Where should I feed my Beardie?

[Jordan7265]

Hey guys I recently got a juvenile Bearded Dragon about 3 months old. I also have had a ball python for 5 years. When I feed my python I remove him from cage and feed in a storage tote. Now with the bearded dragon I have reptisoil and sand mixed in a 40 gallon tank. See picture. Now I have had times feeding him in tank he won’t eat all his crickets and I’m worried they will bite him while he’s sleeping if he doesn’t eat them. I was also worried about feeding him in the tank due to him eating soil/sand and the crickets have tons of places to hide so removing them will be 10x harder. So I thought maybe I should get a shallow storage tote and feed him in there however, I don’t know what to do and need help. P.S. I did have carpet in there but I hate the carpet and wanted to switch it up.

 

[Sadie]

Hey guys I recently got a juvenile Bearded Dragon about 3 months old. I also have had a ball python for 5 years. When I feed my python I remove him from cage and feed in a storage tote. Now with the bearded dragon I have reptisoil and sand mixed in a 40 gallon tank. See picture. Now I have had times feeding him in tank he won’t eat all his crickets and I’m worried they will bite him while he’s sleeping if he doesn’t eat them. I was also worried about feeding him in the tank due to him eating soil/sand and the crickets have tons of places to hide so removing them will be 10x harder. So I thought maybe I should get a shallow storage tote and feed him in there however, I don’t know what to do and need help. P.S. I did have carpet in there but I hate the carpet and wanted to switch it up.

Please feed him in a separate enclosure - like a tote- babies lick everything so we don't recommend loose substrate till they are older - you can use some textured non adhesive shelf liner cut to the size of the tank

 

[BettaFish]

I would say, if you have sand (which is NOT reccomended) feed them in a food bowl. If you have something like a mat or newspaper, it is OK to not have a bowl. I have three bowls, one for water, one for greens, and one for mealworms and dubia roaches. I let my Beardie chase the crickets. ( I do not have aa Beardie yet, but am getting one very soon and have done a TON of research. When I say things like “I let my beardie chase the crickets” I mean I WILL let my beardie chase the crickets. )

 

[Jordan7265]

View attachment IMG_3153.jpeg

This is his new home it’s reptisoil mixed with sand breeder I knew recommended this combo however only thing that scares me about the crickets is if he chases them and eat the substrate. The roaches and greens he eats in food bowl but the crickets obviously won’t stay still. Also if there’s to many crickets he doesn’t eat them then they will bite him which worries me to. So in one hand I’m like do I feed the crickets to him in a tuber-ware or risk him eating the substrate ? I’m not trying to hand feed 15 crickets a day x 2 to my beardie lol

 

[Sadie]

View attachment 35708

This is his new home it’s reptisoil mixed with sand breeder I knew recommended this combo however only thing that scares me about the crickets is if he chases them and eat the substrate. The roaches and greens he eats in food bowl but the crickets obviously won’t stay still. Also if there’s to many crickets he doesn’t eat them then they will bite him which worries me to. So in one hand I’m like do I feed the crickets to him in a tuber-ware or risk him eating the substrate ? I’m not trying to hand feed 15 crickets a day x 2 to my beardie lol

Stop the crickets all together -- your dubias are a much better staple feeder -- get him some BSFL www.symtonbsf.com they are a great staple feeder for babies - drop them on his salads around 20-25 of them - if he likes them he will gobble them up too fast so the smaller amount is better - that way they wont come out undigested use those and the dubias for your protein - he needs salads as well every day - make sure your dusting the dubias not the BSFL -- they are calcium enriched

 

[Jordan7265]

Stop the crickets all together -- your dubias are a much better staple feeder -- get him some BSFL www.symtonbsf.com they are a great staple feeder for babies - drop them on his salads around 20-25 of them - if he likes them he will gobble them up too fast so the smaller amount is better - that way they wont come out undigested use those and the dubias for your protein - he needs salads as well every day - make sure your dusting the dubias not the BSFL -- they are calcium enriched

Ok Sadie couple questions my current system is roaches one week crickets next week I try putting the Dubai roaches in salads but he waits for them to grow out of leaves. I found he loves carrots. Now right now I’m on cricket week. So my question is are you saying Dubai’s every week no crickets and BSFL on top of Dubai’s ?

Next question how much should he eat I’ve been currently feeding him until he stops 10 roaches in morning and about 15-20 in afternoon. If I do the bsfl will that mean less roaches. Roaches are a lot more expensive $3.50 per dozen. He eats about 9 dozen in a 6 day period. So I’m spending $31.50 a week not to complain but is this normal should I be feeding less ? What size BSFL since he’s barely a little longe Ethan my hand and current crickets and roaches he eats are smaller than a dime.

 

[Sadie]

Ok Sadie couple questions my current system is roaches one week crickets next week I try putting the Dubai roaches in salads but he waits for them to grow out of leaves. I found he loves carrots. Now right now I’m on cricket week. So my question is are you saying Dubai’s every week no crickets and BSFL on top of Dubai’s ?

Next question how much should he eat I’ve been currently feeding him until he stops 10 roaches in morning and about 15-20 in afternoon. If I do the bsfl will that mean less roaches. Roaches are a lot more expensive $3.50 per dozen. He eats about 9 dozen in a 6 day period. So I’m spending $31.50 a week not to complain but is this normal should I be feeding less ? What size BSFL since he’s barely a little longe Ethan my hand and current crickets and roaches he eats are smaller than a dime.

Feed the BSFL as a extra staple - feed on his salads so hes eating some salad as well - this will help him eat less roaches - dont dust the BSFL and feed around 20-25 at a time so hes not gulping them down - he needs protein more than salads at this point but you want him eating salads too - you can get him large BSFL they are a small soft larvae -- he should be eating around 10-15 roaches -- order them on line from here www.dubiaroaches.com go by their chart for size - no bigger than the space between his eyes - appropriate size he will eat less than if they are too small - if insect is too small he will eat more but if too big can cause impaction - stop the crickets feed them off --- get him some super worms medium size feed every other day 1-3 in his salads too hornworms are good treat worms they grow fast so order small amounts and feed every day till they are fed off - go w/ mediums - a variety of insects and greens etc he should fill up - I would get yourself a 10 gallon aquarium order around 200 roaches w/ dubia feed and dubia dew / crystals -- offer the roaches in the afternoon see how many he eats after consuming the BSFL and super worms in the morning - I also fed silk worms too which is another good staple feeder - around 3 they are hard to keep you can look here for those www.reptilianarts.com - w/ all the variety the roach consumption will go down - carrots are good hydration for the super worms and roaches but should not be fed to the dragon too or you will get orange poop - too much Vitamin A