Bearded dragons are among the most famous reptiles you can keep as pets. They are kind to humans. Bearded dragons can also be called “beardies”.
Bearded dragons have strong jaws that help them to crush insects like beetles that have hard shells. Beardies are omnivorous so they eat both plants and meat like crickets, lizards, and rodents.
The ideal diet of a bearded dragon is vegetables, fresh fruits, and meat protein. Many bearded dragon owners feed their pet with cricket as meat protein because crickets are quite easily bred and affordable. Crickets are the best choice of meat protein your bearded dragon can consume because of the health challenges it may cause your bearded dragon if it consumes it.
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Even if you decide to feed your bearded dragon with cricket, you have to take some precautions so it doesn’t end up biting your bearded dragon. Make sure you only feed your bearded dragon with small crickets no matter how bearded dragon is. If you feed your bearded dragon with a big cricket, it may end up causing a blockage in its digestive tract thus leading to impaction. And if you don’t quickly notice this and treat it, it may pose serious health issues for your bearded dragon.
Your bearded dragon can also choke when it tries to consume big crickets. If your bearded dragon is choking, one of the signs you see is that it coughs. One way you can help your dragon when it’s choking is to try to help it clear its throat. Although choking is not quite common among bearded dragons.
Also, the crickets you purchase from a good pet store can poison your bearded dragons and make them contract parasites if the crickets were sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Although it is somewhat rare too. Always ensure the crickets you feed your bearded dragon with are free from any form of herbicides or pesticides.
Always make sure you are there to watch your bearded dragon when it’s eating so that you can prevent it from having an impaction, prevent the cricket from falling off its mouth and biting your bearded dragon and also prevent your bearded dragon from choking. Make sure you allow your bearded dragon to consume one cricket at a time so that some of them won’t go and hide and bite your bearded dragon when you’re not there. Let your bearded dragon finish consuming one cricket before you give it another one to eat.
Black and brown crickets are very common crickets. While the brown crickets are nocturnal and commonly sold by pet stores, the black crickets are diurnal. These crickets can bite your bearded dragon on any part of its body when you don’t watch your bearded dragon closely as it eats. If this happens, you should do some things to take care of it before you call the attention of a veterinarian.
Now, how can you treat cricket bites on bearded dragons? You should clean the wound on the body of your bearded dragon with a betadine solution. You can get it from the first aid departments of discount stores and pharmacies. You can so use the betadine solution with an antibiotic ointment, unpasteurized honey, and manuka honey so it tackles any form of infection.
Make sure you bring the bearded dragon out of its tank before you begin this treatment. Then try to feed it sweet potatoes, chicken or turkey. Don’t ever leave your bearded dragon outside its tank without being there to watch it.
While you are treating your bearded dragon, make sure you clean its tank very well so you can get rid of any crickets that may still be left in the tank. It is important you clean and sanitizes the tank of your bearded dragon at least once a week. The cleaning solution you use should contain at least 20% of bleach. If the tank of your bearded dragon is made of wood, then you should soak it in the bleach solution and rinse thoroughly. After that, allow it to bake in the oven for 30 minutes and set it at 250 degrees. You can also clean the wound with an antiseptic immediately.
Is it okay to leave crickets in with my bearded dragon?
It is okay to feed your bearded dragons with crickets because of their nutritional benefits but it is not okay to leave crickets to be alone in your bearded dragon’s tank during the day or at night.
Why is it not okay? Check the reasons below.
1. They can bite your bearded dragon
Crickets are very small creatures that can easily hide under the skin of your bearded dragon. Since they are very tiny and if you’re not observant, they will feast on your bearded dragon. And if cricket is not well fed, it will be triggered by hunger to bite your bearded dragon. Crickets are omnivorous and they usually target the toes, tail, and eyelids of your bearded dragon. You may be saying your bearded dragon has rough skin so you won’t have to bother about cricket bites, it doesn’t matter. Cricket bites can hurt your bearded dragon and create room for infections and parasites to come in.
2. Certain crickets carry poison and parasites with them.
Some crickets that got were sprayed by pesticides when consumed by your bearded dragon will be poisonous to its system. This is because pesticides are poisonous. And if you allow crickets to rub carry bacteria from the decayed food in the tank of your bearded dragon, it can be detrimental to the health of your pet if it eventually consumes it.
3. Likelihood of impaction
This is another reason why you should leave crickets to be alone with your bearded dragon. Don’t feed your bearded dragon with crickets that more than the size of the space in between their eyes. Ensure the crickets you feed your bearded dragon with are small so that it will easily digest it and prevent any form of blockage in its digestive tract.
4. Choking problem
Leaving crickets with your bearded dragon can also lead to it choking. Amdnit is not healthy for your pet. When this happens, try to clear its throat and call the attention of a veterinarian if you can’t handle it.
5. It can stress your bearded dragon
You will make your bearded dragon feel uncomfortable and stressed if you keep allowing crickets to crawl all over its body.
It may not be a big problem if the cricket is just one and not plenty. But if there are plenty the more stressed your bearded dragon would be. And if they eventually start biting your pet, it would be worse.
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Why won’t my bearded dragon eat crickets?
Sometimes you may notice that your bearded dragon has stopped eating crickets. The major reason is that it is tired of eating crickets. Just like some humans get tired of eating only one kind of food daily, your bearded dragon can get tired too. When this happens, try to change the meal plan of your pet. Variety is good for your bearded dragon because it is omnivorous.
You can feed your pet with other types of insects like wax or mealworms. Fruits and vegetables are another kind of food you can feed your bearded dragon with. Let your bearded dragon enjoy a break from eating only crickets. If after the break your pet still doesn’t like eating crickets, then it may be that your bearded dragon doesn’t like eating crickets again. It’s not a bad thing if your bearded dragon stops eating crickets. Just offer it with enough nutrients it needs to survive. Observe what your bearded dragon loves to consume. Know why it stopped consuming crickets. Could it be because you don’t feed it the right way? Are you following the instructions given to you at the pet store concerning feeding your bearded dragon with crickets? Talk to a professional veterinarian about it.
It is also not good for you to allow any kind of insect to be left in the tank of your bearded so it doesn’t end up attacking it. Keep the tank insect-free.
How do you raise crickets for a bearded dragon?
Gut-loading is keeping your crickets healthy and alive by feeding them with good food and water.
Feed your crickets with flaked baby cereal. You can use oatmeal flakes of Gerber mixed grain. This is a very nutritious food for your crickets.
Your crickets can also eat the vegetables you feed your dragons with. Avoid feeding it with a potato because it is too starchy.
Also, buy a cricket crow in large quantities from a cricket supplier so you can feed your bearded dragon with it. Cricket chow is a mixture of grains that cricket farms use in feeding crickets.
To give your crickets water, buy a water gel substance at any pet store or your cricket supplier. It usually comes in a jar. Always refill it as soon as possible. Do, they don’t get dehydrated.
Another thing about crickets is that they shed their skin as they grow older. So, you will need to remove their skin sheds.
To also, raise your crickets well for your bearded dragons, maintain a clean cricket bin, so your crickets will grow in a healthy environment.
How many crickets to feed a bearded dragon
You need to know how many crickets to feed your bearded dragon with. This is because the quantity of crickets you feed your bearded dragons with varies as they grow. The quantity a baby or juvenile or adult will consume is very different.
A bearded dragon is considered a baby if from birth till that moment, is 3 months old.
Offer your baby dragon 5 different feeding sessions that will last for at least 5 minutes. Your baby dragon should eat between 25 to 80 crickets.
A juvenile bearded dragon is one between the age of 3 to 8 months. Reduce its feeding time to 3 times daily and it should last from 5-10 minutes long. Feed them with crickets between 25 to 50.
What is the best thing to feed a baby bearded dragon?
You should feed your baby dragon with more proteins than greens. The ratio between the amount of protein to greens should be 75:25.
The best thing to feed your baby dragon with is dubia roaches at least 2-3 times daily. They find it difficult to digest mealworms.
What are some vegetables your can feed your baby dragon with? Squash, Zucchini, peas, carrots, leafy greens, beet tips, mustard greens beet tips, dandelions, and collard greens.
Don’t offer them celery, spinach, or lettuce because they are low nutrient foods. For fruits, feed them with blueberries or slices of peach.
Can dead crickets kill a bearded dragon?
Dead crickets are not necessarily bad for your beardies but if your bearded dragon has to consume them, it has to be frozen, canned, or freeze-dried. This is because the bugs have been taken care of as a result of the freezing. If these crickets are not frozen, don’t feed your bearded dragon with them because it may pose a serious health challenge to it. Dead crickets that are not frozen may have bugs in them and your bearded dragon may find it difficult to recognize them. How can you help your bearded dragon recognize dead crickets? Through the use of tweezers or plastic-tipped tongs to give them dead crickets.
You can also give your bearded dragon dead crickets by hiding them in vegetables.
Avoid feeding your bearded dragon with dead crickets whose origin you are not aware of. Ask about how they died unless they were sold to you, frozen.
Don’t feed your bearded dragon with live crickets that died during shipping. It is not good for your beardies. And they lose their moisture and nutrients too. Also, they may have attracted bacteria and parasites that are not healthy for your bearded dragon.
Don’t buy dead crickets that were not sold to you as dead from the producers.
Your bearded dragons prefer live crickets to dead crickets simply because they move.
Feed your dragons with live crickets because dead ones don’t have the required moisture content that the live ones have.
Conclusion
Did you find this article about bearded dragons and crickets helpful? I’m sure you did.
You should feed your bearded dragon with dead crickets only if it has been frozen or freeze-dried but feeding it with live crickets is more advisable because of its high nutritional benefits. They love to eat it when it’s fresh. So, try to give your bearded dragon what’s best for it.
May your bearded dragon enjoy the good health and the good food it deserves.