How many Crickets to feed Beardie?

[Tuttley]

New to beardies, and have a cute one under my care at the moment. I am told it is not unusual at this size (8cm SVL) for him to show little interest in my lovingly prepared salads, but I continue to offer them anyway.

I have crickets in "medium" size, and not too sure how many he should be eating per day. Can anyone give me a guide to numbers? Also, I will get some woodies for him shortly too, so same question for them.

Cheers,
Tuttley

 

[frankc]

hi

hi,well,we have 3 bearded dragons,they are about 6 months old now.When we got them we feed them 2-3 small crixs 3 times a day each and grated carrot.they are eating medium crixs now 4 each twic a day plus they eat lots of salad,buk choy,beardie pellets,endive and lots more.they are growing well and fast.Just remember the size of the food shouldn't be bigger than the space between their eyes due to impaction.They should be offered as much as they can eat within a 15min period and should always be offered salad in their cage whether they eat it or not.Lighting:turn light on for an hour before feeding in the morning and in the evening leave the light on for 2 hours after eating,to help their digestion.Does that make sense?Good luck and enjoy.Frank

 

[Tuttley]

Thanks Frank, very helpful.

 

[frankc]

you are welcome,if I can help with anyting just PM me anytime.Otherwise enjoy the little guys because they get big fast and are alot of fun.cheers

 

[Houdini]

Hey,

I've found that they can eat A LOT. Usually as they are growing they can eat up to 100 a day. This keeps them healthy and plump Its also best not to feed them much carrot because it can cause vitamin A toxicity. Some of it is still fine, but don't feed them a lot. Mine is about 4 months old, almost 30cm STL and eats a fair bit of butternut squash and endive as his favourite vegies. Make sure its no bigger than the space between his eyes too.

 

[mines bigger]

hey Frankc
i think that feeding them a set amount is un neccisary you should feed them as much as they want when they are little it doesnt matter if they get a little chubby as they will run it off when they get bigger

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello

Hello,

Bearded dragons under 8 months of age, should be allowed to eat how ever many crickets that they want within a 10-15 minute timeframe. They should be fed at least 2 times or maybe 3 times a day. They are growing quickly & will quadruple in size within the first year of life. Their skeletal system needs the protein. The greens & veggies will come secondary, but are still important.
I hope this helps out. Yes, as suggested, make sure they are no larger than the space between the eyes.

Tracie

 

[frankc]

reply

Mines bigger,I agree that there is no need for a set amount to give them.as I said as much as they can eat in 10-15 mins.My guys eat a lot of veges and I mean a lot.They are offered crixs and woodies everyday twice a day.Some days they eat more than others.I tend to offer veges first than woodies though they have a constant supply of veges throughout the day.Crixs and woodies are very important part of their diet.More so than veges at a young age.I also coat the crixs etc with calcium powder every second day now and everyday when they were younger.They seem happy enough and are not nippy towards each other so I think they are getting enough food.Anyway,always good to take on everyones advice because in the end we all want to do the right thing by our herps.

 

[frankc]

sorry I re-read my first response and realized that when I said we give some crixs I failed to say that we give them woodies also.the crixs are just a little for variety,they mainly eat woodies(probably 15 -20 each feed)approx. only sometimes more.the woodies plus crixs so I guess around 20 or so 3 times a day.More as they get bigger.Sorry for my retarded first response,not very clear huh.I hope this clarifies it alittle better. I also recommend breeding your own woodies as it can get expensive,cheers Frank

 

[Bigbird]

I am also new to this site and bought two baby beardies on Saturday!

In the excitement of purchasing them, I forgot ask how old they are. They are about 2.5 inches / 6cm STV. Could anyone tell me roughly what age this would make them?

I have been feeding them veggies, but they don’t eat them at the moment unless I hand feed them. I am also feeding them small crickets dusted in calcium powder, which I have increased to about 10 each a day on the advice from another thread.

I am a little concerned about one of them as he doesn’t seem to be as active as the other and doesn’t seem to get many crickets when fed. Any advice on how to ensure he gets his fair share would be greatly appreciated as would any other advice!

I have received differing opinions as to how much light they should be exposed to a day ranging from 6 hours to 12 hours so any guidance on this would also be very helpful.

Thank you!

 

[frankc]

hey bigbird

in regards to your questions,I was always told 14 hrs light 10 hrs no light. to represent day and night.Feeding: take them out of enclosure and put in plastic tub and feed separately.then you can monitor how much each one feeds.at that age they probably won't eat alot of veges but keep offering it.remember all they can eat in 15 mins is best to go by. probably more than 10 crixs each a day.feed them 3 times a day at that age.Also some are more active then others just make sure your cage temps are right,about 32-35 at the hot end and 25-27 at the cool end(some may say 25 is too low,some say it is fine).good luck.

 

[Houdini]

Hey,

Welcome to owning beardies and the site

Like frank said, feed them as much as they'll eat in 15 minutes. Sometimes, they might not eat in a plastic tub outside their inclosure (at least mine wouldn't). I just fed him crickets in a little plastic tub (like the petshop crickets come in) inside his enclosure.

Do you know how long they are from Snout to tail? I can only guess ages from that

And also, if one is looking smaller and getting less food, etc, it could be because the other one is dominant. its best to separate them, because the one growing faster could kill the other one (This happens frequently with males, and even sometimes with females). If they are a male and a female, the female can become pregnant too early, and get eggbound, plus the male can overbreed her. Its best not to keep them together.

For veggies, my little one eats his endive, bok choy (i think thats what it is) and butternut squash/pumpkin. Make sure the squash is small enough for him, grate it.

Also, you should get a vitamin supplement too, not just a calcium. I dust the crickets 5x a week with calcium and 2x a week with the vitamin supplements.

Good luck with your beardie

Oh, also, I use about 13 hrs day 11 hrs night, but anything around 12-14 hrs daylight is best, because it is like an average day.

 

[Jason]

feed as many crix as thy will eat! offer veg every day and they wil row healthy. mine was about 48cm TL at 12 months and about 400 grams

 

[JEMMI]

feeding

Does anyone know whether baby beardies sit up on a perch and wait for insects to go by or do they go walkabout and look for food?
Could this give an indication as to how much to feed them?

 

[alex_c]

just let them have as much as they want it wont hurt them and you will have nice big beardies

 

[Bigbird]

Thanks for all your help guys, it's much appreciated!

I found out that my beardies are about six weeks old.

I'm not really able to feed them three times a day as I'm at work, but can do twice. What age can you just feed them once a day?

I will get a vitamin supplement and set the light to be on for about 13 hours a day.

One isn't really smaller than the other, they're about the same size, it's just that he doesn't eat as much. Even when I feed him seperately he only eats two or three crickets and then tries to get out of the feeding box! He's more active now and seems to love water - he's often splashing arouond in his water bowl! Maybe he just has less of an appetite??

Sorry to sound dumb, but what's endive? I'm from the UK and have never heard of it!

Also, is there any advantages / disadvantages between crickets and woodies for baby beardies? I was thinking of changing to woodies as the crickets seem to escape all the time and jump all over the place, the little buggers, even when I think I've been really careful when transferring them to the enclosure!

 

[Maxx]

I cannot for the life of me get mine to eat salad. Ive tried all sorts and to no avail. Mine feed on crickets and beardie pellets

When they were younger the male ate a hell of a lot more than the female and somewhat more agressively as well. I seperated them when feeding so tha ti could ensure that they both got their fair share of food. They are now both the same size approx 35 cm Snout to Tail.

 

[Bigbird]

I have just googled endive and found out that it is curly lettuce, pretty much!

Is that right?? :?

 

[frankc]

endive

yeah that is about right.You can buy endive plants from bunnings and so on but remember they may use pesticides so be VERY careful giving this (You don't want to kill the little guys)if you buy from there.I think you have to keep growing it at home for about 6 weeks before the pesticide wears off but I could be wrong,Coles sometimes sell it.Bok choy is great,chop it up small enough for them to eat and off they go,Carrot tops(leafy part),If you are having trouble getting your beardie to eat veges,put a live woody or crix in their food bowl with the veges and when they try and get the crix they will also eat some of the veges and then they will never turn back. Some people say their beardies only eat crixs or only eat woodies so I think as long as you gutload them eaither is fine as long as the get their veges and pellets,uv,calcium and minerals.
I put my crixs and woodies in a plastic container when feeding them.I feed my beardies outside their enclosure(except for veges which they have access to all day).If a crix or woody gets out I just take the beardie out of the plastic box and let him chase them down which they do everytime and it is great natural exercise for them.Sorry for such a long reply.cheers

 

[koubee]

putting a few meal worms in their salad normally gets them eating the salad, they go for the worm and generally get a mouthful of salad in the process.
Always have salad on offer for them.