So I want to get a baby BD but.....

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

i hvae breed dubia and sold them aswell. very easy to maintain but you will need to feed a baby crickets for a while. I suggest buying them online like previously mentioned on the thread. and breeding crickets is a MESS and the smell horrible just to be realistic, but then i could never breed rats or mice unless i had a huge house with a garage LOL. but ya pet store crix make a killing for the store same with there mice my store is lik 2.50 a mouse. anyways BD's are well worth it but for the first six months u need to stick with worms or crix people will say no worms but its easily done lol. good luck also highly recomend using a MVB bulb.

[maverickgtr]

Mabye I could breed my own crickets???? and ya 100crickets sounds real good compaired to me statistics

When I first looked into getting a beardie I looked into breeding crickets too. I can't find the place now that had it, but I found a few sites selling starter colonies and kits. But crickets are pretty damn smelly. There are plenty of roach starter kits too, but as Lost mentioned it's best to use roaches when your beardie is bigger.

As for feeding size, the rule of thumb is to only give your beardie a food item no larger than the space between his/her eyes or you run the risk of impaction.

Also, just so you have as much info as possible, and I'm definitely not trying to start a debate, but feeding baby/juvie beardies mealworms is an area of debate among beardie keepers. Some say it'll cause impaction because of the high amount chitin in mealworms, some have fed mealworms to babies just fine. Not saying they can't be fed at all, but it's usually recommend to feed them to full grown beardies. But like I said, this is an area of debate.

[Herp4life11]

How much would I spend in a month on just crickets for a baby BD if I bought them off the internet? How much do you guys spend on a baby BD? I have also heard you need to dust the crickets with a calcuim dust? Do you really need to or can you just feed the BD crickets. One more thing...I breed mice, would I be able to feed my baby BD pinkies?

[BPelizabeth]

I order 500 a week for $20-. But I have to say...they are expensive. You also have multi vit. and calcium, greens and veggies. Plus you will also have to have a fairly large enclosure once they are an adult. They recommend a 4x2x2 for an adult.

I do commend you for looking into the price of it all prior to getting the animal. Far too many ppl do not take that into consideration. Good on you...

[Herp4life11]

I order 500 a week for $20-. But I have to say...they are expensive. You also have multi vit. and calcium, greens and veggies. Plus you will also have to have a fairly large enclosure once they are an adult. They recommend a 4x2x2 for an adult.

I do commend you for looking into the price of it all prior to getting the animal. Far too many ppl do not take that into consideration. Good on you...

Oh yes! I have made that mistake before and it did not go to well What is a good lizard to have as a pet that wont cost so much when it comes to food items? I want to get into lizards, just dont want something that can burn a hole in my pocket.

[alohareptiles]

Whats the care for them?

This is the way to go if you decide to get the BD or add even more...I raised crickets for my Chameleon and hated those things...They stunk to high heaven and were messy...

Dubias are very easy to maintain, a great food source for BD's and within time will provide constant food for you BD's and you won't have to buy anymore...I'm just starting my colony right now and will have probably enough to feed my 6 BD's within a couple months. I purchased 750 grams of Dubias for $85.

I have a big tub, egg crates, a food dish w/veggies and high protein dog food and a dish filled with water beads/gel. They are easier to handle, quieter and can't jump, fly or climb smooth plastic walls...

Hopefully, this makes sense because I had a little much of the Baileys too night...LOL

[shorty54]

We only feed our BD every other day. Plus, add mealworms in there as a change. We actually started a cricket colony! For about $30 we produce our own crickets!

[Herp4life11]

Ya ik I prob will. I was just going on what there nomal everyday type diet would cost. I might get one but, now I am leaning toward Leopard Gecko's. They look sic, sounds liek a good starter lizard, and dont seem to eat that much.

[mainbutter]

Oh yes! I have made that mistake before and it did not go to well What is a good lizard to have as a pet that wont cost so much when it comes to food items? I want to get into lizards, just dont want something that can burn a hole in my pocket.

Crested geckos are incredibly cheap (compared to most lizards) to house, care for, and feed. I'm partial to them as they are my main project outside of carpet pythons. They are a super different experience than a bearded dragon, however. You won't get a big scaly lizard that chomps down on insects and can sit in your lap. Instead, you have a cute, soft-skinned, finger-percher that likes to jump and lick its eyes... in short, very cool but very different. It may not be what you're looking for if you first looked at beardies, but I wanted to throw it out there for consideration.

I probably average less than $100 annually in feeding costs for a collection of geckos that generally hovers around 10 animals, give or take a few depending on if I have hatchlings. It gets less expensive per animal the more you have, but they're pretty cheap to feed, as you only need to feed them a commercially available powder you mix with water to feed them a goop that resembles rotting fruit (common food source for them in the wild).

For the price of raising bearded dragons, I would personally opt for a more expensive animal that is cheaper to raise. Leachianus geckos come to mind.

[BPelizabeth]

leos eat a lot but are cheaper for sure!! I don't have crested so I cannot comment on them.

I can say that is a great idea if you are into breeding the dubias....I think you can start a colony for about $150 and they are for sure the best thing to feed the BD. I personally just cannot get past the whole..."roaches in my house"...lol