Beardie ---- food amounts insects

[MikeJ]

This has probably been asked and answered so many times but have a query on food amounts.

We have two 5-6 month old beardies. Each day they get insects (usually crickets) in the morning and evening and also have access to a pile of veg (kale, spring greens, butternut squash) all day, topped up as required. They have these foods mainly coz over the 5 months we have noticed they prefer these.

The question relates to quantities of crickets. They are current on size4/standards depending on what the pet shops has in. Some people say give them enough that they will eat in 15 minutes. Our two would gobbel up the whole of those clear plastic tubs the insects come in within 5 minutes?

What would be a good amount to give them? Or alternatively for anybody that buys their food from pet shops in these containers, how long does yours normal last (how many boxes per week)

Thanks

[Terry&Steph]

Hiya,

Putting loads of bugs in for them and picking out the remaining ones after 15mins is ok when beardies are really young. You will find that as they get older they will slow down on how much they eat. We brought 2 tubs a week when our beardies were that age and that was plently, we also put in veg aswell every other day so they got a varied diet. Standard crickets are the right size for their age.

[imginy]

I would just let them eat as much as they want and then 1 day every week don't feed them at all.
I think it would be better if your bought your live food from some where like live food warehouse where it will be a fraction of the price with free delivery just buy your self like a bulk bag of 500 or some thing when eva you need it

[MikeJ]

Originally Posted by Terry&Steph

Hiya,

Putting loads of bugs in for them and picking out the remaining ones after 15mins is ok when beardies are really young.

Errrrr.... what remainign ones....lol. Our will be sat there looking at you as if to say "please sir, can we have some more!"

[parsonsd]

Just bear in mind that the crickets tend to usually bite your beardies aswell. I have seen nasty outcomes, due to a cricket being forgotton about, and left in the viv overnight..

Plus With crickets being hard externally, the bearded dragons gut finds it a bit harder to assimilate.
Locusts on the other hand are alot easier to feed, easier for the beardies to catch, and actually alot more nutritional compared to crickets. Also dont need to keep your eye on them, for the safety of your beardies.. And if any did survive, then they would be self gut loading on the beardies veg :p Just an idea anyway =]

Ohhh, and a little pointer, livefoodsdirect.com arent really that cheap. Even though they do free delivery, i buy my locusts, waxworms e.t.c. in bulk, off ebay :P And even with P+P on top of original price, they still beat livefoods prices :p

[imginy]

Originally Posted by parsonsd

Just bear in mind that the crickets tend to usually bite your beardies aswell. I have seen nasty outcomes, due to a cricket being forgotton about, and left in the viv overnight..

Plus With crickets being hard externally, the bearded dragons gut finds it a bit harder to assimilate.
Locusts on the other hand are alot easier to feed, easier for the beardies to catch, and actually alot more nutritional compared to crickets. Also dont need to keep your eye on them, for the safety of your beardies.. And if any did survive, then they would be self gut loading on the beardies veg :p Just an idea anyway =]

Ohhh, and a little pointer, livefoodsdirect.com arent really that cheap. Even though they do free delivery, i buy my locusts, waxworms e.t.c. in bulk, off ebay :P And even with P+P on top of original price, they still beat livefoods prices :p

Bearded dragons will have no trouble at all digesting a cricket also a cricket will not do any damage bitting a 6 month old bearded dragon.

Not sure if the comment about live foods was directed at what I said but I recommended livefoodwarehouse.com which is the cheapest and best.

[parsonsd]

Originally Posted by imginy

Bearded dragons will have no trouble at all digesting a cricket also a cricket will not do any damage bitting a 6 month old bearded dragon.

Not sure if the comment about live foods was directed at what I said but I recommended livefoodwarehouse.com which is the cheapest and best.

Hello mate, no sorry it wasnt so much a to give a dig to you. I know how you feel mate, as most people are stuck up their own asses, and when you do want advice e.t.c. they tend to throw it back in your face, i know through my own experiences on here lol.. To be honest iv never even heard of livefoodwarehouse.com if im honest lol!

I also dont mean to come across as bitching or anything, but actually crickets do bite, and can put flesh wounds in your beardies.. Especially on the neck, as this is one of the softest parts of a beardie, also the younger the beardie, the softer the skin. They may appear to look almost "bulletproof" lol, but actually the complete opposite. Search images on google also, with this biting cricket business... Im being honest.

[egg80]

i agree with parsonsd the black crickets are the worst for it when they bite a beardie they target the eyes, neck and any other soft area on a beardie, as for live food feed them as many as they will take in 15 mins also lightly dust them just be carefull as beardies are greedy little blighters just be carefull not to over feed them, buy your crix, locusts etc off the net they alot cheeper than the shops and save you a fortune, check a few different places for live food as some people will say some places are better than others.
a few sites are please feel free to add to the list if you know of any more:
livefoodsdirect
thelivefoodwarehouse
livefoods
petzoo
livefoodsbypost
livefoodsforgood
theres a few on ebay personnally i dont trust them but others do so give them a shot if you want it doesnt really matter whos the cheapest because they will all save you a fortune in the longrun
hope this helps
paul

[parsonsd]

thankyou EGG80. I have told so many people that crickets Do bite, and nobody believes me! LOL... Have you seen some of the damage it causes, leaving a cricket in there? It can get really bad =/ Well anyway, any more advice wanted, i can only try my best to help. Cheers guys! =]

[Terry&Steph]

Originally Posted by MikeJ

Errrrr.... what remainign ones....lol. Our will be sat there looking at you as if to say "please sir, can we have some more!"

I meant if there are any left over