Bearded Dragon Feeding?

Question

My husband and I are researching bearded dragons as a pet and it seems very obvious that crickets are very important in their diet. However, I am not too keen on the idea of keeping live crickets in the house due to their noise and chances of escaping from their container. My question therefor is would it be possible to feed dried crickets and worms that can be gotten from a pet store to a dragon and providing it with a good variety of greens or would that lead to constipation or impactation?

Answer 1

i kno they make canned crikets, im not sure if any "worms" can be made the staple of their diet without obesity or impaction happening. sorry. maybe you could buy a small amount of crickets [1dz] when needed and put them into a 5liter/gallon "critter cage" its small and has a whole to put a lock on it, that way thereis minimal chance of escape...keep them in a seperate room from where you sleep, spend most of your time. thats all the advice ive got, im more educated on snakes that lizards as of now

Answer 2

You do not say how big they are so I'm guessing they are hatchlings.Very important to keep the bearded dragons warm enough, first of all. The skin should appear as a light tan, if it looks dark, then the dragon is too cold and will not digest the food or move around. better to feed insects that are too small than too large. Most of a hatchlings diet should be dark, leafy green vegetables like: Romaine lettuce and such for the vitamin A. Shred small amounts of carrot, dandelion green and flower, small amounts, nearly all squashes. If you have Madagascar Hissing Roaches as pets, you can raise them to feed the young to the dragons. Otherwise, 1/4" domestic crickets and a few wax worms a week. Increase the size of crickets as the dragons get larger. Wax worms are high in Phosphorous. Meal worms aren't the best nutritional choice, even though Leopard Geckos thrive on them. Pinky Mice, Giant Mealworms and Superworms should be avoided until the Dragons are really large. Do not feed in excess.Outside, wild bugs are wonderful snacks as long as you take these precautions first:areas shouldn't be sprayed with insecticides, catch only Moths and soft bodied insects with no stingers or beaks and lightning Bugs are poisonous. Dragons are friendly unless really mishandled.

Answer 3

Live crickets are not hard to keep and if they do get out they will not live for long, so you don't have to worry about infestation. Also, it is not very likely that the beardie will go for the dead crickets. Chasing crickets is their way of getting exercise since they are pretty lazy, so if you don't plan on taking him/her out everyday and letting them run around (supervised) then you should feed live crickets. As juveniles/adults Bearded Dragons need veggies every day along with their crickets. If you feed super worms they are only supposed to fed as occasional treats because beardies are known to get addicted and only accept the worms. You do not have to cut ANY worm's head off. If the beardie's crunching doesn't kill it the stomach acids will. Here is a very good care sheet for Bearded Dragons; http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/?page=1. Good luck. They are very fun lizards to keep.

Answer 4

Crickets won't escape if you have a secure lid same with locust if you have a glass tank mist up the sides so it stops the locusts from climbing up. You can purchase silent brown crickets which don't make any sound.
When feeding veg and fruit avoid citrus fruit and kale, spinach and iceberurg lettace.
Chicory, watercress, courgetts, carrots, peas and broccoli are good and apples grapes, banana and kiwi. Making sure the cut small enough for him to eat.
There are dryed insects in cans you could try. But hear is a tip before you feed the beardie put however many locust or crickets in the fridge for 10min this dosent kill them it slows them down. So your beardie can catch them quickey and none will get out. Just rempve what he dosent eat.

Answer 5

In my experience of feeding a bearded dragon crickets, I have never had crickets escape unless I am silly enough to drop one. They are in a ten gallon tank with a secure lid, and are kept in the laundry room (where there isn't much traffic and noise isn't an issue). They really should be fed live crickets, much more nutritionally complete, and they get the thrill of chasing down live food.

Crickets are not the only option. Silkworms, phoenix worms, mealworms (heads cut off), waxworms, and grasshoppers are all good options in supplementing his diet with protien. But of those, crickets should be a staple.

Answer 6

My bearded dragon eats live and greens but you can buy specific bearded dragon food from a good pet supplier, most bearded dragons dont like to eat dried crickets, they tend to ignore it, maybe if you hand fed and dangled in front of they may go for it. By and large they are a nice reptile to keep and not too much hard work.

Answer 7

No no no NO! Do not feed them tinned or dried crap... Don't get a pet unless you are prepared to give it the best things for it.

The dried ones have no nutritional value at all and the tinned ones contain preservatives and colourants etc Plus, i'd like to see you get your beardie to eat non-moving food...

BUT don't get crickets either.

I used to feed my beardie crickets and the smell, the noise and the escapees were a nightmare - whoever says they don't escape must have a cat to gobble them up.

I feed my beardie locust mainly - they are mute, scentless, delicious (the only food my beardie has NEVER refused) BUT quite expensive until he gets older.

I also feed him lobster roaches which are as convenient and free once you get them breeding.

There is no need to get crickets unless you are tight on cash, in which case you might want to consider a cheaper lizard - leopard geckos are the best!

Answer 8

Heres a good website on beardie nutrition. Most won't touch the canned stuff. Live crickets aren't hard to keep--mine live for months. Superworms for adult beardies are a great food staple, and many beardies live happily on them alone. It is best to vary the diet as much as possible--both insect and vegie. There are many options. Also, no need to cut heads off of anything--that is an old wives tale! :)

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html
http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/research/labs/ktosney/file/BD.html

Answer 9

i have a bearded dragon, and it is a very good pet! at about 12+ inches you can start feeding them crickets every 4-6 days. also give it plenty of lettuce, and some nutritous fruits.



the link below might help!

Answer 10

I buy my beardie crickets in tubs of about 100. When I feed him the whole tub is inside his tank and I tip a few out at a time so I rarely get escapees. You can get silent ones that dont sing.