# Question - Crickets or Hoppers?



## BabyBeardy (Jun 10, 2012)

Hi fellow lizardites (is that a word?) :gasp:

We've had our 12 week old Bearded Dragon for 4 days now. He/she has settled in very well. He (for the purposes of the forum, I'll use 'he' for now) eats like a little piggy. We've been feeding him 3rd hoppers as that's what we were told he'd been fed on. I went today to get more supplies and they didn't have 3rds but I managed to find some small 4ths but we were told he'd also been given crickets. (we didn't know this originally) so I bought a tub of crickets too. You get far mor crickets for your money than hoppers!!! 

So my question is, what ratio of crickets to hoppers should I give him? more crickets than hoppers? crickets 2 meals a day and 1 meal of hoppers? 

He always has fresh rocket although today he's had spinach. And I've also given him grated mango for the last two days. Today he actually ate some mango.. which pleased me to see. I've not given anything other than that at the moment because I don't want to give too much variety while he's still settling in.

What advice can you give me about the crickets and hoppers ratio? 

Thanks :2thumb:

Ann-Marie

oh, btw... Our beardy belongs to my 6 yr old daughter with hubby to help and guide her. I said I was having nothing to do with it as I clean poop up and feed too many other mouths already... but the flippin' beardy has nuzzled it's way into my affections already!! lol


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## switchback (Nov 25, 2011)

Its good for them to have a varied diet...Keeps them guessing and will encourage them to hunt..I personally hate crickets,and rarley use them also the cant be left in the viv overnight as they may nibble at your little chap. He could also have a little dish of mealworms and when hes bigger morio worms and roaches.
Just gut load what ever you are feeding him and dust them appropriatly and he will be happy .

*edit* on the forums hoppers have more protein content than crickets apparently.


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## Manic Marley (Apr 21, 2012)

Small roaches are are also very good as very meaty, my 13 week beardie can't get enough of them. He also loves calci worms and they don't need dusting. I hate crickets also as they do tend to escape and you have to hunt them out before lights out as they do nibble at them


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## ConnorTrussell (Apr 5, 2012)

If you can deal with the smell the crix start to produce after a while then go with them, hoppers do start to get a bit expensive but some people prefer them:2thumb:


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## BabyBeardy (Jun 10, 2012)

Thanks for the advice.

Well, he loves hoppers and would be a pig with them if allowed. This morning hubby gave him some crickets. At lunch time they were all still there :gasp: normally the hoppers go in, he eats them straight away, no messing. so for crickets to still be there was surprising. I saw him actually eat one around 4pm but we had to take the rest out. He ate some rocket and grated mango (he likes the mango) this afternoon but... I don't think he's fussed on the crickets, or he hasn't learnt to hunt them yet.

Hoppers he loves.. I think I'll try him on some calci worms next.

How often should I introduce new foodstuff to him? I don't want to overload him with new stuff, but i don't want him to get used to one particular thing as a favourite.

Ann-Marie


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## ConnorTrussell (Apr 5, 2012)

BabyBeardy said:


> Thanks for the advice.
> 
> Well, he loves hoppers and would be a pig with them if allowed. This morning hubby gave him some crickets. At lunch time they were all still there :gasp: normally the hoppers go in, he eats them straight away, no messing. so for crickets to still be there was surprising. I saw him actually eat one around 4pm but we had to take the rest out. He ate some rocket and grated mango (he likes the mango) this afternoon but... I don't think he's fussed on the crickets, or he hasn't learnt to hunt them yet.
> 
> ...


Crix can be suprisingly hard to catch for a young dragon, and new stuff, it would be great if you could do it all the time (not possible I know) but variety is great rather than 1 thing you should also try looking up dubia roaches, too what I believe they're better than crix and hoppers/locusts, and breed like crazy if you let them (free live food)


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

Crix are a big pain the butt. They escape, Gary skids all over his lino and shoots them across the vivarium when he misses.
Some reptiles get intimidated by them as well as they jump about a lot more than hoppers and indeed hoppers are more expensive but better for your reptile.

Mealworms are another alternative as well. (sorry for the shorter post one of kids in throwing a temper tantrum)


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## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

I'm all about the roaches !!! More meat then shell better then crickets, locusts etc....:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Alasse12 (Jul 29, 2011)

I'd say the more variety, the better. You hear different opinions, but apparently brown crickets are nutritionally the best. I give my beardies most insects - I buy bulk orders of crickets and locust and I breed my own cockroaches for them to eat. I'll also chuck in any beetles, moths and spiders (not an insect, I know!) I find around the house, as well as the odd chick leg when I'm feeding the snakes - all good meals for the lizards! 

You might want to watch his spinach intake - spinach is quite high in oxalates and goitrogens which can cause problems when the beardie comes to metabolising the calcium. Sounds like you're doing the right thing by offering a lot of variety; dandelion leaves/flowers and hawkbit leaves are a good (free) source of food for beardies, too. Personally, I'd only give fruits like mango as an occasional treat as the sugars can upset the guts of the lizard. Best veg types are dark leafy greens; chicory, watercress, salad cress, bit of cabbage/kale maybe once/twice a week, also squash... I offer banana, satsumas, apple on occasion too. You could also try offering him a pinkie mouse when he gets a bit bigger. Again, these should be given as a treat (I'd say no more than one per month max.) but if you get him taking mice when he's young, it'll be easier than trying to get him to take them when he's mature. Beardies take a lot more insects when they're young in contrast to adults that need more veg matter instead of livefood. But livefoods are crucial to the development of a young beardie. If you're dusting them or gut-loading them, you'll probably be fine. 

The thing not to do is panic if he doesn't eat the insects or veg straight away. They have off-days and I'd imagine that they don't eat every, single day in the wild, so don't worry too much if he doesn't eat everything you give him, every time. 

Hope this helps, best of luck with him/her :2thumb:


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## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

BabyBeardy said:


> Hi fellow lizardites (is that a word?) :gasp:
> 
> We've had our 12 week old Bearded Dragon for 4 days now. He/she has settled in very well. He (for the purposes of the forum, I'll use 'he' for now) eats like a little piggy. We've been feeding him 3rd hoppers as that's what we were told he'd been fed on. I went today to get more supplies and they didn't have 3rds but I managed to find some small 4ths but we were told he'd also been given crickets. (we didn't know this originally) so I bought a tub of crickets too. You get far mor crickets for your money than hoppers!!!
> 
> ...


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## Manic Marley (Apr 21, 2012)

There's a guy on here who sells roaches and the service is good. I ordered some last week and mine pigged the whole lot in 2 days.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/food-classifieds/854921-dubia-roach.html#post10153305


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## BabyBeardy (Jun 10, 2012)

Thanks folks. It has been named Sonic (cos he's spikey and very fast according to 6yr old). From what you're all saying, we're doing pretty much the right thing. He's had some sweet potato and generally rocket. Are spring greens ok? I read somewhere to be careful with cabbage. 

6 yr old is preparing his veggies for him when she gets home from school and will also give him a stroke or get him out to play for a while. She adores him.... way better than kittens or puppies lol



Manic Marley said:


> There's a guy on here who sells roaches and the service is good. I ordered some last week and mine pigged the whole lot in 2 days.
> 
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/food-classifieds/854921-dubia-roach.html#post10153305


Thanks for the link. I need to order some bugs and I think online in bulk is the way to go. I still can't deal with the bugs myself... ewww, makes my skin shiver lol... but hubby puts his lunchtime hoppers in a container that's easy for me to just empty into the viv.. so I can manage that ok. The thought of roaches is a bit gross, but if he likes them as a change, then I guess I'll have to get used to them too. 

How long to the calci worms stay as worms? or do they not hatch into flies? 

Thanks again for the help :2thumb:


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## Manic Marley (Apr 21, 2012)

The roaches aren't as bad as you think as they stay in the egg carton so you just bang the carton into a tub/beaker for dustin and then empty that in and they are pretty slow and can't climb smooth surfaces so I use a Pyrex dish in his viv so they can't get out of that. The calci worms stay as worms for ages, you know when they are ready to become flies as they go black so feed them first.


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## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

Exo terra do tweezers if you don't like to touch, roaches are better if they escape as they need higher then the average house temp to breed :2thumb:


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## LucyG (Apr 6, 2012)

The more variety of foods you give your beardie means he is getting a mixture of nutrients not just the same goodness from the same food. The best diet would be to rotate his food, give him a mixture of chopped fruit and veg each day (not too much spinach as its high in Iron and not too good for their diet and deffinately not cabbage or iceberg lettice as their body finds this very hard too digest), then I would rotate giving hoppers one day, mealworms the next and crickets the next, then over again, it creates a steady and healthy diet and will always give your beardie something new to be excited over, hope this helps (oh and if its a young beardie I would give them around 15 bugs a day as they have a lot of growing to do, doesnt really matter which bugs your using, and wax worms can be used as a treat but if given to much they can be very fatty, so maybe once a week max).


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