Crickets and calcium powder. How to stick the two together?

[mistersprinkles]

The calcium and vitamin powder always comes off the crickets before my bearded dragon (8 weeks) eats them. I coat them properly but just from walking around in the tank for 4 hours it falls off. How do I keep it on? He's too small to use a dish that the crickets wouldn't be able to jump out of to feed from. Any ideas? I can't put one cricket in every hour 12 hours a day..

[TeaNinja]

when i had my leopard gecko i would see that happen to some of the crickets she left in the tank, but she would munch most of them pretty quick while they were still dusty. other then wait alittle longer between feedings so he's nice and hungry i don't know what to suggest. i'm sure others have better advice.

[mistersprinkles]

The only other bearded dragon I ever took care of was the 'store mascott' at a store I used to work at (along with some iguanas and parrots) and wasn't for sale but she was huge and always ridiculously hungry. I'd dust crickets and mealworms in a little dish and she'd have her face in it eating 5 at a time before I could get it into the cage all the way. They lasted 20 seconds max. No dust issues there..

[infernalis]

a lot of people I know put the calcium powder on the greens / fruit since it stays put, and another trick is to put a little powder in a dish of meal worms.

[Lankyrob]

We use pretty much all the tricks above - dust in a small bowl with mealworms is the most effective - tho we feed our lizards (not beardies) roaches - as they dont jump around the dust stays on them pretty well.

[mistersprinkles]

i have no access to roaches and also if my building manager found out I'd live in a box on the street somewhere :)

I haven't actually seen the guy eat any vegetables yet so I guess I'll have to try mealworms.

[infernalis]

meal worms move around, but stay in the dish, so they shake off a lot less than crickets do.

[Lankyrob]

Andwhen the lizard digs in the bowl for the mealworms they automatically pic some powder up - its almost impossible for them not to.