Diet Check

[lisakrause1]

We've had our 18 month old BD for about 6 weeks now. He has settled in very well and seems to like us just fine. We adore him! We have corrected all issues with his vivarium and he now has correct UVB and heat. We keep him clean and tidy and his home free of debris and "messes". Initially he would not eat his veggies and would only eat live proteins. He had only been fed crickets and occasional super worms by previous owners. We initiated Dubia's (he loves them) and BFL (he didn't like these). Anyway, now that he is more acclimated and settled, he is eating his salads pretty well. He's eating kale, snap peas, orange peppers and clover when outside. We have offered carrots, tomato, squash, cukes, and occasional fruits....but he has not eaten these at all. From what I have read here on the forum, his diet should be about 70% veggies and 30% protein. It's hard for me to define exactly what those portions should actually be though! Right now we are giving him a salad every morning (about 3/4 cup of mixed) and then in the afternoon about 6 large dubia's or a dozen crickets. Some articles I have read recommend alternating days (all you can eat salad/all you can eat protein), one a 3 day rotation (salad/protein/nothing). I feel he is at a healthy weight (from pictures I have seen) but moving forward, I would appreciate a more exact feeding schedule. Also, I have concerns about the "all you can eat protein" theory. I haven't tested him but I feel he would over eat if allowed and, frankly, I can't afford unlimited Dubia's several times a week. At $6.50 a dozen he would eat me out of house and home! Not to mention what a pain in the a-- it is to run to my supplier several times a week (and don't even suggest I start a dubia colony....they creep me out). I love this forum and how helpful the members are. Thank you for being literally my most trusted advisors.

 

[Sadie]

We've had our 18 month old BD for about 6 weeks now. He has settled in very well and seems to like us just fine. We adore him! We have corrected all issues with his vivarium and he now has correct UVB and heat. We keep him clean and tidy and his home free of debris and "messes". Initially he would not eat his veggies and would only eat live proteins. He had only been fed crickets and occasional super worms by previous owners. We initiated Dubia's (he loves them) and BFL (he didn't like these). Anyway, now that he is more acclimated and settled, he is eating his salads pretty well. He's eating kale, snap peas, orange peppers and clover when outside. We have offered carrots, tomato, squash, cukes, and occasional fruits....but he has not eaten these at all. From what I have read here on the forum, his diet should be about 70% veggies and 30% protein. It's hard for me to define exactly what those portions should actually be though! Right now we are giving him a salad every morning (about 3/4 cup of mixed) and then in the afternoon about 6 large dubia's or a dozen crickets. Some articles I have read recommend alternating days (all you can eat salad/all you can eat protein), one a 3 day rotation (salad/protein/nothing). I feel he is at a healthy weight (from pictures I have seen) but moving forward, I would appreciate a more exact feeding schedule. Also, I have concerns about the "all you can eat protein" theory. I haven't tested him but I feel he would over eat if allowed and, frankly, I can't afford unlimited Dubia's several times a week. At $6.50 a dozen he would eat me out of house and home! Not to mention what a pain in the a-- it is to run to my supplier several times a week (and don't even suggest I start a dubia colony....they creep me out). I love this forum and how helpful the members are. Thank you for being literally my most trusted advisors.

Your 18 month old dragon should be eating salads every day and insects 2-3 times per week - if your using a T 5 long tube UVB then his dusting of his insects should be calcium w / D 3 on those days alternating w/ vitamins w/ beta carotene--- here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would order some dubias on line they are cheaper
www.dubiaroaches.com set up a 10 gallon aquarium feed them dubia food along w/ water crystals for hydration -- I would get her some horn worms order medium and limit the amount your order they grow REALLY FAST ---- you can also order some super worms from here they are really nice super worms but you will need a plastic container w/ holes in the lid and some bran to keep them in feed carrots for hydration -- https://flukerfarms.com/crickets-live-feeder-insects/
this place has butter worms and horn worms as well they are spendy on shipping
www.mulberryfarms.com --
you can order a 100 or so of roaches at a time they will keep for a long time - no more all you can eat for your 18 month old - I feed mine one at a time and when they quit eating them I quit -- usually they will eat about 4-5 depending on how much they have eaten of the salads and worms -- I feed mine super worms around 3 w/ the salad or silk worms as well -- they are another great staple feeder but they are spendy as well
www.reptilianarts.com --

 

[lisakrause1]

Your 18 month old dragon should be eating salads every day and insects 2-3 times per week - if your using a T 5 long tube UVB then his dusting of his insects should be calcium w / D 3 on those days alternating w/ vitamins w/ beta carotene--- here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would order some dubias on line they are cheaper
www.dubiaroaches.com set up a 10 gallon aquarium feed them dubia food along w/ water crystals for hydration -- I would get her some horn worms order medium and limit the amount your order they grow REALLY FAST ---- you can also order some super worms from here they are really nice super worms but you will need a plastic container w/ holes in the lid and some bran to keep them in feed carrots for hydration -- https://flukerfarms.com/crickets-live-feeder-insects/
this place has butter worms and horn worms as well they are spendy on shipping
www.mulberryfarms.com --
you can order a 100 or so of roaches at a time they will keep for a long time - no more all you can eat for your 18 month old - I feed mine one at a time and when they quit eating them I quit -- usually they will eat about 4-5 depending on how much they have eaten of the salads and worms -- I feed mine super worms around 3 w/ the salad or silk worms as well -- they are another great staple feeder but they are spendy as well
www.reptilianarts.com --

Sadie...Thank you so much. I read your responses all the time so I was happy to see you help me out as well. I just placed an order via Flukers for crickets and super worms. Also bought some food for crickets. I have a cricket keeper but have been having a hard time keeping them alive so hopefully that will help (especially since I just ordered 250 crickets!). Hopefully that will work out and save me time and money. The horn worms are $1 a peice and I just can't afford that kind of treat. The dubia roach site had "reached it's quota for the day" so I will check back in the morning. Do you keep your worms in the fridge? I have had a lot of dead worms after only a week or so but I did not know about feeding them bran. Do you mix it in with the sawdust stuff they come in? I also was told to keep the Dubia's in the fridge. I give them apple to eat. Sorry, I seem to have a lot of questions. Who knew that caring for Rango's food was going to be almost as much as caring for Rango!

 

[Sadie]

Sadie...Thank you so much. I read your responses all the time so I was happy to see you help me out as well. I just placed an order via Flukers for crickets and super worms. Also bought some food for crickets. I have a cricket keeper but have been having a hard time keeping them alive so hopefully that will help (especially since I just ordered 250 crickets!). Hopefully that will work out and save me time and money. The horn worms are $1 a peice and I just can't afford that kind of treat. The dubia roach site had "reached it's quota for the day" so I will check back in the morning. Do you keep your worms in the fridge? I have had a lot of dead worms after only a week or so but I did not know about feeding them bran. Do you mix it in with the sawdust stuff they come in? I also was told to keep the Dubia's in the fridge. I give them apple to eat. Sorry, I seem to have a lot of questions. Who knew that caring for Rango's food was going to be almost as much as caring for Rango!

What worms are you talking about? The super worms? I dont keep any worms in the fridge - the only ones I ever kept in the fridge were the BSFL on the door- they will go dormant- horn worms can be kept in a cooler part of the house that will slow them down from getting so big so fast - the warmer the temp they will grow faster - crickets are hard to keep alive that is why I recommend the dubia roaches - besides being healthier they are easier to keep - crickets just dont last and they stink chirp and are escape artist -- you do not keep dubias in the fridge I keep mine the the room / office where my dragons are in a 10 gallon tank - I feed them dubia food w/ water crystals for hydration and carrots and squash -- I have about 100 super worms that are kept in two different plastic containers in right now regular oatmeal w/ carrots for hydration - I have a bag of bran that I just got for them - I also just ordered another 100 super worms from flukers - they too last a long time -- what ever you feed your insects and worms that is what your dragon is getting so feed them healthy food - I rarely give my roaches fruit once in awhile -- what ever you feed for insects / worms you need to keep them hydrated as that is what also hydrates your dragon -- but most of the hydration comes from the salads you feed -- make sure you rinse the greens before serving and the dragon will get a lot of moisture from that -- feeding can be expensive but if you order stuff on line and in quantities it will help -- and variety is key as well - I feed my two dragons silk worms super worms and horn worms - different times sometimes together - their main staple insect is dubias and fresh salads every day --

 

[lisakrause1]

Yes, Super worms. When I buy them they are in a "cooler" so I guess I just assumed they should be kept in the fridge. Thanks again Sadie for the info. We set up a calendar at home to keep track of protein days.

 

[Sadie]

Yes, Super worms. When I buy them they are in a "cooler" so I guess I just assumed they should be kept in the fridge. Thanks again Sadie for the info. We set up a calendar at home to keep track of protein days.

Super worms just keep in the room w/ the dragon on top of his tank example-- keep them fed w/ the bran or regular oatmeal and carrots -- that will keep them hydrated --