Beardie climbing spicky tree and eating large crickets

[stijngh]

Hey guys,

I'm new to bearded dragons and I just got mine today.

My beardie should be about 1,5 months old and the store keeper told me he can already eat average crickets, which are about the size of his head. However I read that his food should not be larger than his eyes? Is the store keeper right, or the internet? Also how many crickets should a 1,5 month old dragon be eating a day on average?

Another thing that worries me is that he just climbed the background and afterwards got on the spicky tree that is in his terrarium. Is it safe for him to be up there (with a chance of falling down or hurting himself on the spicky tree branches)?

Another small question: should he be eating vegetables and drinking water or is it a normal thing for beardies to ignore their food and drink bowl?

 

[stijngh]

I guess I'm just gonna cut the spicky top off to end up with only the bigger main branches.

When he gets bigger I can remove the whole "tree" since it is nearly as big as 1/4th of his cage.

 

[alalsip]

Need a better picture of your guy to know about the size. And put a quarter by him for sizing You should be feeding him as much as he will eat in a 15 minute period. Usually about 50 crickets a day. You can also feed small superworms and dubia roaches. Beardies generally don't drink standing water, they don't have a huge supply of it where they are from. And yes to salads. I have a really good link on Facebook, I'll see if I can find it. It tells all the safe food they can eat. Do not feed normal lettuce or romaine.

 

[Canicke]

you should only provide feeders the size of the space between his eyes. what kind of store did you get him at? i'm going to venture that the answers you get here will be more accurate than what the store keeper may provide. yes - please - get rid of those daggers (tree) it does look cool, but it also looks like an accident waiting to happen. babies dont typically eat salad - but provide it - they'll get the hang of it. as they get older, they should be eating less protein and more veggies (i keep telling my "kids" that - but they eat what they eat!) they dont generally drink standing water (as in your bowl) but may lick it off their nose if you drop it on. my girl "tells" me when she's thirsty by smacking her mouth (i trained her to drink from a dropper, she trained me to obey her every command!)

Welcome !!

 

[alalsip]

I like this chart the best because it separates everything by poison, staple, occasionally (once a week), and rarely (once a month). Hope this helps you!

http://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=http...se-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf&h=uAQFSRVjs&s=1

 

[stijngh]

@alalsip
Thanks for the chart
And his head should be the size of a quarter, so he is not that big yet.

I tried to feed him today but he seems too tired and is chilling under the sun lamp with his eyes closed. Well, he closes them as seen as I try to grab him. I guess that means he wants to be kept alone.

@Canicke
I'll sure remove the tree for a this week and cut the top branches off too. I might put it back later but half the size with only bigger branches.

I did get him to drink before sleeping time when he got super enthusiast while spraying water around. While he was sitting on his branch I lifted his water basket in the air so he could easily drink out of it. And he did with his head "burried" in the water

 

[stijngh]

He just ate 5 wax worms with vitamins, and close his eyes afterwards. I'm happy.

Sorry for the continuous update. This is my first beardie and I'm just trying to make sure everything is going OK

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[Ginger Beard]

Need a better picture of your guy to know about the size. And put a quarter by him for sizing You should be feeding him as much as he will eat in a 15 minute period. Usually about 50 crickets a day. You can also feed small superworms and dubia roaches. Beardies generally don't drink standing water, they don't have a huge supply of it where they are from. And yes to salads. I have a really good link on Facebook, I'll see if I can find it. It tells all the safe food they can eat. Do not feed normal lettuce or romaine.

Why cant you feed them romaine? Is it bad for them? I have a paper hanging on my fridge that tells all the foods they can eat and romaine was one of them. Is the list wrong?

 

[Canicke]

Romain has almost 0 nutritional value. Many other things much better

 

[alalsip]

https://bethgreathouse.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/nutrition-cant-get-enough-of-it/

This article has a great food guide. It's a pfd, so you can save it on your phone or print it.
The person who created it put extensive research into this list and it is the most up to date.

Also, staple is fed daily. Occasionally means once a week.
Rarely means once a month.
Hope that helps you!