time I'm in the petstore. Anything specific in the multivitamin that I should look for?"

The one I would recommend is called Herptivite, and it's made by Rep-Cal as well. It's in the same size and shape container, and the label is blue.

"I've read that sand is recommended only after 5-6 months of age. I know they aren't fully grown at this age, but they grow like weeds, so they're pretty big at this age. Should I wait longer than this?"

Some people keep beardies at that age on sand and never have a problem. Then again some beardies have been impacted on sand when they are full grown, it's not common but it can happen. I always figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

There are ways you can reduce the risk, such as feeding your beardie outside his enclosure, or having the food dish on a raised part of the enclosure or on a placemat. Also, a lot of beardies like to taste their environment, so if a person notices their beardie likes to lick the sand a lot they may choose not to use sand at all. The important thing is for you to know your beardie and his behaviors and determine how much of a risk it is.

"I look forward to posting pics soon!"
I look forward to seeing them
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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)

Well, I purchased my new baby dragon on Monday evening. I posted pictures last night, so you can see him. His name is Rupert.

When I got him home, I didn't figure he would eat, but I thought I would try. He ate a few greens out of my hand, so I thought maybe a few crickets were in order. I had bought the smallest crickets I could find (1/4" or slightly larger). I put one in the tank but he didn't seem too interested, so after 10 minutes I took it out.

Tuesday morning I put in a greens mix in along with about 8-10 crickets, which he ate, but it took almost 10 minutes for him to do so. Tuesday evening I put some greens and another 15 crickets or so in with him and he ate about 12 of them. He didn't eat any of the greens, which I didn't expect him to anyway, but I make them available. So my guess is that he ate about 20 crickets or so the first full day I had him. This morning, he ate about 8 of the 15 crickets I offered and no greens.

I'm guessing there's some sort of adjustment period for the dragons. He's been moved into a strange new place and he might not have a big appetite. Does this sound normal? Could it be a temperature problem? My room gets about 80-85 degrees during the day, and his basking spot at the top of a stump-like decor object is at 105-110. Could it be that the crickets are too large?

I've also decided that I'm going to buy a separate container to feed him in. It's a major pain to try to catch those leftover crickets. They seem to find their way into every nook and cranny in the cage decor and they're hard to catch.

I'm starting to think that I'd be better off trying to breed my own crickets. I bought 4 dozen at a local petstore and it cost me $6. If he gets a major appetite and I'm feeding 4 dozen a day to him, I'm going to go broke! Well, not really but I'd prefer to pay less than $180 a month for crickets. It's also hard to get the larger shipments of crickets because there's nobody home when the usps/ups/fedex deliveries come and having them delivered to my work isn't really an option (I can see the face on the receptionist now...). How difficult is it to breed crickets?

Thanks for all your help!

With just one dragon I don't think its going to be worth your time and effort to breed crickets. He will start to eat more crickets as he grows, but it won't be unmanagable level. Note: adult crickets are very noisy, unless you have an area that you can store them they'll probably drive you crazy with their chirps. My advice is to start hand-feeding him some veggies in the next week or so, once he's comfortable in his new surroundings. I hand feed all of my young dragons (even the adults most of the time, but not every day) squash and other veggies every morning. I cut the pieces long and real thin and then place the food firmly against the slit of their mouth. Most dragons will open their mouth enough for you to slip the veggie in and then they bite off a piece and swallow it. Once you get the hang of it, its like Pacman, gobble, gobble, gobble. Anyway, this is the best way to insure that they're actually eating veggies and I've found that it also helps to make them more tame. For stubborn dragons that don't take to hand feeding right away, put a drop of water on their snout, when they lap it up, put the thin veggie in. In my experience, if you don't hand feed them veggies, it takes them quite some time before they will eat veggies on a consistant basis from a dish. I'm not saying handfeeding is required (note it is time consuming, especially if you have several dragons like I do) but I think it helps the survival rate of young dragons because many of them are not good cricket hunters and they need the veggies.

it is very normal for a baby dragon to not have an appetite for a few days after being moved into a new home. Give him about a week and I think you'll notice him eating more and more.
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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)

Sorry to burst your bubble but a healthy beardie can easily eat 50 crickets a day. Although it depends on the size of crix you are feeding. My babies at 9 inches and they eat anywhere from 25-50 3/8 inch crix or about 20 1/2 inch crix.

Good luck!!

>>Hi there, I'm interested in becoming a proud owner of a new baby Bearded Dragon. I've been scouring the web for information and I think I know everything I need to know, but I'd like to ask a couple questions just to make sure.
>>
>>Feeding:
>>I currently own a Ball Python, and feeding is easy. One rat every 1 to 2 weeks. I know that Bearded Dragons eat much more frequently, on a daily basis. However, I'm not quite sure how much a baby will eat.
>>
>>I know that you feed them as much as they can eat in a 5-10 minute period, two to three times a day. I've read that they can eat up to 50 crickets a day. I'm assuming these are tiny crickets, but that seems to be an enormous amount for a baby to consume. I've seen baby's at petstores and they are only 4-6 inches long, how could they possibly eat 50 crickets a day? I asked the petstore employee how much they eat and he said about 3-4 crickets a day. This sounds like way too few. Are those petstore dragons grossly underfed, or are the articles I read exagerating the appetite of the baby dragons?
>>
>>I bought some reptile powder (I believe it's ReptiCal, but I don't remember for sure) for calcium and D3. Should this be used every feeding, once a day, or even less often than that? I had planned on using it once a day, would that be giving the dragon too much? I also bought some Bearded Dragon pellets. I plan on moistening these and adding them to the daily greens and veggies.
>>
>>Is it important to remove all leftover crickets after the 10 minute period? Would it be a problem to leave a few crickets in during the day? I would remove them before lights out, of course.
>>
>>Housing:
>>I have a 10 gallon enclosure. I know that it's small, and I plan on getting a new enclosure after a couple months, this is just to start the baby out in. I have a UV light and I will use a regular lightbulb for the basking area. I plan for a basking area temp of about 95-105 and a daytime temp of between 80-85. Nighttime temps will drop down to about 70-75. Are these temperatures acceptable? I also plan on having 14 hours of the UV light for the summer and dropping it to 12 hours during winter. I know that my python needs hides on both the cool and hot side. I don't recall reading anything saying that dragons need this too. Is a single hide on the cool side appropriate?
>>
>>Okay, that's all I can think of right now. I plan on purchasing my dragon in the next day or two. Any comments or suggestions you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
>>
>>Oh yeah, I will definitely post pictures when I get my new dragon
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AlphaDragonZ
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