Couple of Q's

[September]

So I finished going through the links I was provided, and have a few questions.

1) Could I keep crickets in a Kritter Keeper? I keep a few of these around the house in case I need to temporarily re-house my rodent pets, so I could find one to spare. Would that work for them?

2) Do beardies have to have roaches?? I have no problem feeding crickets, various worms, or any of the other live prey that was listed. However, I'll shamefully admit a fear of roaches. Is that something I need to conquer for my future dragons sake?

3) As I understand it, using an MVB bulb will provide both UVB and heat, with just the one light. Would you reccommend using an MVB, or would you reccommend having two lights?

4) A juvenile beardie shouldn't be kept on sand until they reach 10". (I plan to use newspaper before that) But is measuring done from tip of nose to base of tail, or tip of nose to tip of tail?

5) Which is better, Reptivite or Herptivite?

6) Are bearded dragons strictly stay at home pets, or could they be taken for a walk? Like in petsmart or out in the yard and such?

I know it's a lot of questions, so I obviously have a lot more research to do. But I would appreciate any help/answers/suggestions y'all can provide!

Add: I did have one more question; I know water bowls aren't 'neccessary' but would it hurt to put a shallow one in their anyways? Just in case?

 

[thorn]

1) only about 20 or so. But you can buy rubbermade tubs cheap
2) you don't have to but they make great treats
3) don't know sorry
4) yes nose to tail I have an adult and his body is not even 10 inches
5) both are good it just up to you
6) yes and no. I would never take it to the store but that's just me. You can take them outside but I would suggest you make or buy a harness and leash first. They are very fast runners.
7) it will only cause problems.
While I'm here. I wanted to ask I have a rubbermade tub it's 19 gallons that should be big enough for 500-1k crickets right?

 

[Germ]

So I finished going through the links I was provided, and have a few questions.

1) Could I keep crickets in a Kritter Keeper? I keep a few of these around the house in case I need to temporarily re-house my rodent pets, so I could find one to spare. Would that work for them?
Yes, you could easily keep 150 crix or so in a 12"x7"'x9". Put in toilet paper roll or paper towel cores\tubes so you can just remove a tube & shake out the crix hiding in it into a baggie for dusting. Best bet is a Kricket Keeper with the Tubes for extraction.

2) Do beardies have to have roaches?? I have no problem feeding crickets, various worms, or any of the other live prey that was listed. However, I'll shamefully admit a fear of roaches. Is that something I need to conquer for my future dragons sake?
Roaches a better staple feeder, but are not necessary, as crickets work quite well & have been the main staple insect used for years since the start of the hobby. Just an FYI - Dubia or Discoids are much easier to contain & keep than crickets, have much more protein, higher meat\shell ratio. They make no noise, don't hop all over the place & do not stink to high heaven like crickets, have a much longer life span & don't die off as easily as crix.

3) As I understand it, using an MVB bulb will provide both UVB and heat, with just the one light. Would you reccommend using an MVB, or would you reccommend having two lights?
MVBs are designed for larger enclosures, it is often difficult to provide the minimum safe distances in the size enclosures commonly used for BDs. While they are advertised to provide heat & UVB, they do, but often do not put out enough heat at the minimum safe distances recommended to provide the required temps, so often a second bulb is required to supplement the heat anyway. Personally I don't recommend them as there have been too many harmful issues in the past with them. Even different bulbs from the same manufacturer can vary drastically from bulb to bulb, some not enough UVB, others to much & can emit harmful rays in the UVC spectrum.

4) A juvenile beardie shouldn't be kept on sand until they reach 10". (I plan to use newspaper before that) But is measuring done from tip of nose to base of tail, or tip of nose to tip of tail?
Nose to tip of tail

5) Which is better, Reptivite or Herptivite?
Either

6) Are bearded dragons strictly stay at home pets, or could they be taken for a walk? Like in petsmart or out in the yard and such?
BDs can be taken outside on hot days for natural sun in a controlled environment, should not be allowed to run free or even be on the ground, unfamiliar fauna & bugs can be harmful to your BD, pesticides, insecticides, etc. Ingestion of even one firefly\lightning bug can more more often than not, be fatal, as they toxic to BDs. We go to a lot of trouble providing the proper environment for them in their enclosures that does not do them any good if they are not in them for extended periods of time. Short trips to the pet store to show them off are ok, but you must be very vigilant, they can be very fast & are prolific jumpers & seem to have an uncanny ability to sense when your attention is elsewhere. They can not be walked like a dog & must be carried.

I know it's a lot of questions, so I obviously have a lot more research to do. But I would appreciate any help/answers/suggestions y'all can provide!

Add: I did have one more question; I know water bowls aren't 'neccessary' but would it hurt to put a shallow one in their anyways? Just in case?
Very few BDs will recognize standing water. If they do not actually drink from it, water bowls will only raise the humidity & cause the substrate to get wet if they are in & out of it as they wander the enclosure, providing a haven for bacteria growth. I do not keep a water bowl in any of my enclosures.

 

[September]

Thanks

If I were to offer roaches instead of crickets, how would I keep them alive, and what could I keep them in? And would I give the same amount of roaches as I would crickets? (I was planning on giving either 15 two times a day or 10 three times a day) I would buy about 200 a week, what could I keep them in?

 

[Germ]

If it is your intention to feed Roaches, I would start to get a colony going now, as it takes a long time for it to become established. If you start one now it may be established well enough to feed out of when you get your BD. Once it is, you will never have to buy another feeder for it's staple diet. Crickets are running $.12-$.15 each at the pet store these days. Roaches are much easier to keep than cricket & don't stink, hop or chirp. They are easily contained in a rubbermaid tub, they do not fly, cannot climb smooth surfaces such as glass or Plastic, so are easy to contain. Have a much longer lifespan than crix. If you click my signature below & check out the videos, there are several videos of mine eating & being eaten . Here is as good as any methods to start a colony ...


How to start a Roach colony

As for how many to feed, as with crickets, it depends on the size of the feeder & the size of the Dragon.

 

[September]

Awesome! I'll look into it.

And I do have another question (Sorry!!) about breeders in the south? Are there any? I'm in north Alabama, and would prefer not to have to buy my beardie from PetSmart. So is there any other place I could get a beardie from around here?

 

[thorn]

Just google exotic pet store and your zipcode or city and something should come up. I drove like 4 hours round trip to get mine

 

[Beardie123]

for one week i tried putting a little pool in my Bd's enclosude the second i put her in she stuck her head under the water and started gulping down like half of the water then i just took it out the next day

 

[ThDude]

you can actually order bearded dragons online and they will be mailed to you.

Ben segal reptiles is a company in Florida i believe heres their website http://www.albinonile.com/ they also have a facebook page where they auction off reptiles and such for low prices. they have had few issues ever and everyone i have talked to that did buy from them said it was awesome and they recomend them

 

[Scottio]

1) I don't even bother with a keeper anymore. We originally got one but our crickets are in plastic containers and we just throw a pile of kale, bug grub and dampen the egg box thats in there. This gives them food, water and gut feed. As he's only a baby at the moment he's going through a box of these every few days so it's more effort than it's worth going back and fourth from the cricket keeper.

They are horrible to touch at first, I used rubber gloves! Now I'd happily pick them up and feed him by hand. You get used to it a lot quicker than you expect!

2) I've never fed roaches. My breeder got my beardie onto crickets and locusts but now he's on crickets alone with the odd surprise other insect!

3) I'd suggest a tube UVB bulb to provide the UVB and then a seperate basking spot light, just personal preference though!

4) Nose to tip of tale I do believe. Mines kicking on 8" now but I don't think I'll be moving him onto sand any time soon

5) I've not heard of those two brands (UK). We use a separate calcium and multivitamin. We don't use D3

6) Beardies can come outside, they even make leads for older beardies! Just make sure the area you're taking to them won't be dangerous to them. I wouldnt suggest you let them eat any bugs/worms while they are out

7) We always have a water bowl in the viv. It rarely gets used but I've seen him in there a few times just having a soak! Make sure you use bottled water!