Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We just got a new beardie for my son. Approx. 4 months old..approx. 7-8 inches from head to tip of tail. It is a female and she seems to be doing great. LOVING crickets but not touching veggies at all. How many crickets does she HAVE to eat daily?

How do I get her to start getting interested in the veggies?
I have offered, kale, yellow squash, collards but she still is not touching them. What about green peppers? What about apples? Is there a certain fruit they like best?

I know so many questions I want her to stay healthy and active.

Thank you

Is it from tip to start of tail or from tip to tip the way you are measuring?

There is no "exact" number if crickets she should be eating, nor can you be 100% positive it is female yet. At the age the beardie is at, it should be getting 2-3 cricket feedings a day, each feeding as many crickets as she can eat in 10-15 minutes. The crickets should all be smaller than the space between the eyes. She "should" easily be eating 30-100 crickets a day plus misted salad in the morning.

You'll have to discover your beardies favorite fruit, veggy, green, etc. But green bell peppers and apples are ok on occasion. Check out this site for a list of foods you can add tot he salad, its color coded: http://home.comcast.net/~holachapulin/Nutrition.html

To get her on eating salad, try mixing a scricket with no back legs to the salad.It wont be able to escape, and she will see movement and try to get it. Most likely she will get some salad in her mouth with that cricket, and realize its tastes yummy! you can also put a freshly molted mealworm in there, but I think a cricket withno back legs is better.

You can also try taking some salad, espicially bright items, and move them in front of the beardie. She should get intersted and may try and eat some.

most babies are not that interrested in veggies--they CRAVE protein and they require lots of it the first year.

Veggies should still be offered daily...check out www.beautifuldragons.com for a list of foods.

A growing baby/juvie can eat tons a crickets each day. It is not uncommon for them to eat 50-100 a day--spread out over 2-3 feedings. When ours was a baby he ate about 30 a day until he was close to a year old...then he finally slowed down!

To keep the cost of crickets down I ordered them online for about $15 for 1000 including shipping. We keep the crickets in a large clear rubbermaid tub without a lid--they can't climb/jump out. If you feel like you need a lid then cut out a large piece of the lid and replace it (duct tape) with screening material. I feed my crickets the same greens/veggies I feed our beardies--I also use cricket food pellets. For moisture I provide carrots and a moist papertowel--kept on a plastic lid and changed daily. If you remove the old food daily and provide adequate ventilation the smell is reduced considerably.

I'm glad that our beardies are both adults...I can get away with purchasing crickets every week or 2 at the pet store. They only get protein 2-3 times a week now.

On a side note--beardies seldom drink from a water dish. Most people 'mist' them--on the head-- with a water sprayer daily or soak them in a slightly warm bath a few times a week (what we do).

I didnt realize they ate so many crickets!!! Where do you order crickets from online? You said you get 1000 of them for 15.oo,,where at? Do they actually live long enough?

Thank you

oh yes theirs many places such as www.ghan.com(just followed an ad lol) and from pinhead to full adult they live about 2 or more months at least for me. make sure u get a good piece of tupperware.
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0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Red Rose Trantula
1.0.0 Boxer

Thanks,,I ordered crickets online,with shipping it was almost 18.00 but that's still much cheaper than getting them at the pet store. I dont think my son realized how much work it was for the lizard but he is doing alright. I can tell you in the summer he will be catching his own crickets!

You said now that yours are adults you only feed them 2 times a week..how many crickets do you have to feed them at one feeding when they are adults?

Thanks for all the information!

As adults beardies eat mostly veggies and fruits. They get fresh salads EVERY day. Two to three times a week they get some 'live' protein...right now it is crickets (around 10-15) and the occasional superworm. I hatched out some silkworms last week and it will be another week before they will be large enough to feed out.

You need to be cautious when catching your own food/bugs. If there is any chance they were exposed to pesticides (indoor or outdoor) then do not use them---if you have neighbors that use pesticides do not use them... Many lawn chemicals have pesticides. I live in the country on 'natural' land. We occasionly catch our own crickets/grasshoppers but prefer to use farmed ones. Make sure any cricket/hopper is smaller than the space between your beardie's eyes...or they could have trouble digesting it.

I also mentioned that I have 2 beardies. They have seperate tanks and we have no plans to breed...Our female is a German Giant (she is at least twice the size/weight of our male)...we are afraid she might decide to snack on him!

Great! Thanks for all the advice!

I have been purchasing my crickets through reptilefoods.com , although there are many places on the net that sell crickets and other live foods this way...I have the crickets shipped so that they are here the next day,longer and crickets may die...it's best if someone can be home to sign for them since too cold or too hot weather can kill them...I work so I have them shipped to the nearest fed ex and they hold them till I pick them up after work...it's closer and alot cheaper than the pet store...I save $60.00 dollars per purchase this way...the crickets even had some food in with them...some crickets will die or be killed while in your home but not that many...I just ordered more so 1000 crickets lasted two weeks (maybe a little over) between a beardie, leopard gecko and young bullfrog...I believe it's the best way to go especially while they are young and eating so many...when older you could always order less, it would probably still be cheaper than pet store...

I can just poke holes in the tupperware lid cant I?

the cricket container will SMELL very bad if you do not provide adequate ventilation...a large screen on the top or no top is best. Start saving up cardboard egg cartons. Use them for the crickets to hide in. The inside of papertowel rolls works ok too. In a pinch I have just used plain cardboard and bent it to provide hiding places. Since we do not use that many crickets we are currently keeping our crickets in our old 20 gallon tank--no top. I clean out the bottom of the tank--the crickets move to the other side--once or twice a week. I also remove any old food daily.

I tend to feed my crickets well all the time. Some offer minimal food and then the night before a feeding they take the desired number out and put them in a smaller container with lots of healthy food--this is called "gut loading". The next day their beardie munches on well fed/hydrated crickets. It supposedly ups the nutritional value.

Thanks,,I got the gutloader food for the crickets,,some have died not too many I hand fed the beardie with the ones that just died he ate them so they didnt go to waste. I cannot wait until he is older and eating more veggies rather than crickets. He seems to be doing very well so far.
Its my sons beardie hopefully he will continue to take care of her. They really have personalities.
Thanks for all the help I'm sure I will be on here quite a bit with questions.

Tracy

I just lost my dragon the other day due to a unfortunate event but since I have time and some knowledge I'd like to offer what I know...First thing that's good is you mentioned he's loving his crix. Make sure you dust them with a good calcium supplement (i.e., REPCAL or Sandfire Super Foods), and Multi-Vitamin (Repcal). Make sure you have at least a good UVB source and that the baby has a basking spot that has a surface temperature of at least 100-110 degrees. Make sure the enclosure also has a cooler side of 80-85 degrees and there's a hide spot available. Make sure there is always fresh salad offered daily. What you mentioned seemed okay..Greens(Turnip, mustard, or collard), fresh veggies, squash (butternut, spaghetti, green or yellow). You get the idea! Offer the crix 3 times a day as much as the little guy can consume in about 10-15 minutes. Don't leave any live prey in his enclosure and make sure that they are no bigger than the space between his eyes. Large prey could become compacted and kill your baby. Make sure he doesn't have access to his poo and make sure you keep your tank thoroughly cleaned. Not doing so could lead to parasites or coccidia which you don't want trust me! Well that's all I can say for now...have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask!!! Here's a pic of my recently deceased dragon, POGO!

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Keith Ecklund II
Northeast Ohio
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.5 Fire Bellied Toads

I drip water onto my beardies nose with a syringe (minus the needle of course)...just make sure if you spray the beardie the cage isn't damp...it could cause health problems...

They make a cricket keeper that is one of those plastic animal containers with black tubes sticking out. You pull the tube out and the crickets are inside. Real easy, no mess.

I usually put oatmeal on the bottom of this keeper. The crickets feed off it and it keeps the smell down. I will occasionally throw in some left over greens and remove any that isn't eaten. I also put in the jellied water as a water source.
They sell it at the pet stores, darned if I can't remember what it is called. Mine has calcium in it already. This feeding and watering of crickets not only keeps them alive but gut loads them for healthier feedings. Most crickets you get from the pet store are hungry.

I also feed Reptical Pellets. You soak them in water and they become soft. I have a large ceramic bowl that I feed out of. I found that if I always feed the crickets in the bowl, he expected it. (he once watched a cricket running around his tank from the bowl waiting for me to get it for him. It was funny) So I would drop a couple of crickets in, then a pellet. Usually he would grab it before he realized. Sometimes I would move it around (I used a paperclip to move it)
Many people here have changed to a pellet only diet and are happy about it. I still give both. He's old enough that he will eat his greens and pellets.

Oh, and the secret of getting him to poo if he hasn't is warm baths. They always go in a warm bath.

Good luck to you