Feeding Tips please.....

[boolie]

Hi

Have just bought my 14 yr old son a fully grown Beardie (Spike!) and I was told to put crickets in his viv and also feed him morio worms (bout 5 a day). He seems fine with the worms but does not seem to be eating the crickets at all (he actually lets them crawl all over him) I then read that you should only leave them in the viv for 20 mins and if he has not eaten them, then take them out as he will be agitated by them (there had been 6 in there for two days! rushed home and made my Dad take them all out!)

Is there a specific time I should be feeding him? and is there a specific amount?

Thanks!

[ShibbyMan666]

Try him on locusts. They don't really need to be taken out as they aren't as evil as crix. They are slow moving, easy to catch and are always a fav with most reps. Very tasty! :P I find if a beardie doesn't like crickets locusts work 99% of the time. They are very fussy eaters at times and can grow biased towards certain foods. If they are hungry enough they'll eat anything.

[Top Cat]

Totally Agree with Shibbyman! Dragons go through phases where they just dont seem Interested in their usual diet and the odd Locust seems to shake them out of their hunger strike. Adult Dragons only require Live food three times a week as they are more into their Veg , such as Kale and Spinach chopped into bite size peices. If you chill the Gut Loaded crickets in the Fridge for ten minutes before feeding to your Dragon they become very dormant but then start to twitch under the heat. It gives the Dragon a better chance of catching them. If he isnt Interested take them out as they can bite your Dragon.

Best time to feed Beardies is after they have had plenty of time to warm up and become active enough to hunt, Once having eaten they return to Basking which speeds up digestion. Hope that Helps

[boolie]

Thanks for the help! Poor sod has been force fed wormes and living with crickets since he moved in with me!

by the way, how long can I get him out of his viv for? my son normally likes to get him out when he gets home from school for about an hour (would this be a good time to feed him?) and then later, about 21:00.

[Spuddy]

Yeah that would be around a perfect time to feed your beardie, as he would of had a good few hours in which to warm up so he can hunt effectively.

Word of warning though dont feed your beardie then handle straight away as this can make him regurgatate his food as he/she has not had time to digest it properly.

So just as you put him back in his viv after handling him then you can feed him, and his food would have digested by the time you handle him again around 9 o clock.

Spuddy.

[Top Cat]

Ideally if you can get your Dragon into a routine with his lights it will benefit him no end. You can buy Digital Timers for about £3 from places like Maplins or order them online. Set them for a twelve hour cycle. i.e 0800 to 2000. It is supposed to be reduced over Winter and Temperature can be lowered to encourage Brumation , I had Fourteen Breeding adults and just kept everything the same with no problems. Some Dragons do loose Interest over Winter with Feeding even if you dont Lower the Temperature and I think this down to them been able to notice the difference in the Low pressure out side? Taking them out is not a problem and quite often they like to get out and wonder around. But do agree keep his food to the Tank and dont feed just before his lights go off. A last feed an hour before so he can digest his food.

[Tillies reptile rescue]

Locusts normally work a dream, my male cain will only take crickets every now and then, but loves locusts and worms. Have u tried any veg with him at all ?

[boolie]

I was advised to give him herb salad and I grate a bit of carrot on that, I would not say he wolfes it down but it seems to have gone down a bit by the time I get in from work.

It would be great to set the UV light on a timer but when you turn it on it does not come on unless to twiddle with the white knob on the top of the black box thingy (if you know what I mean) I was told to turn his heating down from 35 to 30 when the UV is off and this has to be done with a screw driver/coin so that could not be set on a timer (would be so much easier tho!)

speaking of heat bulbs, even tho its set at 35 it rarely reaches 27 on the digital thermometer in the viv, am I doing something wrong or do i have a dodgy heat bulb???????

[Tillies reptile rescue]

sounds like a dodgy bulb.
Good to hear his taking some veg, Cain wont touch anything veg wise !!

[Nix]

Locusts are much better than crickets imo. I feed my livefood on the same things the beardie would eat to be sure it is 100% safe.

Nutrition Content

Try that link. It has a list of lots of foods which are good and bad for your beardie. Ideally you want food with a decent calcium:potassium ratio. 1:1 is great 1:429 etc not good