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Please help! (insect intake)

Asimmons1127

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
Location
Upstate New York
Im a first time Beardie owner and I’m really trying to do things right! I’m having a hard time keeping up with his insect intake. He seems to not be eating as many if any live crickets anymore, all he wants to eat is freeze dried meal worms. I know those aren’t very healthy bc I’ve done my research but I only would use them if I didn’t have money or time to go get live crickets for him. I’m not exactly sure how old he is I’m assuming he’s around 6 months because he’s about 12 inches long. So I know he needs to eat a good amount of insects a day but I just can’t keep up! I get 100 crickets at a time and he will eat them all within 3 days time. I don’t know if I should change up what kind of insect, I don’t know how much I should be buying at a time. I need help!
 

Aerries

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
78
I was buying close to 500 crickets for two dragons that maybe lasted me 5 day...I switched to xl discoids and I feed a day with salads and three hornworms and they’re good to go. Crickets are not the best feeders tbh. But mine are both over a year old.


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AngelDeVille

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
39
Location
ABQ
Get your own colony of dubia roaches.

They are super easy to keep and can breed like mad.

Just separate the males and females for a while when you get too many.

I feed one full grown a day to my dragon.
 

Asimmons1127

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
Location
Upstate New York
I was buying close to 500 crickets for two dragons that maybe lasted me 5 day...I switched to xl discoids and I feed a day with salads and three hornworms and they’re good to go. Crickets are not the best feeders tbh. But mine are both over a year old.


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So where do you get the discoids and hornworms? Does petsmart or like local pet stores carry those? Also where do you keep them do you have a separate tank for them?
 

AngelDeVille

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
39
Location
ABQ
Where do you get those? And how do you know if they are male or female?

I got them from a guy that sells them on a tarantula forum.

20 males and 30 females for $30 shipped.

Super easy to keep.

Water crystals, dog food, egg crate, in a dark steralite container, maybe toss some fruit in once in a while.

If temps are between 80-90f they will breed. If needed stick a heat pad on the side.

Males are longer and have wings.
 

AngelDeVille

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
39
Location
ABQ

Female left, male right.
20180615_142827_2.jpg


20180615_142659_2.jpg


20180615_143108.jpg
 

Hdrydr31

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Staff member
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
5,574
Where do you get those? And how do you know if they are male or female?
If you look at the link that is below several of our comments I've written up info on how to raise your own dubia colony (as long as your not in Florida or Hawaii or Canada, Dubia are not allowed, Discoid are what you can get in FL)
I've had my colony going for 4 years and have only brought in some new ones a couple of times...Super easy
 

Kelly T

Bearded Dragon Egg
3 Year Member
Messages
7
So where do you get the discoids and hornworms? Does petsmart or like local pet stores carry those? Also where do you keep them do you have a separate tank for them?
Discoids are very challenging to find. & while not difficult to keep, they are very slow growing. This makes it hard to have a balanced colony, especially if you’re pulling all of a particular size/age to feed to your dragons. If you’re colony is young, is good to let them get settled in & established. What to do while your colony is getting settled down to make baby roaches? Feed crickets, small #’s of superworms, or order an xtra box of discoids and keep them in a separate container. Feed those to the beardies & avoid the temptation to dip into your breeding colony. As for where to find discoids - a hard one to answer. I order mine from Pinellas County Reptile - found em online. They don’t always have enough to fill all orders, but they’ve been super good by supplying other feeding options, such as hornworms, silkworms, etc. I try to not feed my babies on just worms in their diet. Too much fat. But I can feed crickets when I can’t get additional discoids. Worms of any kind are considered a treat in this house! Anyway - best of luck to you. I’m a very happy discoid mom, in addition to being a lizard mom. Feel free to reach out if you stil want to chat about your babies!
 

BeardedHippy

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
672
Location
Scarborough UK
Your beardie is also too young to eat adult roaches, they are too big right now. If you start a colony, be aware that you may end up with a lot of adult roaches that you cant do anything with, except slurry them. I spent a lot of money on roaches for my pair when they were little, a colony just seemed like too much bother, but then , I am lazy. The roaches you feed should be a max of 3cm in length, but your beardie will grow fast and should eat fewer as it gets older.
 

BeardedHippy

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
672
Location
Scarborough UK
Sorry for third post, im distracted lol. Im not sure how good an idea it is to feed your colony on dog food. I know a lot of people do it, but that is too much protien and not enough vitamins for a beardie. They should be mostly fed on fresh veggies, the same stuff you feed to your beardie for maximum health benefits.
 
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