Are you worried about feeding your baby bearded dragon crickets?
Do you think your baby bearded dragon is feeding?
Bearded dragon babies are adorable, but they are often so small that they stress many new owners.
Can they take care of themselves?
Are they eating enough?
Too much?
It is always good to investigate your pets to be the best possible owner.
So you need to know how many crickets to feed a baby bearded dragon.
Baby bearded dragons need a lot of protein, so they can eat quite a lot of crickets! In fact, over 3-5 meals, a bearded dragon can eat between 30-80 crickets of adequate size in a day.
Read on for more details on crickets.
About the crickets
Crickets have been one of the most consistent staples for insects in the entire reptile diet, but this is especially true for the bearded dragon.
In this section, we will see the cricket and why so many people choose it to feed their pets.
Pro: Availability
Crickets are the most common insect for reptiles.
As such, these feeder insects are found everywhere.
Pick them up at pet stores (for a higher profit margin), or order them in bulk online.
It will not be difficult to find and buy them for your pet.
There are also a variety of sizes of crickets you might find, including pinhead crickets.
Pinhead crickets are the same as normal crickets, only they are younger and smaller.
These pinhead crickets are excellent for hatchlings and very young bearded dragons.
This smaller size is essential.
Bearded dragons shouldn’t eat insects larger than the space between their eyes, and not all insects come in a small enough size.
Pro: Affordability
Feeding a bearded dragon can be expensive over the years if saving measures are not sought.
But crickets are cheap and can be bought in bulk.
Although they are quite affordable at pet stores, you may want to consider buying online.
Stores have a bit of a profit margin, which makes them cost more.
Buying in bulk is better online.
This is essential for those who keep multiple bearded dragons at once.
There are several places to find crickets online, but they are sold on Amazon at low prices from sellers like BuyFeederCrickets.
- BuyFeederCrickets crickets come from a farm that has been in business for over 50 years.
Pro: Diet
Crickets contain the following nutritional elements:
-
- 69% humidity
- 21% protein
- 6% fat
- 3% carbohydrates
- 1% fat
While the moisture and protein won’t be up to par with Dubia cockroaches, crickets have one of the best moisture-protein-fat ratios out there for insects.
With insects, the big concern is having too much fat and not enough protein.
The low amount of fat and the good amount of protein make the cricket a great choice as a main feeder.
For baby bearded dragons, they need to eat more protein than adult bearded ones.
Baby beardos need the extra calories to build mass.
Crickets provide this protein with a healthy amount of fat.
The most significant dietary drawback of the cricket is the lack of additional vitamins and minerals.
Calcium deficiency is a big concern with bearded dragons, and crickets don’t naturally help that much.
However, there are two main ways to combat this.
One is by dusting the crickets with a sprinkled dietary supplement.
- Highly bioavailable source of calcium carbonate
- Free of harmful impurities (not Oyster Shells)
- Use with reptiles that require vitamin D3 to assimilate calcium
You just have to dust the crickets before feeding them.
This method is easy, but it is not as effective as the next one.
The other way is to load the feeder crickets with guts.
By giving them the opportunity to eat feed with a high nutrient content, crickets contain more vitamins, which are easier to absorb.
Fluker’s high-calcium cricket feed is one that many owners of bearded dragons use.
Against: Waste
The biggest con of crickets is how wasteful their use can seem.
Crickets die quite easily, so you’ll be cleaning up dead ones regularly.
Warning!
Never feed a dead cricket to a bearded dragon, no matter how fresh it may seem.
They also tend to jump into the shallow water dish you may be using and drown.
This is frustrating, but removing the plate can be helpful.
How many crickets to feed my baby bearded dragon?
Baby bearded dragons need to eat as many live insects as they can.
However, this does not mean that you have to put the crickets in their mouths without stopping.
Depending on the day, they may want to eat more or less.
Still, expect to feed a bearded dragon 30-80 crickets a day.
See more information on adults and crickets.
How often should I feed my baby bearded dragon?
Adult bearded dragons need to be able to survive the harsh desert environment during periods of drought and lack of food.
As such, they can go longer periods without eating at all.
But baby bearded dragons have a more immediate concern: predators.
Baby bearded dragons are still quite small; they need to gain some mass to better defend themselves and escape.
So they need to eat more crickets than adults (30-80 per day as we said before).
But their little digestive systems can’t handle everything they need to eat.
In return, the young need to eat more often.
A baby bearded dragon should be fed 3 to 5 times a day.
Each feeding should last about 10 minutes.
You must feed your pet crickets, one at a time, during this period of time, and when the time is up, remove the food.
Then come back 2-4 more times within the day.
How to get a baby bearded dragon to eat?
Getting a baby bearded dragon to eat is not too complicated; they are quite hungry all the time!
If you have problems, it may be that you are too stressed or that you are shedding your skin.
Check your aquarium settings for heat and UVB and then give it some time.
If you do not eat in a day, contact your veterinarian.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed learning how many crickets to feed a baby bearded dragon.
30-80 crickets over 3-5 per day is the average amount you should expect from your pet.
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