feeding a dragon

[zagarus]

I was just wondering if it's ok to feed a limited number of crickets each day rather then as many as he can eat in 10 minutes. Also do you have to constantly change the type of veggies to give because at the moment all i can offer my dragon is romaine, kale, green peppers, carrots, broccoli, and a little bok choi. IS that ok? I do know that when summer comes around I'll have different things to feed him. I just needed some input. THanks!

[tHeGiNo]

For a baby or juvenile, absolutely not. For an adult, that would depend on how many you plan on feeding. As for that as much as you can feed in 15 minutes, I do not always employ that method myself. It is not mandatory, but definitely works and is efficient.

I, personally, do not change the vegetable diet. I do, however, offer different treats and fruits. With a well balanced, varied vegetable diet it is not necessary to fluctuate. In regards to what you are feeding, it is a decent mixture however it could use a little work. Do not give many carrots, just a few strips in with the vegetables. Lettuce is good only for the water content. As long as you add to it in the summer time I am sure he will be fine.

[ChristinaM]

Romaine, carrots and brocolli are NOT an ok long term diet.
Broccoli is very high in oxalates and goitrogens.....it is definately not a daily food.
Romaine has virtually NO nutritional value.
Carrots are high in oxalates as well.

Is there a reason you can't offer other veggies?

[drewlowe]

Start with a good stable then you can switch it up a bit. Try for at least 2 dark greens; Kale, collard, mustard, turnip, dandelion some substitutes are endive, bok coy (sp). I don't do any lettace i prefer just to feed them dark greens. Some veggies are; sweet potato, snow peas, carrots, yams, okra, greenbeans (treats), I need a produce dept. in front of me when i type out foods, i know i'm leaving so many out. LOL

I switch mine up every time i go i try for at least 2 greens and 2 veggies, From there i go home and prep it for use until it goes bad, usually about 5-6 days. Once a month i buy them a different fruit or my friend will bring over a fruit dish for them.

You can pick up a better variety of veggies by going to a "Produce Store" instead of someplace like Shop-n-Save (or similar stores).

[zagarus]

So when you buy veggies you cut the whole thing up and when you get home put it in the fridge? I mean how much is enough because I don't want to be buying tons of groceries which will go bad before my dragon has a chance to eat it all.

[tHeGiNo]

Yep, thats what I do. I buy a load of veggies, and chop them up into a large container which I store in the fridge. However, staying fresh isn't really an issue here, as it doesn't last long between the uromastyx and the beardies.

[drewlowe]

Originally posted by zagarus
So when you buy veggies you cut the whole thing up and when you get home put it in the fridge? I mean how much is enough because I don't want to be buying tons of groceries which will go bad before my dragon has a chance to eat it all.


Pretty much so, I buy the smallest amount i can, Cause i only have 2 beardies at the moment and a cham (which he only eats a few pieces of dark greens).

I basicly get 2 heads of greens and a little bit of veggies, come home and "prep" it. I have a container which i store them in. I do have extra greens left over most of the time. Which i take the extra up to A.R.C. (a specialty herp store in my area) I give him the extras and i get some insects for free, usually 4 dozen crix and some waxworms (which would cost more than the veggies). The most i ever spent on veggies was 4 dollars and that was because i bought them a special treat of blueberries, around average i spend close to 3 dollars a week.

Jamie

[zagarus]

thanks for your help everyone. Oh and when can you start feeding them less crickets, my beardies about 7 months old now and I know he should be eating more veggies, just wondering.

[drewlowe]

Right now would be a good time to start with more salads.

As a little side note, my boyfriend used to prep food everyday at one of his old jobs and he gave me a helpful hint. Don't use knifes to cut up your greens. Somehow by using a blade it makes the greens go bad and ucky brown before they normal would if you did it by hand.

[zagarus]

So the knife makes it go brown faster , oops! Well now I know to use my hands. THanks

[Darren179]

kale,collard and mustard greens daily then meal worms, crickets and rasbarries for treats

[drewlowe]

If you read back in tons of my my post i don't recommend beardies being feed mealies, because of the chitlen in their exoskeleton, it's hard for beardies to digest.

Some other insects you can feed are; Silkworms, butterworms, hornworms, grasshoppers, cockroaches and waxworms. If you catch bugs yourself make sure the area has not been sprayed with any chemicals. NEVER feed fire flies to beardies either.

[Buster]

www.beautifuldragons.com has a nice list of food and how often they can be fed as well as nutritional content