# Grasshoppers for my new Dragon?



## Andy2479 (Nov 19, 2009)

Hello all,
Today I got my 4 month old (approx) bearded dragon, newly named 'Boris'.

I got him from Pets At Home, I know they dont get the best press on the site, but I must say the member of staff was very helpful and obviously loves reptiles, he made sure I knew what I was taking on and was pleased to see I had done plenty of bearded dragon research. I had a weekend to think about it, time to see if I could fully commit to keeping one.

Back to my question, is it ok to feed Boris grasshoppers, rather then crickets as staple insect food, I will be feeding crickets, but would prefer to feed hoppers as his main live food.

Any potential problems in this, and is it imperative that nothing bigger than the distance between his eyes is given to him?

Thanks in advance,

Andy


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Andy2479 said:


> Hello all,
> Today I got my 4 month old (approx) bearded dragon, newly named 'Boris'.
> 
> I got him from Pets At Home, I know they dont get the best press on the site, but I must say the member of staff was very helpful and obviously loves reptiles, he made sure I knew what I was taking on and was pleased to see I had done plenty of bearded dragon research. I had a weekend to think about it, time to see if I could fully commit to keeping one.
> ...


Feeding items bigger than the distance betwen his eyes can cause him problems, so I wouldn't personally.

Grasshoppers which have been gutloaded would be fine, but where are you going to get them from?


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## Andy2479 (Nov 19, 2009)

Getting them mail order or from my local shop, will keep me fit biking down there to get them!

Can Dragons not digest larger food items at a young age? I've always been fascinated watching nature shows on TV and the insects lizards take on whilst feeding.

Got my 1st lizard same year I turned the Big 4-0!


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Andy2479 said:


> Getting them mail order or from my local shop, will keep me fit biking down there to get them!
> 
> Can Dragons not digest larger food items at a young age? I've always been fascinated watching nature shows on TV and the insects lizards take on whilst feeding.
> 
> Got my 1st lizard same year I turned the Big 4-0!


You are quite right, and in the wild lizards will take whatever presents itself even if it is a bit larger than the norm. I think the problem is risk of impaction/digestion problems with larger food items.

I've never seen grasshoppers on offer before. Are you sure they're not locusts?


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## Andy2479 (Nov 19, 2009)

You're right, they are!! I got a tub when I fetched him home, they are around 2-3cm in length, just gave him one to see if he has settled and he wolfed it down!

Would you recommend crickets as staple food rather than locusts ( I am dusting with calci dust by the way).

Cheers,
Andy


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## callum gohrisch (Jan 8, 2009)

it will love it go for it as long as the gap isnt to big that will cause issues : victory:


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Andy2479 said:


> You're right, they are!! I got a tub when I fetched him home, they are around 2-3cm in length, just gave him one to see if he has settled and he wolfed it down!
> 
> Would you recommend crickets as staple food rather than locusts ( I am dusting with calci dust by the way).
> 
> ...


Many people seem to feed locusts, as they don't like handling the crickets. The important thing is to make sure that the insects you feed are properly gutloaded. With locusts, this means feeding them lots of fresh greens.


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## Andy2479 (Nov 19, 2009)

Cheers for the tips, I take it it's not the eating of the insect that causes problems but the digestion?

Back at work tomorrow, so making sure he's happy today. Already chopped his greens up for feeding this week!

He's just clinging to the back wall decor at the moment, seems happy enough:mf_dribble:


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Andy2479 said:


> Cheers for the tips, I take it it's not the eating of the insect that causes problems but the digestion?
> 
> Back at work tomorrow, so making sure he's happy today. Already chopped his greens up for feeding this week!
> 
> He's just clinging to the back wall decor at the moment, seems happy enough:mf_dribble:


If you look on you tube, there are videos of peoples (stupid people IMO) feeding huge things to small lizards, and the lizards manage to get them down. Whether they'd manage to digest them easily is a different matter.

Personally, I wouldn't risk feeding items which are too big, but I'm sure some people get away with it! : victory:


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Andy2479 said:


> Would you recommend crickets as staple food rather than locusts ( I am dusting with calci dust by the way).
> 
> Cheers,
> Andy


that depends how deep your pockets are, you can buy crickets fairly cheap in bulk but locusts are quite expensive. If you feed on a staple of crickets and then throw in the occasional locust then it's all good, but quite often if you're feeding on a staple of locusts and try throwing some crickets in, the crics will get ignored.


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Meko said:


> that depends how deep your pockets are, you can buy crickets fairly cheap in bulk but locusts are quite expensive. If you feed on a staple of crickets and then throw in the occasional locust then it's all good, but quite often if you're feeding on a staple of locusts and try throwing some crickets in, the crics will get ignored.


 
That is a point Meko. Locusts are much more expensive than crix usually.

Depends what you want to do.


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