At what point do I limit bugs for my new beardie?

[Solidsnek]

So she is alittle underweight and in an attempt to fatten her up we picked up some roaches. They didn’t have the bigger ones so I got a pack of 24.
Well she crushed those and her salad so I grabbed some of my sore crickets (36) and tossed em in with a bit of calcium powder.
So she proceeded to crush those as well, and she looks like she could go another round, but I don’t want her to get sick.
I’ve also never had a beardie, so this could be totally normal, which is hilarious.
I’m assuming she’s just not used to such good food as she was mostly pellets and freeze dried bugs I think before.


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[Sgt7212]

How old is she? Length? Weight? Any photos?


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[Solidsnek]

How old is she? Length? Weight? Any photos?


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Maybe about 1.5 years old but unsure as its a rescue from someone who didn’t seem to have many answers.

I haven’t thought to weigh her but I have a scale I’ll find out tonight


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[Sgt7212]

Ok so I’m guessing the Dubia’s were fairly small, like 1/2 inch long at best?

My boy was 13 grams and 7.5 inches long when I got him March 28th. He hatched on Jan 30th. Last Friday he was 13.5 inches long and 153 grams. I got him from Fire & Ice Dragons. The breeder, Terri Sommella actually wrote the 2nd edition of a book called “The Bearded Dragon Manual”

At 13 grams he was eating 3/8 inch crickets and Dubia’s. She said he should be eating between 30-50 appropriately sized bugs a day.

Now he’s eating 3/4 inch to 1 inch Dubia’s and occasional large crickets. He’s offered greens every day and water. Basking temps should be around 95-100 degrees with the cool side of the enclosure around 80 degrees. At night no heat it needed as long as temps don’t dip below 65 degrees.

As they get older, ideally they should be eating 75% veggies/greens and 25% bugs. She doesn’t appear to be overweight to me, but if you get a kitchen scale that weighs in grams, that will give you a better idea.

An alternative food is Repashy Beardie Buffet. It’s a powder form you mix with boiling water and let cool and set in a mold. After a few hours you can cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. It forms a gel that you can slice up and offer with her greens. I would not use it as the main staple diet though.

I’d let her eat as much as she wants. If your feeding smaller bugs, she will eat a lot more. I actually ordered Dubia’s in bulk online and also bought some adult males and females so I’m breeding my own now. Some days he eats more than others but he is still growing. Your girl is probably full grown or close to it if she’s 1.5yrs old so the only thing you will want to watch is that she doesn’t get tubby. If she’s hungry and eats her greens well for you, I’d offer her more greens instead of extra bugs. But only if your offering her appropriately sized bugs that are large enough to fulfill her dietary needs. Store bought Dubia’s are alway small from what I’ve seen. Crickets are larger but not as nutritious as Dubia’s, so she will eat more of those also.

Here are pics of Darwin the day I got him and again on Memorial Day.




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[Solidsnek]

We have her in a 40b with a thermostat controlled Che and a separate uvb light.
The roaches were a pack of 24 spotted roaches and were maybe 1/4 inch each, crickets were 36 large. At my work I ordered the large spotted roaches that come in a 2 pack. They are much larger so should be more efficient eating. She’s not sleeping with her face near her greens.
I guess it’s good she’s a solid eater lol.


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[Sgt7212]

Yeah, a good appetite is definitely not a bad thing. Spotted roaches is another name for Dubia’s. If you get the chance read up on them. Much more nutritious, Easier than crickets, don’t jump, climb, fly or make noises. They don’t stink like crickets can and they don’t carry parasites and diseases like crickets can.

Also that book is a good read. I know you can order it from fireandicedragons.com and maybe from amazon. It’s about $25 and lots of good info.

Every dragon is different. Some love greens and some like my guy just use them as their toilet. Mine also doesn’t like Phoenix Worms or wax worms or super worms. But he loves Dubia’s and crickets.


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[Solidsnek]

Yeah, a good appetite is definitely not a bad thing. Spotted roaches is another name for Dubia’s. If you get the chance read up on them. Much more nutritious, Easier than crickets, don’t jump, climb, fly or make noises. They don’t stink like crickets can and they don’t carry parasites and diseases like crickets can.

Also that book is a good read. I know you can order it from fireandicedragons.com and maybe from amazon. It’s about $25 and lots of good info.

Every dragon is different. Some love greens and some like my guy just use them as their toilet. Mine also doesn’t like Phoenix Worms or wax worms or super worms. But he loves Dubia’s and crickets.


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The reason we even got the tiny ones was to see if she’d eat them, as she’s brand new to us (but getting Spoiled rotten)
She liked them, and with my job I can order them for the store, so I’m ordering them in a way for me to have a steady supply (any emp. Discount!) of the big ones, if she loves them, maybe I’ll start a small colony


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[Sgt7212]

There’s nothing wrong with smaller, you just need to feed more of them. So that’s actually a good idea you had doing it that way. My son has a leopard gecko who eats anything he’s given her, so I didn’t need to worry when Darwin wouldn’t eat wax worms, super worms etc... my son just fed them off to his.


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[Cheesenugget]

Let her eat as much as she will eat in 15 minutes.

Unless you have an overweight beardie, they usually know when to stop eating. You will know when the prey is ignored. They usually know when they have enough food.

Don't feed her that Repashy stuff. These lizards do best eating live insects.

[SilentHill]

great info here!

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