ok I received my 8" Bearded Dragon yesterday and so for so good just a few things I would like to note. i have fed my dragon about 5 crickets a session. he hasn't touched his greens yet. he seems to bite the crickets but doesn't give them the blow that'll put them away. like he snaps at them but doesn't completely get them. this morning a fed 4 and he ate them. still hasn't touched the greens. pm when I get home from work I feed about 5 and go to dinner. i get back and 3 of the 4 crickets have been regurgitated on his heat rock. another question I have is whether or not he needs the greens if fed crickets regularly?

Ok, few. Here it goes.

How big of crickets are you feedng your beardy. Little Bearded Dragons such as your should be fed quite small crickets and usually eat up to atleast 30 a day. My baby eats 60-130 a day and alil of his greens. Which I swtch on and off so he will eat his greens alil more. But the crickets may be to big for him to chew and take down with out alot of work involved in the catch. Also a too large cricket can cause problems like impacton, parlysis, full paralysis, death, ect... So n conclusion the legnth of the cricket should be no larger than in between your Bearded Dragon's eyes.


The heat rock is always a no-NO for reptiles of any sort. If I may also add that they are even more dangerous to a bearded dragon because bearded dragons to not sense any heat from their stomaches and for that they can easily be burned without hardly noticing at all. Bearded dragons must have a basking spot of atleast 105-110 by a overhead bulb.


Bearded dragons should be fed ther veggies if you want them to be healthy. If you only feed a bearded dragon crickets it could lead to a large number of dangerous problems.


I am sorry if I offend you by my typing because I assure you I don't mean anything except for your beardes well being. I also apolgize if you made a typo and meant to say 18 inches instead of 8. That heat rock just needs to go though. They do no good n the long run.

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The more you whine, the worse it will get.

I agree with everything that Moldy has advised. Have you checked out the care sheet for further advice and information? -Bearded Dragon care sheet

One other thing - don't worry if your dragon won't eat too much at first, he is still settling in to his new environment. In a couple of weeks he should be gobbling his food down without a problem. Similarly they are more likely to eat their live food than their greens at first (even now our adults don't eat vast amounts of fruit and veg), just keep offering him them and he will learn that it is food. One trick you could try is to put in veg in the AM and offer live food in the PM. Also, what supplements are you using and how often?

Good luck with your new dragon.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Congrats on your new Bearded Dragon, heres a little tip from some of the members I got when I first started out with my Bearded Dragons,

Offer greens in the morning, and spray a little water on them, and offer crickets late afternoon, cause I was givivng him his crickets he wouldnt touch the greens, but he soon learned it was veg in the morning and crix in the afternoon, and after a while I would place his greens, spray them, then he would run up and munch the lot

Hope he does well for you, good luck

yea im not using a heat rock. its a rock I have setup with an overhead bulb to heat it up. i think they crickets are too big actually. i just ordered 1000 3.8" crickets. should that be big enough for an 8" Bearded Dragon. yes he's small. ill offer him veggies in the morning then thanks! i have been dusting my crickets with rep-cal at every feeding. and have offered a bowl for veggies but to no avail.

im also thinking it may not be hot enough so im gonna buy one of reptileuv's all in one bulbs and then have a 60w heat emmiting bulb on the other side of the tank just to keep temps 80 one side 110 the other.

one more thing in a 55g tank will I need the 160-wt Flood Lamp or the 100-wt Flood Lamp? what kind of heat emmiter do you recommend for the other side. these bulbs are getting pricey.

I use a Under Tank Heater, a 60watt repti bulb which emits UVA, and a UVB tube lighting, im not really sure what 55 gal dimensions are, what is the size in inches.

im really not sure but im gonna buy the 100w one they sell. and then buy a 60w heat lamp for the other end.

wow MP how do you afford all of those crickets for your bd to eat per day? i know I cant