Went shopping for a Boa, came home with a Beardie.

[The Serpent Merchant]

I only got my beardie a few days ago, but I've read just about every care sheet and forum post on the internet (bit of an insomniac) right now what I'm doing is just feeding apples, and collards. I chop up a days worth in the morning, and mist them a few times a day. So far this has seemed to work pretty well. The remaining apple after I chop up enough for the day is breakfast for me. I figure if it is fresh enough for me to eat it, it will be for my little girl.

Here is my little girl, she looks to be about the same size as yours

[enchantress62]

Awe! I saw her on your thread. I agree with everyone else she is beautiful. What did you decide to name her? My daughter named my little guy Lex as in Lex Luther and has decided he's hers. lol we'll see about that. Anyway, I'm going to take your advice and get collards and apples for now. I'll have to find a place to buy crickets so for now he will have to eat the mealworms. Petsmarts are too big for him.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Thanks, her name is Gaius... not the most feminine name, but it was my girlfriends idea, and who am I to argue lol.

[enchantress62]

I like the ring of that name. Where did your gf get it from? Does it mean something?

[Dabonus]

Gaius Marius?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Its actually a Roman name and Julius Caesars first name ("fun fact of the night" my girlfriend is a history major in college)

Also we both watch a BBC show called Merlin, and Gaius is one of the characters. The character on the show does this thing with his eyebrows that my little girl was doing exactly in the pet shop that we purchased her from.

[rperry03]

You can also place drops of water on their noses and their natural reaction will be to lick it.

Wow gaius looks awesome, what is he? Im not that familiar with beardies as all i have is a leatherback.

I have also fed mine fuzzy to Hopper mice. Mealworms are a horrible diet. Go to http://www.phillyfeeders.com/ and check them out as a protein staple, beardies like food that moves.

[enchantress62]

That is very imaginative. haha I love it! So how many times a day should I feed Lex? I'm reading everything from once a day to several times a day. I'll go get crickets tomorrow but he's been here for several hours now and I'm getting worried he might be hungry.

[wwmjkd]

okay so I need to go shopping for food. baby crickets, mustard, collards, and fruit. What about dehydrated fruit like raisens or cranberries? Will they eat that? What about chives,sprouts, or peas?

I haven't read the rest of the responses, so I might be coming in too late, but your goal should be high calcium greens. collard greens are a mainstay. when they're young, calcium dusted crickets should be offered every other day in addition to whatever salads you're making. as far as fruit goes, it should only be offered sparingly, maybe once every ten days. just make sure you have a proper basking spot and a UVA/UVB light running the length of the enclosure. mealworms are fine in moderation once your dragon is older than 6 months or so. my first beardie came from petsmart and proved to be a great pet, but you should be on the lookout for any signs of poor health.

edit: also make sure any crickets you feed have been on a high protein diet for at least a day or two prior to feeding them.

[The Serpent Merchant]

I offer crickets 3 times a day. And she has greens available 24/7.

If you have any greens I would try those. If not one night shouldn't be too bad.