New Owner with LOTS of questions!

"Gutload" is kind of a fancy name for cricket food, lol. It is called gutload because it "loads" the cricket's belly full of stuff that will provide extra nutrition for the animal who eats them as well....makes them much more nutritious for the dragon (or gecko, or whatever).

Those orange cubes are probably inteded to be their moisture source...those are fine, but much more expensive in the long run than simply giving them a piece of fruit, and I like the natural nutrients in the fruit as well.

When I go to get crickets out of my aquarium, I simply pick up a piece of the egg crate (I keep a few pieces of it in there, it provides hidey places for the crix as well as technically giving them more "floor space"), put my hand underneath, and tap it onto my hand....usually, most of the crix will be clinging to the underside of the egg crate, so I get a handfull each time I do that. If you don't like touching them (I used to be really creeped out, but got used to it, lol)....using the paper towel tubes will do the same general trick as the tubes I think you are using now.

Hello,

Cat, I think from what I have seen on fecal tests, that levels at or around 3+ or under are normally fine & do not disrupt their normal flora in the GI tract enough to affect their appetite & activity levels.
Technically, they do need a bit of bacteria in their gut just to aid in digestion. Once the levels begin to get above 3-4+ then it is time for treatment most of the times.
Gutloading is easy. I usually put together a healthy dry mix of wheat germ, oatmeal, dry baby cereal, nonfat dry milk, & bread crumbs. Then I use greens, apples, or potatoes for moisture. I feed our insects all of the time, so they are ready at anytime to feed to our babies!


Tracie

So, you are not talking about parasites, but bacteria levels then (?)....as there really is no "acceptable level" of parasites.

I've been feeding the crickets Fluker's Cricket feed - should I be feeding them more?

Hello,

The flukers cricket feed is fine then, no problems there.
Well, dragons are known to have coccidia & pinworms levels on small amounts in their system when a fecal is done & it does not disturb their health or appetite. It is when those levels get higher than a 3-4+ that is starts to affect their overall health.
Most vets will agree that those are acceptable levels for them as long as they are not negatively affecting the health of the animal. A good reptile vet should not treat if the counts are that low as it will greatly disrupt their appetites & gut flora.
I have not cultured their stomach bacteria or acid, so, as far as those levels go, I don't know those. I do know that they do have a good normal flora of bacteria similiar to what we restore them with when giving them probiotics, that help with digestion processes.

Tracie

Has anyone ever tried a feeding rock that lets the crickets get dusted and then releases them slowly?

Sorry, hit return and posted before I was finished asking another question. Do you guys feed hornworms? If so, is my Gizzard too little for these right now? I read about them a little and is it true they are more nutritious than silkworms or the other kind of worms?

Hello,

I have personally never tried a feeding rock/dish but alot of people have used them from what I have heard & they apparently work pretty well.
As far as the hornworms, I think he is too small for them. They get really big. I would stick with phoenix worms or silkworms for now, & the smaller crickets.
How is everything going?

Tracie

he seems to be doing very well and is a lively little thing. I worry so much that I'm not doing the proper care/feeding but I'm keeping his cage as well as the crickets cage clean and tidy, feeding all the things you guys have suggested, etc. So, I hope everything is okay. When he finished shedding, he is now a darker color with red lines on both sides of his cheeks. I've been trying to figure out what color he will be as the Pet store only said "baby bearded dragon". Is there a "standard" color that they are when they are grown? Is it the standard sand color that he is most likely to be?

I keep thinking that when Santa and I decided to get this dragon for my son for Xmas, I knew that I was even scared of crickets but went ahead and purchased everything hoping that my son would take care of him. I never thought in my WILDEST dreams that I would be the one that has gotten so close to this little lizard! I worry about him so, I am his primary caregiver (not because my son won't do it but because I beat him to it most of the time! LOL) and I have a shopping cart full of fruits and vegetables for ONE little lizard! Seriously, if I ever see a lizard while doing yard work, I freak out! No one told me that you can so attached to these little ones. I've yet to hold him but hopefully I'll get my nerve up soon.

I think I'll try to find long hemostats or long tweezer type things to see if I can get him to eat some of his fruits/veges for me as I don't think he has tried his "salad" yet but haven't watched him the whole time it is in his cage every day. Also, according to all you guys and all the excellent advice I've been given, if I would have done what the Pet store told me to do by feeding two crickets per day, the little fellow would be starving! He ate eight crickets in 10 minutes this morning! Is that normal?

We found that our beardies aren't into the salads as much as some evidentally, but put it out daily. You don't have to put a ton out at a time. Ours are both around a year old and many days hardly touch theirs.
The "normal" or standard colors range from sand to a dark sand with some brownish to it. Oranges, reds, yellows are the more "designer" colors you'd have to go to a breeder to find.
Have you looked yet to see where a reptile show is in your area? It would so much cheaper for you to get crickets there. Eventually... once he can eat big ones you can get a box of 500 or 1000 and it's much less expensive (a box of 1000 is like $20.00). We use a paper towel tube to get ours out of their tub and shake a few into a bowl with calcium/vitamin powder, and shake them up. We haven't tried the feeder dish you are talking about. We do put some in our hand, make a fist and then let them come out the hole our fist made and feed ours by hand. The boy loves that... he eats better that way then if we just put them in his cage.
Sounds like you are doing good with him and having fun!
Oh... about the acceptable parasite levels... our vet says normally BD will have coccidia to some degree at least. He's never seen one without it and he is a reptile vet that many breeders in our area use.