cricket size?

[Moogs]

Hi all, I finally got my bearded dragon after almost a year of wanting one. I got the ZooMed (20 gallon?) bearded dragon starter set over the weekend which included: The tank, a double lamp fixture with bulbs for nighttime and daytime heat, the UVA light fixture and bulb, repticalcium, some dry food supplement, food and water dishes, Vita Sand substrate (Which I did not use) and a thermometer. I set up his tank with everything included, except I swapped out the loose sand substrate they provided with the Exo Terra Sand Mat, and included a hide, a branch, two nice basking rocks and an aloe plant.

I picked up my baby Beardie, Argyle, from the pet store on Tuesday afternoon. The pet store owner suggested I buy 12 crickets to start with. I did. He gave me some relatively small crickets.
So, on his first afternoon in the tank, he happily ate the crickets I offered him, and, as most guides online I saw for babies suggested I serve him as many as he was willing to eat in 10 minutes, multiple times a day, he ended up eating approximately 6 crickets, I also let one loose in my room on accident.

The next day, I woke up and turned on his light, offered him some salad (which he ate some of) and then went to work. At lunch, I returned home (I live close) and offered him some crickets, but I didn't have the time to feed them all one at a time, so I simply put 4 crickets in the tank and allowed him to go for them and then returned to work.
When I got home, I realized I was going to need more crickets so I went to a different pet store than the one I purchased him at (closer to me), and bought both a set of 24 "live" crickets, and a small can of exo terra crickets. I quickly noticed that a large amount of the "live" crickets were anything but, in fact, there was only a few larger crickets alive at all from what I could tell.

When I got home, I decided to offer him some, and gave him one of the live ones. As I fed it to him, I realized the size of the cricket I just gave him was *much* bigger than I had realized. He ate it, and seemed to chew it well, and then had another cricket before it seems he lost his appetite. A few hours later, I began getting paranoid and worried. I started looking at details about overfeeding and cricket size and learned of the "bigger than the space between its eyes" rule, and also that the legs of bigger crickets could impact a baby as well as the fact that overfeeding could be lethal if not treated right (I have basically no access to an exotic vet anywhere near me to my knowledge, and the idea of needing to take my baby lizard to one days after I get him terrifies me) My anxiety only got worse when it dawned on my that Argyle hadn't even pooped yet. I got very nervous and stressed overnight.

That brings us to this morning, I found that some of the salad I had left out had been eaten, and Argyle still seemed healthy enough, when I turned on the light in the morning he made his way to perch on top of his aloe plant and seemed pretty chill. I went to work and quickly made my way home for my lunch break to check on him, lo and behold- he pooped! It was small and black, with a bit of white at the end. I didnt think to analyze it with any sort of stool guide because I had to make it back to work before my break was over, but I was relieved to see that. In addition, it seemed like he ate a bit more salad too. I decided I should feed him, but wasnt going to give him another big ass live cricket so I cracked open the canned ones. To my dismay they were all rather large too. I found some smaller bits, and gave them to him, pulling off pieces that I felt made them a bit too big. He ate two, and I removed the uneaten parts from the tank before going back to work.

When I got home, he seemed fine still (though he hadn't pooped), so I offered him some more canned ones, this time being very cautious, I even split the crickets in half entirely, he was only interested in eating one. After that, he seems to have decided to retire into his hide. He's still in there as I write this (less than an hour)

His pooping made me feel a bit better but Im still super paranoid about the size of the crickets that I fed him. They feel like they're way too big, for the canned ones, if I should be feed them at all, is it okay for me to split them into smaller pieces and feed them to him like that? Also, many guides Im looking at suggest that he could possibly eat 30 crickets a DAY. That seems insane to me, how would all that even fit in his body? Even if they are small.

I guess Im looking for some advice and consolation on all this. I'm really very nervous about the whole situation and Id like to be reassured on whether or not I am damaging this poor creature in any way.

Thanks.

 

[Moogs]

Someone, please answer. If he is impacted, how will I be able to tell? How likely is it that he gets impacted by it, if he has pooped since, does it mean he wasnt impacted? and, if he does get impacted, is there anything I can do from home to treat it or is it fatal at his age?

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

The general rule of thumb is that if the piece of food, or cricket, can fit in the length between his eyes it's safe for him to eat.
You would know if he is impacted if he doesn't mess for more than 3 days. If you want you can put him in a WARM, not hot, water bath, that will help him poop. Hope this helps!

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

Also, what is his length?

 

[Silver dragons]

Hi all, I finally got my bearded dragon after almost a year of wanting one. I got the ZooMed (20 gallon?) bearded dragon starter set over the weekend which included: The tank, a double lamp fixture with bulbs for nighttime and daytime heat, the UVA light fixture and bulb, repticalcium, some dry food supplement, food and water dishes, Vita Sand substrate (Which I did not use) and a thermometer. I set up his tank with everything included, except I swapped out the loose sand substrate they provided with the Exo Terra Sand Mat, and included a hide, a branch, two nice basking rocks and an aloe plant.

I picked up my baby Beardie, Argyle, from the pet store on Tuesday afternoon. The pet store owner suggested I buy 12 crickets to start with. I did. He gave me some relatively small crickets.
So, on his first afternoon in the tank, he happily ate the crickets I offered him, and, as most guides online I saw for babies suggested I serve him as many as he was willing to eat in 10 minutes, multiple times a day, he ended up eating approximately 6 crickets, I also let one loose in my room on accident.

The next day, I woke up and turned on his light, offered him some salad (which he ate some of) and then went to work. At lunch, I returned home (I live close) and offered him some crickets, but I didn't have the time to feed them all one at a time, so I simply put 4 crickets in the tank and allowed him to go for them and then returned to work.
When I got home, I realized I was going to need more crickets so I went to a different pet store than the one I purchased him at (closer to me), and bought both a set of 24 "live" crickets, and a small can of exo terra crickets. I quickly noticed that a large amount of the "live" crickets were anything but, in fact, there was only a few larger crickets alive at all from what I could tell.

When I got home, I decided to offer him some, and gave him one of the live ones. As I fed it to him, I realized the size of the cricket I just gave him was *much* bigger than I had realized. He ate it, and seemed to chew it well, and then had another cricket before it seems he lost his appetite. A few hours later, I began getting paranoid and worried. I started looking at details about overfeeding and cricket size and learned of the "bigger than the space between its eyes" rule, and also that the legs of bigger crickets could impact a baby as well as the fact that overfeeding could be lethal if not treated right (I have basically no access to an exotic vet anywhere near me to my knowledge, and the idea of needing to take my baby lizard to one days after I get him terrifies me) My anxiety only got worse when it dawned on my that Argyle hadn't even pooped yet. I got very nervous and stressed overnight.

That brings us to this morning, I found that some of the salad I had left out had been eaten, and Argyle still seemed healthy enough, when I turned on the light in the morning he made his way to perch on top of his aloe plant and seemed pretty chill. I went to work and quickly made my way home for my lunch break to check on him, lo and behold- he pooped! It was small and black, with a bit of white at the end. I didnt think to analyze it with any sort of stool guide because I had to make it back to work before my break was over, but I was relieved to see that. In addition, it seemed like he ate a bit more salad too. I decided I should feed him, but wasnt going to give him another big ass live cricket so I cracked open the canned ones. To my dismay they were all rather large too. I found some smaller bits, and gave them to him, pulling off pieces that I felt made them a bit too big. He ate two, and I removed the uneaten parts from the tank before going back to work.

When I got home, he seemed fine still (though he hadn't pooped), so I offered him some more canned ones, this time being very cautious, I even split the crickets in half entirely, he was only interested in eating one. After that, he seems to have decided to retire into his hide. He's still in there as I write this (less than an hour)

His pooping made me feel a bit better but Im still super paranoid about the size of the crickets that I fed him. They feel like they're way too big, for the canned ones, if I should be feed them at all, is it okay for me to split them into smaller pieces and feed them to him like that? Also, many guides Im looking at suggest that he could possibly eat 30 crickets a DAY. That seems insane to me, how would all that even fit in his body? Even if they are small.

I guess Im looking for some advice and consolation on all this. I'm really very nervous about the whole situation and Id like to be reassured on whether or not I am damaging this poor creature in any way.

Thanks.

Hello, I would just try to feed him small crickets, if he only ate one large cricket he shouldn't be impacted. If he is though you can give him a warm bath and that should help. With canned crickets most the time juveniles won't eat them and they don't have as much nutrition in them so I would not feed them until he is a sub adult or adult. Also you said that you bought a kit which a lot of the times doesn't have the correct UVB which can cause MBD so I would highly suggest getting a reptisun T5 bulb for UVB.

 

[Moogs]

Im pretty sure he ate at least two that were too big for him. Im really scared. Hes a month and a half old and is about 5 maybe 6 inches long? Im not sure.

 

[Moogs]

Hello, I would just try to feed him small crickets, if he only ate one large cricket he shouldn't be impacted. If he is though you can give him a warm bath and that should help. With canned crickets most the time juveniles won't eat them and they don't have as much nutrition in them so I would not feed them until he is a sub adult or adult. Also you said that you bought a kit which a lot of the times doesn't have the correct UVB which can cause MBD so I would highly suggest getting a reptisun T5 bulb for UVB.

He seemed to enjoy the canned cricket enough, but like I said, they seem big as well.
I have is a Reptisun 5.0 UVB Tropical, how long can I use that for until I have time to replace it with a desert one? I dont exactly have infinite funds for this.
The heat bulbs are a Nocturnal Infrared Heat Lamp from ZooMed and the Repti Basking Spot Lamp both 100w.

 

[Moogs]

Should I continue feeding the canned crickets (broken into smaller pieces) for now until I can get my hands on some smaller live ones? Ill try and go to a different store tommorow but So far today hes only eaten a total of 3 crickets and some salad. Should I try to feed him again later?

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

Should I continue feeding the canned crickets (broken into smaller pieces) for now until I can get my hands on some smaller live ones? Ill try and go to a different store tommorow but So far today hes only eaten a total of 3 crickets and some salad. Should I try to feed him again later?

I would feed him the smaller pieces if he'll eat them. You don't want to give him any more large ones. Where he's not willing to eat much each feeding you could try feeding like every 3-4 hours. That gives him enough time to bask and digest before next feeding, but may maintain his daily intake a bit better. I would recommended not feeding him anything at least 2 hours before lights out, though. I'd get small ones as soon as you can. Don't freak out if he doesn't seem to be eating mass quantities before you can get more that are better suited to him. From what I understand Beardies can go days without food. It's not healthy for them especially when young and need all the protein they can get, but going a tad bit hungry for a day or so is better than becoming impacted and sick because crickets are too large. That's my opinion if I were in that situation. Experts may warn you otherwise. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[Moogs]

Thanks

I would feed him the smaller pieces if he'll eat them. You don't want to give him any more large ones. Where he's not willing to eat much each feeding you could try feeding like every 3-4 hours. That gives him enough time to bask and digest before next feeding, but may maintain his daily intake a bit better. I would recommended not feeding him anything at least 2 hours before lights out, though. I'd get small ones as soon as you can. Don't freak out if he doesn't seem to be eating mass quantities before you can get more that are better suited to him. From what I understand Beardies can go days without food. It's not healthy for them especially when young and need all the protein they can get, but going a tad bit hungry for a day or so is better than becoming impacted and sick because crickets are too large. That's my opinion if I were in that situation. Experts may warn you otherwise. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Thanks for replying nicely, I appreciate it. I went to the same pet store I got my first crickets at today, and got a bag of 50 SMALL CRICKETS. He seems healthy as of right now. He is currently sleeping. He pooped 3 times since eating the large crickets and he has also eaten a few SMALL pieces of the canned cricket when I had nothing else. He lost interest in those but has also consumed some salad.
I'm still super paranoid I did damage with those larger crickets but all I can do is have faith that he digested it well. He still isn't comfortable with me picking him up so I don't want to traumatize him attempting to bathe him. I have noticed that he has gone up to the bowl and dipped his toes in, but in general I don't think he's drank.

I have seen advice suggesting not put a water bowl in a tank because of the humidity. I think I will take it out, but if I do how soon can I go without bathing him?

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

You could probably go 1 week to 1 1/2 weeks before bathing him. But I wouldn't risk anymore than that.

 

[Bostonfinest]

Hi all, I finally got my bearded dragon after almost a year of wanting one. I got the ZooMed (20 gallon?) bearded dragon starter set over the weekend which included: The tank, a double lamp fixture with bulbs for nighttime and daytime heat, the UVA light fixture and bulb, repticalcium, some dry food supplement, food and water dishes, Vita Sand substrate (Which I did not use) and a thermometer. I set up his tank with everything included, except I swapped out the loose sand substrate they provided with the Exo Terra Sand Mat, and included a hide, a branch, two nice basking rocks and an aloe plant.

I picked up my baby Beardie, Argyle, from the pet store on Tuesday afternoon. The pet store owner suggested I buy 12 crickets to start with. I did. He gave me some relatively small crickets.
So, on his first afternoon in the tank, he happily ate the crickets I offered him, and, as most guides online I saw for babies suggested I serve him as many as he was willing to eat in 10 minutes, multiple times a day, he ended up eating approximately 6 crickets, I also let one loose in my room on accident.

The next day, I woke up and turned on his light, offered him some salad (which he ate some of) and then went to work. At lunch, I returned home (I live close) and offered him some crickets, but I didn't have the time to feed them all one at a time, so I simply put 4 crickets in the tank and allowed him to go for them and then returned to work.
When I got home, I realized I was going to need more crickets so I went to a different pet store than the one I purchased him at (closer to me), and bought both a set of 24 "live" crickets, and a small can of exo terra crickets. I quickly noticed that a large amount of the "live" crickets were anything but, in fact, there was only a few larger crickets alive at all from what I could tell.

When I got home, I decided to offer him some, and gave him one of the live ones. As I fed it to him, I realized the size of the cricket I just gave him was *much* bigger than I had realized. He ate it, and seemed to chew it well, and then had another cricket before it seems he lost his appetite. A few hours later, I began getting paranoid and worried. I started looking at details about overfeeding and cricket size and learned of the "bigger than the space between its eyes" rule, and also that the legs of bigger crickets could impact a baby as well as the fact that overfeeding could be lethal if not treated right (I have basically no access to an exotic vet anywhere near me to my knowledge, and the idea of needing to take my baby lizard to one days after I get him terrifies me) My anxiety only got worse when it dawned on my that Argyle hadn't even pooped yet. I got very nervous and stressed overnight.

That brings us to this morning, I found that some of the salad I had left out had been eaten, and Argyle still seemed healthy enough, when I turned on the light in the morning he made his way to perch on top of his aloe plant and seemed pretty chill. I went to work and quickly made my way home for my lunch break to check on him, lo and behold- he pooped! It was small and black, with a bit of white at the end. I didnt think to analyze it with any sort of stool guide because I had to make it back to work before my break was over, but I was relieved to see that. In addition, it seemed like he ate a bit more salad too. I decided I should feed him, but wasnt going to give him another big ass live cricket so I cracked open the canned ones. To my dismay they were all rather large too. I found some smaller bits, and gave them to him, pulling off pieces that I felt made them a bit too big. He ate two, and I removed the uneaten parts from the tank before going back to work.

When I got home, he seemed fine still (though he hadn't pooped), so I offered him some more canned ones, this time being very cautious, I even split the crickets in half entirely, he was only interested in eating one. After that, he seems to have decided to retire into his hide. He's still in there as I write this (less than an hour)

His pooping made me feel a bit better but Im still super paranoid about the size of the crickets that I fed him. They feel like they're way too big, for the canned ones, if I should be feed them at all, is it okay for me to split them into smaller pieces and feed them to him like that? Also, many guides Im looking at suggest that he could possibly eat 30 crickets a DAY. That seems insane to me, how would all that even fit in his body? Even if they are small.

I guess Im looking for some advice and consolation on all this. I'm really very nervous about the whole situation and Id like to be reassured on whether or not I am damaging this poor creature in any way.

Thanks.

I would soak him in warm water twice a day with some tummy massages because bearded dragons love to poop in water. I want to know more about the husbandry and heat, do you have t coil UVB light or is it a tube light (T5 or T8) what is the basking temperature. Bearded Dragons don’t need a night light, I would recommend getting a couple of digital thermometer, a heat gun and a automatic light timer. Also a table spoon of canned corn can help with impaction as well

 

[Bostonfinest]

I would also look into Dubia roaches an BSFL they have more nutrition than crickets and with BSFL you don’t have to dust them calcium either because they already have calcium on them.. variety is the key

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

Thanks

Thanks for replying nicely, I appreciate it. I went to the same pet store I got my first crickets at today, and got a bag of 50 SMALL CRICKETS. He seems healthy as of right now. He is currently sleeping. He pooped 3 times since eating the large crickets and he has also eaten a few SMALL pieces of the canned cricket when I had nothing else. He lost interest in those but has also consumed some salad.
I'm still super paranoid I did damage with those larger crickets but all I can do is have faith that he digested it well. He still isn't comfortable with me picking him up so I don't want to traumatize him attempting to bathe him. I have noticed that he has gone up to the bowl and dipped his toes in, but in general I don't think he's drank.

I have seen advice suggesting not put a water bowl in a tank because of the humidity. I think I will take it out, but if I do how soon can I go without bathing him?

YW. If he's pooped since eating the large crickets you're all good, I think. It's impaction that you'd needed to worry about from the large ones. Pooing is good. He should be all set with the small ones. To keep him hydrated try giving him a bit of warm water from a dropper. Most times they only need a bit of additional water as they get their intake from the hydrated, gut-loaded bugs from what I understand. I still give my baby a bit of water from a dropper anyway. He moves away from the dropper when he's had enough. Also, if you're not ready to give him a bath yet, you could try misting him with warm water once or twice a day. He'll lick up the droplets. I have to take Dexter out of his tank to mist him as we have high humidity here, but he seems to enjoy misting more than his baths. lol

I was keeping a water bowl in his tank off and on for a bit during the day, but he doesn't drink from it. I've since removed it completely. He doesn't use it and it adds to the humidity in his tank. I use it now to put his bugs in. Glad to hear your beardie is doing better.

 

[Amy Moran]

My experience is that crickets are pretty digestible, there's not a lot to them. I had a beardie die of impaction from sand, he was very ill and it was a horrible suffering death so never use sand and you should be good to go. And by the way, it was the calci-sand that's supposed to be easy for them to digest, so don't be fooled. Sounds like your little guy is back on track, when in doubt, give him a warm bath.

 

[Beardielove363]

When our dragon gets bound up he prefers to take a warm bath and that kind of help them get it out and the size of the cricket probably bound him up

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

If the cricket can fit in between the bearded dragon's eyes, then it will be the right size.

 

[Julee1971]

Someone, please answer. If he is impacted, how will I be able to tell? How likely is it that he gets impacted by it, if he has pooped since, does it mean he wasnt impacted? and, if he does get impacted, is there anything I can do from home to treat it or is it fatal at his age?

Hi Congrats on your new Beardie. We rescue and rehome so here is some guidance. Babies need to have proteins 4-5 times a day to have strong bones; feed like 20 crickets per feeding in 10min increments & the crickets need to be dusted in REPCAL calcium powder ONCE per day 4-5 times per week & do Herptivite vitamin powder once per day on a non-calcium day. As the beardie gets older I can sprinkle the calcium 3 times per week and after a year Old do it twice per week & always the Herptivite once per week forever; that’s their vitamin. Sprinkle it like salt on fries. I place crickets in a big ziplock and sprinkle the calcium and shake it up then feed to the Beardie. When he gets to be 3 months of age or so go down to 4times per day and at 6mnths do the proteins 3 times a day. At 9mnths go to 2 times per day and at 1 year of age u can feed large ones about 15 or so every other day & after 1.5 years proteins twice per week and always the plate of greens/veggies. Since he is a baby, feed small crickets (20 or so) every 2-3 hours & keep the same feeding times. Crickets cannot be bigger than the space between his eyes when he turns 3-4 months old u can do mediums and at 9mnths of age feed large crickets. Never Ever feed jarred or canned food or meal worms; this impacts them & destroys there tummy. Only feed live fresh crickets and Dubia roaches are excellent too. When he turns 9mnths old u can do super worms those are very good but high in fat so like 5 per day once a week. U are doing great with the veggies; u feed the plate of veggies for life so they can munch on it all day & place it on the cold side always when it gets wilted switch it out for a fresh plate and u can spray it with water. Beardie needs to bask for 2 hours before u feed him so don’t feed him the proteins rite when he wakes up, u can place the veggie plate but he won’t eat it till he’s got his body warmed up. Also, the last feeding shouldn’t be too late he needs to be under the light for 2 hours to digest the food that’s how long it takes. Best veggies are: mustard greens, collard greens, kale, yellow squash, butter nut squash, endives and some red bell pepper. Dice it all up teeny for his size & as he grows they can be cut up a bit bigger. Do 2-3 kinds everyday and introduce all to him so he won’t grow up a fussy eater. Yellow squash has lots of calcium. Mist him with dechlorinted water a few times a day and baths twice per week in lukewarm dechlorinated water buy REPTISAFE to remove the chlorine. Don’t get water in his ears and make sure the water level is way below his neck. Play meditation music and u can use a soft tooth brush to brush him downward lightly. When he starts shedding do more baths but don’t brush him let the skin fall off in its own; sometimes u will need to help remove the skin that’s peeling around eyes/ears and nose by wetting the skin with the spray bottle & u can carefully help remove some but be super super careful. Buy a “40” gallon tank at 3-4mnths of age and a bigger one at 9mnths of age otherwise they will be stressed and it will stunt their growth being in a small enclosure. Lastly & Most importantly; the already set up cages from petco or Petsmart are horrible u need a digital thermometer and a digital hygrometer & the correct lights. The temp for a baby should be 100-105 & when he turns 8mnths or so it needs to be 95-97 they don’t like it to hot as they got older but minimum 95-97. Humidity should be between 30-40 never ever over 40 or they can get an URInfection. Lights: Beardies need Heat & UVB to survive; NO Exceptions. The light for Heat u should get is the CLEAR zoomed basking bulb; clear like the sun. Never ever use colored or coiled bulbs. For UVB the Best one is the Reptisun 10.0 T5 it’s a long tubular bulb & can be ordered on Amazon or at a specialty pet store. Also, remember all UVB lights need replacing religiously every “6” months or your beardie will have no energy, brittle bones, unable to walk, unable to absorb Vitamin D and eventually he will get MBDisease. The length u order should cover 70 percent of the tank and be placed starting at the hot side so when he basks he gets his UVB. Also get him a cave hidaway basking platform so when he wants to get away from the uvb he can hide & a hammock behind his basking spot they love it. Lights: UVB & Heat should be on for 10-12 hours in the winter & in the summer 12-14; they have more energy in the summer. At night pure dark; NO lights on ever & remove all food dishes, food scraps, crickets and water dishes otherwise they can get parasites or an URInfection. Keep the tank clean, they love clean & can get coccidia from unsanitary enclosures. I use soft white terry clothes or paper towels. Also get a fleece comfy blanket so he has a soft place to sleep and u can get teeny pillows. Other than that u are set!! Attached are pics of my enclosure & the calcium/vitamin to buy & the UVB light as well.