Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I've been reading up a bit about these guys and the food has me sort of concerned this in not the lizard for me.

I'm not sure I like the idea of a 50% animal/50% vegetable diet. Especially since the majority of the animal side would be crickets. I HATE keeping crickets in large numbers for future feedings, and with a 50% animal, I'd have to be keeping large numbers or go out and buy a ton of em every other day.

What I just recently read was that the dragons can be fed earthworms. Are these a decent substitute instead of crickets? I could deal with a small styrofoam cup in the fridge. Plus they are bigger meals and much less of a hassle for me.

Also, I read that some people feel that beardies can live fine with a vegetable diet up as high as 90%, especially in the wild. Any truth to this?

Really depends on what size/age dragon you get. My advice, if you don't like the thought of keeping bugs, get a Uromastyx. From what I understand, they are almost entirely vegetable eaters with birdseed and occasional crix/worms thrown in. Least that is what ours eat.

Older bearded dragons can be kept on a mostly vegetable/greens diet with occasional crix as treats as well as supers, wax worms, butterworms, silkworms etc... i've never fed earthworms so I don't know about that.

If you don't want to keep large amount of crickets around, don't get a baby dragon. My advice, find one over a year old to minimize cricket/worm consumption, but even then be prepared to deal with it for awhile.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

I have been feeding my bearded Dragon nothing but Greens for the last 8 months and he is in perfect health. When i first had him I fed him a ton of crickets every other day but it became too much of a hassle I eventually weaned him off of the crickets and fed him strictly greens...I guess you could say I'm an out of the box reptile keeper...I like to try different things...for example my Beardie also has no UVB bulb in his enclosure simply a 40 watt basking lamp. While some may say this is not the proper way I will say this...he's living happy as ever, no signs of sickness or anything of the sort.

Good Luck with your beardie and listen to the guys on this forum for advice...they are very knowledgable...

P.S. As previously mentioned this was with an adult dragon, juveniles need Crix.

Also If you want a good alternative meat source...try pinkies as a treat every now and then...my Dragon loves them! And Carrots too

I have also read about the 90/10 split. That is referring to adult beardies. Hatchlings to juveniles need much more protien.

As for the earthworm, I don't know. Mealworm are okay, but there are several people that have also had success with feeding pelletized food. Your best bet would be to try to find a breeder that has them eating pellets before you make the purchase.

Good Luck!
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Jenny
www.happy-dragons.com

beardie dragon pellets are good as a base food.. i also feed my dragon a daily salad and his bugs every other day or every two days... he's two and he still loves his bugs.. there really is no way around it.. but you could try silkies or supers.. instead of crickets.. i hate crickets.. but have to have them for some of my other lizards ... silkies are a really good staple... very high in calcium

btw : weren't you going to get a uro... their diet is almost all veggie.. and are very friendly ... and their setup is much like the bearded dragon.. whatever you decide good luck

alissa

Yeah, I was thinking about a uro or a dragon. I've been finding good and bads about both.

I love the idea of being able to handle a dragon more, but dislike the crix. Everything I've heard and read so far say they are the best lizard to get for a beginner.
But then I LOVE the look of uros, but the fact they are a little more timid might be a problem. Plus the veggie diet is a real plus.

Of course I'm also looking into cage size, special needs, etc etc.

Last thing I want is to get a pet that is a problem after I get him.
I actually wanted a Sheltopusik for a while, but I heard they are pretty boring plus the fact that they are only wild caught animals.