Beardie Question

[olivehydra]

Hello all,
I have decided to take a trip down memory lane and get some eastern beardies (barbata). It was 20 years ago that I last kept them and in those days you couldnt buy live food, and had to catch it yourself. Iceberg lettuce was also considered an exotic produce back then. I've got the books but am after hands on advice on good diet. Most books are yankee and the fruit n veg section of the supermarket is still foreign to me :wink:
I'm getting a couple of hatchies in a week or so and am wanting to prepare myself. Already got vit. and calcium supps but more interested in the veg side.
Cheers.

 

[serpenttongue]

Definately cooked brocoli, clovers and cooked, diced carrots. Even the little weeds that make those bindi-eye things on our lawns.

 

[olivehydra]

Definately cooked brocoli, clovers and cooked, diced carrots. Even the little weeds that make those bindi-eye things on our lawns.

Thanks ST. COOKED! What have I got myself into? :wink: I have often wondered if any of the veg suggested in books was meant to be served raw or cooked. Cheers. My water dragons in the past were quite partial to sweet fruits on occasion, how about barbata? To tell the truth, 20 years ago there wasnt much info around but I managed to keep them going on Locusts, moths and dadelions. Anyone got thoughts on packaged dragon food/pellets?

 

[serpenttongue]

Whenever i offered the pellets to beardies they were turned down, and i dont blame them. They love raw meats and also banana, de-shelled snails and also smaller cage mates :winki'm joking of course!)

If you dont want to cook brocoli you can put some in a cup of water and stick it in the microwave oven for a minute or two. It just needs to be soft.

 

[peterjohnson64]

I bought the pellets and nothing (inside) ate them. Although I also left a bowl of them in the outside enclosure and they sort of dissappered over a few days. I wouldn't buy them again. Maybe you could wean them onto them.

They love insects so they are certainly on your list. Expect weekly visits to the local pet shop. I don't cook my vegies I "peel" them with a potato peeler, that also makes them soft but is probably at least as much work.

You can also try dog food but not as a staple. And make sure they get a lot of exercise or they get fat.

 

[olivehydra]

Cheers S.T. do you keep barbata or vitts?

 

[ether]

You can soak the pellets in apple juice so soften them up a bit, making them more desirable..

 

[Dicco]

My guys would gorge on strawberries when I gave it to them, they love their insects, or if you happen to be holding the woodie they don't mind your finger either , my guys will eat pretty much anything, don't think they've ever turned down a fruit or vege I've put in there to date.

 

[serpenttongue]

Cheers S.T. do you keep barbata or vitts?

I've kept and bred barbata in the past. I stopped keeping beardies altogether a few years ago.

 

[Possum]

Beardie

My Barbata's love Bok Choy (not cooked), dandelion flowers and strawberries, but mainly Bok Choy and they get a bow of crickets to chase around on the weekend. Sometimes finger tips if you are too slow :wink:

 

[Fireblade]

i have two beardiesi wasnt sure about the pellets at first, but i mate of mine bought some and he gave me some to give it a go.. one of them eats them like M & M's and the other doesnt touch them... mind you the one that eats them over a couple of months is twice the size of the other. also mine love parsley and bok choy. and they would eat banana all day if id let them

 

[peterjohnson64]

Now for my beardie question. How is the easiest way to distinguish between Barbata & Vicciteps? Do people often interbreed them?

 

[steve6610]

hi,
i feed my easterns and centrals on bokchow, chinese cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, tomato, and a bit of rock mellon when i have it, mine love it, they also get their roaches every couple days,

cheers,
steve.......

 

[steve6610]

hi peter,
i've been told that easterns have a yellow mouth and centrals
have pink mouths, i'm sure other people might say different, i've just
found out 2 of my so called centrals have yellow mouths, i now know
why they didn't colour up like orange centrals should,

cheers,
steve......

 

[Dicco]

Now for my beardie question. How is the easiest way to distinguish between Barbata & Vicciteps? Do people often interbreed them?

P. barbata have less broad heads than vitticeps, vitticeps have a stright row of spines on the back of their heads, barbata have a more curved row that is broken in the middle. Vitties have pink mouths and barbata have sulfur yellow mouths, but I've found hybrids can have either. Also barbata have much more pronounced spines, that's all I can think of right now.

 

[beknluke]

Hey OH
I feed mine a whole heap of stuff - none of which is cooked. a) that would be a pain in the bum and I'm lazy and b) you may as well keep all of the nutritional content in there that you can. And if the food is too hard for them to eat, either chop it up smaller or grate it.
I would avoid any broccoli and spinach (I personally don't give it to any of mine). It can bind their calcium absorbtion. I also don't feed them banana very often.
Go to www.beautifuldragons.com and click on 'nutrition'. Yeah it's yankee, but their break down of what's in each veggie/fruit is accurate no matter what country you're in
Mine get Endive, Squash and Pawpaw every veggie meal, and then I also add a selection of Bok Choy, Alfalpha (sprouts - I don't have the tree!!), grapes, kiwi fruit, apple, beans, celery, carrot and more.
Oh, and if you don't knwo what's what in the fruit and veg section - look for labels!!
Good luck
Bex

 

[Jason]

hi peterjohnson64, you can distinguish between them, my pair turned out to be one barbata and one vittis, i always had a hunch that he was a vittis but i geuss i didnt want him to be....lol. thats why i posted pics i wanted to see if people said he was a vittis to just ensure me that he was. me pics are in the general herps section called my beardie pair if you want to look ( i think it is now on page two) but you can see the difference, although the eastern is a female.

as for saleds, mine tend to just LOVE letuce and other leafy greens, i tend to give them pealed carot so it is thin and easy to eat and also apple and cappcicon (which is good for VA). sometimes i even get a mixed bag of veggies out of the freezer and put it in hot water to defrost, they like that, that way they get corn, carot, capcicon etc...

 

[BeardyBen]

i tend to give them pealed carot so it is thin and easy to eat and also apple and cappcicon (which is good for VA). sometimes i even get a mixed bag of veggies out of the freezer and put it in hot water to defrost, they like that, that way they get corn, carot, capcicon etc...

hehehehe sorry to pick on you Jason but I had a giggle when i figured out what capsicon was. I think you mean capsicum

 

[Magpie]

Alfalpha (sprouts - I don't have the tree!!),

Just for reference, alfalfa sprouts are just baby lucerne. Lucerne is like big clover, grows about 50cm high. Not picking, just know that it's not widely known.

 

[Jason]

hehehehe sorry to pick on you Jason but I had a giggle when i figured out what capsicon was. I think you mean capsicum

yer english was never my strong point at school, but i think you all know that by now