# Alternative to LIVE Crickets?



## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

I know everyone says a bearded dragon must only eat live crickets and wont accept dead. I met some guy who buys dead crickets that pet smart sells that are gut loaded and dusted with calcium. Anyways he takes the dead cricket puts it on a tweezer and waves it around the beardie and the dragon eats it. I seen this done in person because I went there to see the dragon because I was going to buy it. My question is can other cricket eating reptiles be trained to do this? Wouldn't this be better than having to deal with noisy cricket that can become lose and such?

thanks


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

And why dont people just feed the commercial bearded dragon diets like this one :

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750661

It says this on the can too:

# No need to maintain feeder insect colony thereby reducing the risk of introducing pathogens which could negatively affect the health of your animal.
# Formulated with an optimal calcium/phosphorous ratio to help prevent Metabolic Bone Disease.
# Provides 100% of daily nutritional requirements


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## hustlur (Apr 28, 2004)

You can also start him on a mix diet of vegetables and mealworms. Just make sure not to over feed him with mealworms, because if they don't eat them they turn to beetles. I use to feed mine with pinkys once in a while. Try mixing it up. Roaches are a good diet also. You can purchase feeder roaches in the internet.

Hustlur



speakyourmind said:


> And why dont people just feed the commercial bearded dragon diets like this one :
> 
> http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750661
> 
> ...


Try not read into things. Do some research. Some of these alternatives are packed with unnecessary hormones and chemicals. Try looking for more organic alternatives.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

It would take forever to feed them if you have to trick them into eating every cricket.

And alot of those ready made diets are crap. They make claims that its all they need, but it certainly is not. I leave a bowl of dry dragon food in the incloser, but they hardly eat it, and I dont even consider it a large part of their diet.

I'm sure if they get hungry enough, they would eat just about anything, but that doesn't mean its a good life for them. I say, deal with live food, or get a different animal. My beardies are never as happy as they are when they are chasing down crickets. Even if you can substitute the food, they seem to need the chase for moral.


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

i think that giving crickets you have gut loaded and mixing your own salad of greens, veggies and fruits is cheaper and if you do it this way you know what your lizard is eating, you know its good for them, you can change it up so its not the same every day and if it doesnt like a particular food you can leave it out and try something new


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the answers, I'm crossing out the bearded dragon as a potential pet. Now I just have to do some research on something else, thinking about a corn snake or a blue tongued skink.


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

corn snakes are solid starters reptiles, it was my first snake


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## Snake_Eyes (Jun 14, 2006)

I don't keep insect eating reptiles but I do keep arachnids and such. Much like Sam Adams switching over to roaches is always a good decision.


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