Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got one beardie coming soon. how long should 500 crickets last? he's about 8 weeks old.

im thinking about feeding veggies in the morning and crickets in the afternoon or vice versa?

also what size is a good size to feed and 8-10 week old?

3/4 Inch
5/8 Inch
1/2 Inch

You will need to get 1/4" crix or 3/8" crix. Depending on the size of your beardie. A good rule of thumb is never feed a cricket that is much larger than the space between the eyes. The exoskeleton of larger crix is tougher and harder for them to digest. Another thing to look at when buying crix is that different companies send different sized crix for a particular "offered size" I've ordered 11/4" and recieved very tiny and also up to 1'2" just by ordering 1/4" You just have to get to know the company you use and order accordingly. I've had good luck with Superworm Farm as far as the size fitting the order I placed. They can be a little slow getting the order out though so don't wait till your alomost out to reorder. Also, 500 crix will go VERY quickly I would suggest orderin 1000 at a time and seeing hoow that goes. Unless you do the silkies to then 500 would probably be good for about a week or so.

You should offer veggies every morning, even if he doesn't eat much of it he will begin to eventually. Small little portions will be fine. For a great list of the best and "no-no" veggies go to www.beautifuldragons.com Awesome website for beardie enthusiasts. BOOK MARK IT!!

As for only feeding crix once a day..... You need to dust them with a calcium/d3 powder every morning and get at least one more feeding in a day of crix. If you are home during the day 3 feedings per day is the ideal situation for your baby.

If your not home during the day, you might consider getting silkworms to add to your feeding regimen. if you put them on the salad they will munch on it and the movement will also draw the beardie to the salad and in my experience, the dragons even eat more salad this way. Just remeber that when your feeding the silkies, you deon't have to use the space between the eyes rule. Their "skin" isn't as tough and is easier to digest so you can feed prey twice as large or so. Just don't feed them so large that the beardies could choke before he gets it swallowed.
i would get 1" to 1 1/2" silkies if you wanted to try this.

Also if you feed crix you should find a good cricket gut load to feed them 24 hours before they go into the beardies cage.

Hope this helps and I'm sure you will love beardies! They are great buddies!

Later,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

can the beardies go on a diet of veggies and silkworms only?

so silkworms also go under any of these names: mealworm, superworm, waxworm?

No to all of the above. Silkworms go by no other name. They are only silkworms. I would not recomend feeding mealworms but waxworms are good as a treat two or three times a week and superwoms are a good feeder insect too from what I hear.

Yes, you could do just a silkworm and veggie diet. The silkies have alot less phospherous and more protein. The only reason I feed crickets still is that the calcium/d3 dust doesn't seem to stick to the silkies as well as it does the crix and you end up with alot more wasted supplements. At least that's my experience.

If you go to www.beautiful dragons.com and look at the chart provided it will show you the calcium/phospherous ratios, protein values, vitamin A content and there is even an area that explains that too you. It gives you these for not only veggies but bugs as well. This way you can decide for yourself what you would like to do as far as a feeding regimen.

Later,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

just wondering, don't superworms also have the same hard skin as mealworms so that it'd be harder for younger beardies to digest?

and is it difficult to get beardies to start eating silkworms? (i know for leopard geckos, it's hard 2 get them started on them because they "taste healthy" i was thinking of doing a diet of RepCal pellets, veggies, and silkworms w/ an occassional waxworm as a treat - so pretty much just elimintating crickets from the diet. would that be alright?
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0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

any ideas? all of the major sites dont sell them.

www.midwestherpetoculture.com www.mulberryfarms.com I would suggest midwest as he sales worm/food packages so you can have ffod for them untill they are fed off.

Later,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

how big of a rubbermaid do you all use for your crickets? and can the climb on the sides?

because i dont breed crickets and just keep going to the pet store (it's like 3 blocks from my house), i just use this... --| CLICK HERE |--

the crickets go in the black tube and then i knock a couple in a tall cricket duster thing and shake em up and pop em in the cage. there's a plastic top so they dont jump out...

they jump outta plastic bins instead of climb out of them - like once i had the cricket duster tube open while i put the black tube back in the cricket house and two big ones jumped out and i just smashed one while it was hopping on my floor (i dont like 2 touch them.. im scared ) the other one got away and i dont know where it is right now
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0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

Also I get the 30 gallon size.

Later,
Robert
-----
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

I don't see a problem with that at all...... just don't forget the supps....

I'm not really sure about the super worms as I've never used them. That's why i put in there "from what I understand"........ I've never heard of anthing bad only good.....
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

thanks for the information yah i also read about superworms being alright but i also read the warnings on the mealie skin, so i wasn't too sure. thanx 4 the help!
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0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

Oh and about switching them over. If you want to do that and are adament.... If they don't switch right away just keep offering them the silkies and remove all crickets period. It may seem kinda mean but they will begin to eat the silkies and once they are use to them you can introduce other things back to them.

Later,
Robert
-----
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

Superworms are really big. So your beardie will need to be quite a bit bigger before you can feed them...But beardies do LOVE superworms

so basically all i have to put in my 24g rubbermaid container is an egg carton and a paper towel roll. then toss in some fresh carrots, potatoes every day? what about water, do they need a water bowl?

Going to try and answer all your questions at once.

A 8 week old bearded dragon would need 1/4 inch crickets or 1/2 inch silkworms 2-3 times a day. A salad should also be offered but young dragons don't really eat much of that for the first couple months. Dust insects once or twice a day for another two months than cut back to only once a day. Once the dragon is 6 months old, once every other day is fine.

Crickets can be kept in rubbermaid containers at least 12" high. Use sufficient egg cartons to give alot of hiding places. Provide fresh greens, crushed low fat catfood or dogfood (with no dyes in either) with carrots, orange slices or potatoes. Some cooked chicken breast can also be added. Remove all uneaten greens once a day. You don't need any water as crickets will get all the moisture they need from fresh greens, orange slice etc.

Silkies can be a stable insect for bearded dragons. Though soft skin, it is best not to go twice the size of the space between the eyes. Too large of prey items can cause rear leg paralyzation due to the large mass pressing against the spine. Once the dragon is 15" or larger, any size silkworms are fine.

Superworms are completely different from silkworms and are not really good as a stable diet. They are great as variety and treats but are on the fatty side, like waxworms. It will be fine to feed smaller newly molted (white or pale) superworms a couple times a week but no more often than that. Crickets should also be offered once in awhile, if going for a all silkworm diet, just for insect variety.

Baby dragons eat alot, some more than others. Some can eat as much as 20 crickets per meal, meaning if you fed as much as 3 times a day, that's 60 crickets. At that rate 500 crickets would last about 8 days. Silkworms are a little more filling but with smaller silkworms, baby dragons can eat as many worms as crickets.

I think I answered all your questions.
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PHLdyPayne

Not trying to pick a fight here but I thought that the reason you didn't feed the larger prey items was because ofd the exoskeleton of the crix being tougher..... I feed my small beardies 1" silkies all the time and they have never had problems. Since the "outside" is so soft, what's the differance between them eating 30 1/2" silkies and 10 1" silkies? They just don't seem to go after the smaller ones unless you clump them all in a bundle and drop them in a glob.

I have yet to hear of anyones beardie having problems with silkies being to large. Have I missed something? I mean I don't think it would be wise to feed babies two " ones but I haven't had problems with 1" to 1 1/2"ers yet whatsoever. My beardies sizes are 6.5" to 12". It's just really a waste of money to feed them at 1/2" in my opinion.

Wuold appreciate your feedback and anyone elses as well.

Thanks,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

The reason I recommend silkies not be larger than twice the distance between the dragons eyes is that, though soft, if fed too large it could choke the dragon.

thank you very much! everyone has been a big help. i just got through making my rubbermaid a little custom with mesh screens on top and on the sides.

heres a pic of what i made today for the crickets.

Wow! that should work rather well! Good idea!

Later,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

yea this one came out real sloppy also. i got a few friends who want one already. i got this 24 qt and top for $5.97!!! the mesh was free and the silicone is like $3. awesome!

Looks good. Just make sure you used aluminum screen. Fibreglass or vinyl screen crickets can chew through.
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PHLdyPayne

im planning on adding some shredded newpaper and egg cartons. i will feed with corn flakes, orangs slices and potato slices. wil i still need water in the enclosure?