Baby bearded dragons need more protein than adult beards, therefore Baby Bearded Dragons can feed almost 25-80 crickets in a single day. But serve these crickets in 4-5 sessions of 10 minutes.
As we all know crickets being protein, make their place in bearded dragons’ diet. You can call then of the favorite food of beardies. Why cricket because cricket is easy to feed insect, it is highly nutritious and make gut full instantly and in the last it gets digest easily making comfortable for bearded dragons
This article will highlight all the aspects that when and how much crickets should feed to bearded dragons
How many Crickets to Feed a Baby Bearded Dragon?
Being an infant, from birth to 3 months, baby bearded dragons need more protein than veggies. Therefore we will serve about 25 -30 live crickets to the baby bearded dragons in the different time periods.
Place crickets in their cage and allow them to eat freely, they will eat according to their desire. After 10 minutes, remove all crickets from the cage because too much is not good for them. Repeat the same method 5 times a day with ten minutes eating period.
Baby bearded dragons’ diet depends 80% on protein and 20% on veggies. And for protein portion, crickets are one of the best food to be served.
How many Crickets to Feed a Juvenile Bearded Dragon?
With the growing age, the diet of bearded dragons changes too. Young bearded dragons demand less protein and more veggies. Bearded dragons from 3-6 months also known as Juvenile dragons, can eat 20-60 weekly.
This quantity is enough to suppress their protein cravings.
How many Crickets to Feed a Young Adult Bearded Dragon?
Adult Bearded dragons’ diet is totally opposite from baby bearded dragons. Adult’s diet depends on 25% protein and veggies 755. Therefore a little number of crickets will be more than enough for adult bearded dragons.
Adult Bearded dragons can consume an average of 8-10 bearded dragons daily not more than that. More protein will be harmful to them.
Average Size of Crickets for Bearded dragon’s food:
With the age, the size of stomachs of bearded dragons also increases. Being an owner, it is your responsibility to have a strict check and balance of bearded dragon’s foot.
Crickets are available in different sizes. Always feed cricket according to the demand of your bearded dragons. For this purpose, we have a simple tip.
Measure the distance between their size and serve the cricket of exact size.
Don’t serve the larger cricket, because it can disturb their stomach, can cause constipation and may lead to impaction.
Here, is a quick chart of cricket sizes for your easiness.
Size of Crickets Age of Bearded Dragons
Bobby pinhead size Born to 3 months old
Small size crickets Juvenile of 4-6 months
Medium Size Crickets Young adult of 8-10 months
Large size crickets 1 year older Bearded dragons
Why Living Crickets are better food for bearded dragons?
An owner is always conscious of their pet health. For bearded dragons especially baby beards, it is important to keep a strict eye on their food serving. Any negligence can cause serious harm.
Always buy fresh crickets for serving to their bearded dragons. It is better to purchase from an authentic shop.
Sometimes it happens, bearded dragons consume some dead crickets which can cause serious health risks like illness and fever. For this purpose, it is better to remove all the cricket and debris from the cage of bearded dragons, once they finish their food
Also, remove other rotten materials like meat, veggies, and greens to prevent them from consuming.
Health Benefits of Crickets for Bearded Dragons
Following are some benefits of crickets for bearded dragons
1-Rich source of Protein
Although, cricket is not the only source of protein, but apart from others like Dubia roaches, crickets contain more proteins.
2- Less Fat
Crickets have a lesser amount of fat than other meat sources. Therefore they are good for bearded dragon’s health
3-Nutrient Rich
Crickets are a great source of nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamin which are necessary for the growth of Bearded Dragons
4- In Expensive
Pet owners prefer cricket over Dubia, because dubia are expensive and can’t be afforded by everyone, while on other hand, crickets are budget-friendly and easy to reach
5- Frequently available
Cricket is easily available to any pet shop. You don’t need to get panic about their search.
6- Digestion
Crickets are easy to digest and good for bearded dragon gut
Health Concerns of Crickets for Bearded Dragons
There are some concerns also which can be removed easily
1-Loud & Noisy
Crickets are night singers and make sounds throughout the night, which somehow can scare the bearded dragons. Therefore don’t but crickets in large amounts and remove all remaining from the bearded dragon’s cage to prevent any noise
2- The wrong size is dangerous
We already told that size of a Cricket should be according to the age of bearded dragons. If beardies consume cricket more than limit, and of larger size, it can cause serious health risks and even can strangle death.
Wrap up
Crickets are the protein-rich source for Bearded Dragons. They should be feed in the living form to prevent any health concerns
Baby bearded dragons should consume 20-80 crickets daily while adult one should have a limit of average of 10 cricket in a day.
Keel the crickets healthy to keep your Bearded Dragon alive