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| Bearded DragonEnclosure Selection Health Feeding BreedingGeneral Information Supplementation Feeding Nutritional Information Water General Information Beardies are little eating machines, especially when younger. They are insectivores as juveniles, becoming largely vegetarian as they get older. This is something to take into account before deciding to purchase, because you will need to be comfortable having live crickets/mealworms in your house. You will also be required to handle the insects daily in order to feed for the first year or so. Products such as the Kricket Keeper make life much easier but you will still occasionally have to get your hands in there. Some dragons can be conditioned to feed on frozen and tinned food such as Can-O-Crickets but it is unlikely. They seem uninterested in anything unless it moves. A variety of foods should be offered around one basic staple food. For example, if your chosen staple is crickets then occasional mealworm or small locust will give them some variety. If feeding locusts however its best to remove the large legs used to jump as they have a set of sharp protrusions that they use to kick with and these can injure their mouth and throat as they swallow. Squeezing the legs sharply at the knees will cause them to drop their legs in self defence. Suitable staple diets include crickets, locusts and mealworms, and for larger animals superworms are an option. Change the staple occasionally to prevent boredom. If possible try to obtain small super worms as opposed to mealworms, as they have a thinner outer shell which makes them easier to digest. Contacting a wholesaler directly is usually the best way to get them. I recommend buying your insects in bulk, particularly for young or if you have multiple animals, because you will be using a lot. It is more economic therefore to order them online in batches of about 1000. Supplementation All insect prey must be gut loaded before feeding. Any insect that is not gut loaded is basically worthless in terms of nutrition. A lot of the bugs dragons eat in the wild will eat vegetation, and these basic nutrients will be passed on to the beardie when he eats it. A balanced gut loading food should be available, or a mix of vegetable matter, cereals, and small pieces of fruits to provide the nutrients that your beardie needs. They should be fed at least 12 hours prior to feeding to your dragons so they have time to eat. A small piece of wet sponge, a piece of potato or a special wet gel specifically for insects should be available to provide a source of water. Small pots of water become dirty to quickly and result in disease, as well as creating a risk of drowning. Live prey should be dusted with a calcium supplement every day, and a vitamin supplement one day a week. Alternatively, I use a balanced mix of calcium and vitamins that can be used every day to provide the right balance. Its up to you which method you prefer but both work. Be wary of overdosing on vitamins however. Feeding Remove all décor from the enclosure, or remove the beardie to a separate feeding tank. This makes it much easier to track down and remove all remaining prey at the end of the 10 minutes. It also makes it much easier for them to find and catch their prey. If any food items are left in the enclosure between feedings, there is a possibility that they will nibble at the dragons while they sleep. This results in sores, possibly leading to infection and death. Crickets especially can be very destructive, and have been known to eat right through the eyelids of a bearded dragon in one night. It is best to err on the side of caution and remove them all. If mealworms are kept in a dish, it IS possible to leave them there round the clock, but I don’t recommend it. Select prey items that are no longer than your beardies head, and no wider than the space between the eyes. For juveniles, it is recommended that the prey be smaller, no longer than the space between the eyes. When feeding, place the crickets into a plastic bag or tub, add a small amount of calcium/vitamin supplement and shake vigorously to coat the insects well. Drop them into the enclosure and allow the dragons about 10 minutes to consume as much as they want. Juveniles will often eat more than 20 in this period, several times a day. Adults can be fed every day or every two days, again as much as they will eat in 10 minutes. Nutritional Information The sciency bit… The following figures can be found at http://www.grubco.com/Nutritional_Information.cfm. Information below was accurate 04/07/2008 When comparing the benefits of crickets and mealworms as a staple, it is useful to look at the basic constituents of each one. To promote a healthy diet, the calcium to phosphorus ration should be as high as possible (more calcium per unit of phosphorus) and the fat content, naturally, is better lower. Looking at the information on the Grubco website, we see that although waxworms have the best ratio of CA:P ratio, the fat content is unacceptable for use as a staple. Crickets have double the CA:P ratio of mealworms, and only half the fat. This would generally make them the healthiest. Since we are using a calcium supplement anyway, the CA:P ratio can arguably be disregarded but the fact remains that there is double the fat content in mealworms compared to crickets. This does however make them good for gravid females who lose a lot of their fat stores during gestation. Water You must provide a small shallow water dish for your beardie to drink from. If possible try to make it large enough that they can sit in it if they want, as this seems to be something they like to do. Water should be changed daily or every two days, or immediately if it becomes fouled. Once a week clean the dish with bleach solution. It is preferable to use dechlorinated water or spring water, but NEVER, EVER use dechlorinating chemicals. Allow tap water to sit out overnight before use.
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