Beardie Feeding Schedule

[Zoe]

Hey,
I'm just curious about the best feeding schedule... I plan on giving my 16"er a bit of kale every other day, should I feed crickets daily? Or every other day?

Also, how many crickets will a beardie that size eat?

Thanks!
Zoe

[Zoe]

Oh, another Q... I have a pothos plant in his cage, and he's already taken a couple bites of it. Should I remove it, or is it okay for him to eat it?

Thanks!
Zoe

[meow_mix450]

lol im not suprised that he took a few bites, but if ou leave it in there it will be gone lol:p as for feeding they should eat more veggies then crikets, but i dont know about the schedule sorry

Meow

[ChristinaM]

Hi Zoe, just a bit of kale every other day is not a good beardie diet.

How old is he?

Salads: should be given daily. They should consist of mixed greens such as collards, mustard greens, dandelion greens, escarole, endive.....

leaf lettuce is a no no. Kale is ok in moderation.

squash, sweetpotato's, carrot, parsnip can be added to the salad. As can fruits on occassion.

Here's a good link www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm it's for iguana's, but beardies are the same in their needs for salad. I will dig up some more links for you as that one is down at the moment(as of when I posted).

As for how many crix, it depends on the age of your dragon.

[Zoe]

Oops!
Just thought I'd mention that by "bit of kale" i meant mixed veggies. I just had kale on the mind.

Thanks for that link! It was very helpful!

He is 5 months old.

Thanks
Zoe

[ChristinaM]

PS: yes the plant is fine for him to eat as well.

[ChristinaM]

Hi Zoe, since he's only 5 months old, you still want to offer him crix daily. Offer him as many as he can eat in 10mins.

As he approaches 1yr, you start to decrease crix, untill he only gets them twice a week. :)

Hope that helps.

[Zoe]

Great to know!
I went shopping (just now) and brought home some collard green, a red pepper, some squash, some watercress and some green beans. It's going to be a veritable feast today :D

Zoe

[ChristinaM]

Wahoo, sounds great Zoe. My dragons get so much better foods than I do LOL, should see some of the salads they get LOL.

tip: the squash, if you don't like squash....just grate it all up....then freeze it in ziploc bags, otherwise it tends to go bad before they eat it all. (I don't like squash, and I buy a few when they are on sale before winter....grate em, date the bags and throw em in the freezer....gotta save the $$$$ for more dragons LOL)

[Darren179]

leaf lettuce a no no why? i have been feedingmine the lettuce thats in like a ball, is that bad (only been feeding it this for about a week

[Zoe]

Darren, I believe because lettuce has really low nutritional value.

Zoe

[Darren179]

yah I figured I just was not sure, I wouldnt feed as a mian source I just was hopping there was no toxins or something :D by the way the is an awesome food chart on www. beautifuldragons .com go check it out everyone!

[eyespy]

Lettuce is more of an empty calories type no-no than a toxin thing. It's got a high enough water and sugar content that beardies will often get hooked on lettuce and snub more nutritious greens that taste a lot more bitter. Because of the high water and sugar content it may trigger diarrhea.

[drewlowe]

I feed mine salads (mixed greens and veggies maybe some fruit) and food pellets EVERY day. Each week the salads differ as long as i get 2 different greens, 2 veggies, and occasionally various fruits. This week it was colard and i think turnip some sweet potatos, carrots, snow peas and they got a few treats of blueberries(on one day only). maybe once every 1 or 2 weeks they get a few dozen crix. a few times a year i feed butterworms (my girls FAVORITE!!!), silkies, and waxworms. I never feed mealies!!!!!!!!! I've tried hissing roaches but my male ran and hid behind the girl until she bit the roaches head off, so i haven't tried that again.

next week i'm thinking swiss chard, parsly or dandalion greens, kale, sweet potato, green beans, and okra (hopefully they have some in). It all depends on what veggies look the best and what they had to eat the prior week.

[Zoe]

are Pellets a must?

Zoe

[eyespy]

No, pellets aren't a must, but they are a nice cheap insurance policy for beardies that snub their salads.

[lizardmom]

Hi Zoe
Feed him greens & veggies in the morning and criks in early afternoon>
Tim & Annette