Once you get your crickets and your REP-CAL Powder, get a zip lock bag.
I NEVER make the same meal over and over again. I like to keep my Dragons guessing!
VEGGIES I USE ARE: Butter Lettuce, Boston Bib Lettuce, Kale, Collard & Mustard Greens, Parsley, Dandelion Greens, Green Beans, Endive, Carrots Zucchini, Peas, Escarole, Alfalfa (fresh from the produce section) Carrots, Tomato (I use Tomato every blue moon).(You can also use Green Bell Peppers, Butter Squash.)
A NOTE ABOUT LETTUCE: Do not feed your dragons iceberg lettuce as is has very little nutritional value and may give the dragon the 'runs' - prompting dehydration.
FRUITS I USE Cantaloupe, Apples, Blueberries, Blackberries, Peaches, Pears, Grapes, Figs, Banana's (including the skins), Plums, Raspberries, Water Melon, and Strawberries.
Store Bought/Prepared Dragon Food I Use: I like to use Rep Cal Brand Jouvenile Bearded Dragon Food. This food has small ball like bites that you can soak in juice. I have soaked it in Apple Juice, V8 Pomgranite and Blueberry Juice, and Sunny D (Smooth).
Just A Note About Silkworms : They are naturally the healthiest insect you can get to feed your Beardie. You just can't beat the low-fat content & nutritional value of a silk worm. Silkworms are a high source of Calcium, Protein, Iron, Magnesium, Sodium, and Vitamins B1, B2, and B3.
Things I Have Learned: Super worms. My Vet told me that Super worms are a VERY aggressive worm....They can LITERALLY EAT THROUGH the inside of a Bearded Dragon. So, He suggested that IF you are going to use SUPER WORMS as food, CUT THEIR HEADS OFF before feeding them to your Dragon. ( I tried this for about 2 days and got completely grossed out. So now Super worms are NO LONGER a part of my beardies diets.)
KEEP A SPRAY BOTTLE Full of water around at all times. "MISTING" your Bearded Dragon everyday is a GREAT way to keep them hydrated. A nice SLOW MIST they love it! I also MIST THEIR FOOD. One or two little trigger pulls will do it. This is just another way to keep your Dragon taking in water.
Meal worms: Have hard shells. These can be hard to digest. Be careful not to feed them to your Beardie often. I feed my Adult Beardies the Medium/Small Sized Meal worms 2 - 3 times per week.
FUN FOODS / TREATS:
SUBSTRATE
HOUSING
IMPACTED DRAGONS
With Feeding Tongs or Tweezers, get the crickets into the zip lock bag, pick up enough powder (usually I grab the powder between my thumb and forefinger.) and then throw the powder in the bag with the crickets.
Lightly shake the zip lock bag. Now you have successfully dusted your crickets and made a GREAT appetizer for your Bearded Dragons!
After the appetizers, I go to work on the Main Course!
I NEVER make the same meal over and over again. I like to keep my Dragons guessing! VARIETY IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!
*** Remember:
CHOP ALL FOOD FINELY. DO THIS SO YOUR DRAGON DOES NOT CHOKE. ***
VEGGIES I USE ARE: Butter Lettuce, Boston Bib Lettuce, Kale, Collard & Mustard Greens, Parsley, Dandelion Greens, Green Beans, Endive, Carrots Zucchini, Peas, Escarole, Alfalfa (fresh from the produce section) Carrots, Tomato (I use Tomato every blue moon).(You can also use Green Bell Peppers, Butter Squash.)
A NOTE ABOUT LETTUCE: Do not feed your dragons iceberg lettuce as is has very little nutritional value and may give the dragon the 'runs' - prompting dehydration.
FRUITS I USE Cantaloupe, Apples, Blueberries, Blackberries, Peaches, Pears, Grapes, Figs, Banana's (including the skins), Plums, Raspberries, Water Melon, and Strawberries.
INSECTS I USE: Crickets, Silk Worms , Phoenix Worms, Butter Worms, Wax Worms (*High in fat so remember to feed sparingly), Meal Worms, Grasshoppers, and Goliath Worms. (DO NOT FEED Goliath worms to jouvenile Beardies, as these guys are HUGE.)
Store Bought/Prepared Dragon Food I Use: I like to use Rep Cal Brand Jouvenile Bearded Dragon Food. This food has small ball like bites that you can soak in juice. I have soaked it in Apple Juice, V8 Pomgranite and Blueberry Juice, and Sunny D (Smooth).
Just A Note About Silkworms : They are naturally the healthiest insect you can get to feed your Beardie. You just can't beat the low-fat content & nutritional value of a silk worm. Silkworms are a high source of Calcium, Protein, Iron, Magnesium, Sodium, and Vitamins B1, B2, and B3. Things I Have Learned: Super worms. My Vet told me that Super worms are a VERY aggressive worm....They can LITERALLY EAT THROUGH the inside of a Bearded Dragon. So, He suggested that IF you are going to use SUPER WORMS as food, CUT THEIR HEADS OFF before feeding them to your Dragon. ( I tried this for about 2 days and got completely grossed out. So now Super worms are NO LONGER a part of my beardies diets.)
KEEP A SPRAY BOTTLE Full of water around at all times. "MISTING" your Bearded Dragon everyday is a GREAT way to keep them hydrated. A nice SLOW MIST they love it! I also MIST THEIR FOOD. One or two little trigger pulls will do it. This is just another way to keep your Dragon taking in water.
Meal worms: Have hard shells. These can be hard to digest. Be careful not to feed them to your Beardie often. I feed my Adult Beardies the Medium/Small Sized Meal worms 2 - 3 times per week.
BARB'S ONCE A WEEK DRAGON TACO!
The photo on your left is my famous Once A Week "Dragon Taco". I use 1 Full Washed Piece of Butter / or Boston Bib Lettuce. I then chop yellow squash,tomato, green beans, and apple into very small pieces. I lay all of the chopped foods ontop of the piece of lettuce ( you may put a pinch of REP-CAL on to garnish!) THEY LOVE TO TARE LETTUCE! (Again I do this ONLY once per week all other days I chop the lettuce finely for them for proper digestion.)
FUN FOODS / TREATS: When I refer to "Fun foods" or "Treats" I mean to feed your beardies these SPARINGLY. TINY PIECES. These are in NO WAY to be substitute for a "Meal" for your dragon.
Applesauce, Fruit Yogurt, V8 Pomegranate and Blueberry Juice, Apple juice, tiny piece of a Fig Newton Cookie, Sunny D Smooth Juice, Baby Foods, Whipped Cream From A Can and Banana Cream Pie. In the summer, I BBQ Skinless Chicken. I rip off tiny pieces and hand feed the cooked chicken to my Beardies (They Love It!)
STAY TUNED AS WE COVER A TON OF SUBJECTS FOR YOU.
We have these topics coming soon:
SUBSTRATE
HOUSING
IMPACTED DRAGONS
SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR DRAGON
BREEDING
(Special Breeding Column Series By
Lynn Benjamin Owner of Carolina Designer Dragons)
BROUMATING
SEXING
BEHAVIOR
AND SO MUCH MORE!!
3 comments:
WOW!!! so many food options! I can't hold a candle to a beardie meal you make!!
The thought about 'superworms' is an urban legend. As far as I know, no beardie has ever had its stomach eaten through by a superworm - and plenty of people feed their beardies those. I think the fear comes from baby BDs being fed those giant creatures. Then the animal dies and the owners want to blame the food rather than poor husbandry.
I don't know the ingredient list in your BD store bought food, but I would suggest you stop feeding it. Most BD diets have corn meal as the first ingredient. And corn meal is a pointless filler with little to no nutritional value. Jurassi-Pet's bearded dragon diet is the only one I've seen that has zero corn meal. You can tell how worthless the food is if corn meal is listed as the first ingredient - remember, foods are listed under ingredient by weight, and if corn meal is first, that means there's more of that than any other one ingredient!
Beyond those two measly comments I think you have a great site started here and I look forward to coming back during the week :)
Raef,
Welcome! THANK YOU for sharing your thoughts with us! Let me address the two GREAT points you have listed. The first time I heard of the Superworm "Urban Legend" was actually when I brought the beardie I adopted to a reptile vet. The Doctor is the one who told me about the Superworm being an especially aggressive worm, capable of "eating its way through flesh" if the head is not thoroughly chewed....Or at his suggestion cut the heads off of the worms BEFORE feeding them to my beardie.I have searched TIRELESSLY through veteranary studies, lab studies, and I personally have NOT found a single Bearded Dragon that had died from Superworms eating through the stomach lining or intestinal lining. I am just "Putting it out there" for each Bearded Dragon owner to hear, and make up their own mind, as I did. If there is the SLIGHTEST chance, I simply will not do it. This is in NO WAY rule of thumb for anyone else.
Raef,
Your second point is a GREAT ONE as well. I would NEVER USE the Juvenile Bearded Dragon food that is store bought as a staple diet. Moderation is KEY and Variety is Key. I prefer to use the store bought/internet bought REP CAL tiny hard food ball pieces (they are colored green, red, and yellow). I use approx. 1 tablespoon per ADULT DRAGON per MONTH. This in NO WAY has harmed my dragons, and through research again I found no long term harm.
This food NEEDS to be soaked first, so I take a styrofoam cup, and cut the bottom off.
I take 1 Tablespoon (for adults, 1 teaspoon for little guys over 4 months old) and put it in the cup with real fruit juice.
This is what this site is about.
Talking about "Urban Legends" their validity, experiences, research.... We are ALL here to help one another and take bits and pieces we can use.
ALL to benefit our Dragons.
THANK YOU SO MUCH RAEF!!
Stick around to win gift certificates, and merchandise in our random contests!!
Barb
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