Most economical menu for beardies....

[Jesse_H]

Hey all, just wondering if active keepers of beardies can tell me some tips for economically keeping beardies without shelling out for live insects every few days? Any suggestions? Can cat/dog food be used occasionally with supplements? Please excuse the inherent n00bness of this question, but I am considering a beardie but don't want to be eaten out of house and home!

 

[Khagan]

I think your best bet is establishing your own woodie colony.

 

[Pinoy]

If you're only getting one, I wouldn't worry about getting eaten out of house and home.
My two were eating a box of smalls a week. $5 a week isn't that bad.

Also, as they get older, You don't have to feed them crickets everyday. They normally eat more veggies as they get older too.

 

[Jeannine]

yep woodies are easier to breed, going to start my own off soon, also to keep costs down you could start a bearded dragon friendly garden and grow a lot of their food yourself then the savings u make can go into crickets etc

 

[maddog-1979]

i have a breeding pair that cost about $15 dollars a fortnight to feed. if i wasnt so lazy i would start a woody colony, but hey it's still cheaper than feeding a dog. 3x large cricket tubs at $10 and then the veg/salad i get the rainbow salad mix from woolies. it has shredded carrot, broccoli and beetroot, they love it and $2.80 it lasts the week.

 

[Jeannine]

small chinese size container of crickets here cost me $7 each

 

[herptrader]

I tried some super worms from the Herp Shop and they just loved these though I rationed them carefully. One box of worms went a long way though you need to get a bag of bran and a suitable tub to keep them in. (There is a care sheet on the web site.) I also tried them on some of my monitors who seemed scared of them and did not go near them.

I served the worms with the usual mix of greens and pumpkin chopped up. Digging through the mix the worms quickly disappeared and then they would pick at the vegies.

 

[Kimberlyann]

I breed my crickets and i only started off with 2 boxes of crickets and now i have like a million of the things, they are so easy to breed.. Plus i make up a salad mix of endive(lettuce), cucumber, eggplant, apple, strawberries, carrot, sweet potato and so on, you can mix a bit of dog food in if you like and buy a thing of calcium and vitamins to sprinkle on the veggie/salasd mix

 

[maddog-1979]

That tells me you buy from Jason & Michael


haha, yep. i used to buy from petstock on south road...same price, but then i found michael & Jason, so why not support the local guys


I'm having trouble getting mine to eat greens, might try that, thanks.

i had trouble when mine were young too, they would only ever eat lettuce, which hydrates them if nothing else. over time they eat whatever i put in there now, including my hand if i'm not quick enough......i think their young bodies crave the protein so they can grow i guess, but i just offer veg salad all the time.

they dont really cost too much, i usually just give them off cuts of whatever i have for dinner as well. or if i'm eating fruit just slice a piece off for them

 

[Laghairt]

I had the same experience with super-worms, the dragons loved them but the monitors don't seem to recognize them as food. Having said that, I haven't tried all that hard to get them to eat superworms. I had a similar experience when I tried getting my ackies onto woodies but now they love woodies

I have been superworms and now have a huge colony that's of no use to me as I only keep monitors now. I might have to offload it soon.

I tried some super worms from the Herp Shop and they just loved these though I rationed them carefully. One box of worms went a long way though you need to get a bag of bran and a suitable tub to keep them in. (There is a care sheet on the web site.) I also tried them on some of my monitors who seemed scared of them and did not go near them.

I served the worms with the usual mix of greens and pumpkin chopped up. Digging through the mix the worms quickly disappeared and then they would pick at the vegies.

 

[Jesse_H]

Wow! Some awesome tips here guys, thanks for replying! I'm so excited I can't wait to get my first Beardie! Please keep the advice coming!! Crickets here are also $7 for a small tub, and most are dead anyway

 

[Jeannine]

i remember being in the shop when an order came in and only two containers survived and they were mostly dead so she gave them to me and rang thru for another order which was sent free even though it was the 'couriers' fault not the shops, mine also has the occasional meal worm (maybe a couple a week), woodies, vegie mix and looking into flies for her as one got into her enclosure the other day and she had fun chasing it till it landed and then pouncing on it so i thought food and exercise at the same time :lol:

i am looking for some old things like cement troughs that i could start a vegie garden of things she likes, im also purchasing things on ebay from a list i have here

 

[Bravedave]

You need to start a small woodie colony. Once it's up and running you'll never need to buy those expensive tubs from a pet shop ever again. I can teach you how. PM me for more info.
Dave