Commercial Food

Hi guys. I was wondering if anyone has heard of any studies done on the long-term results of feeding bearded dragons a diet mainly consisting of commercial foods (pellets). The only answers I seem to get are the typical, "well, I would not recommend it because.....uh, just because." Now I realize that natural foods - greens, veggies, insects, etc. contain many micro-nutrients that cannot easliy be re-created in a lab and put into a processed food - BUT - there are millions of dogs, cats, ferrets, and other animals that lead long, healthy lives on a commercial diet. So it seems totally feasible to me that a bearded dragon could live a healthy life on a man-made diet. I am not sure if any of the formulas available today would be right for optimal health. But, I would still like to hear from anyone who has actually used pellets as a main food source, and how your dragons seemed to fare on it - growth rates, health, weight, longevity, and what kind of pellets you used. I am playing with he idea of creating my own formula. I think that it would be awesome to develop a truly nutritious commerical food source for bearded dragons to replace the hassle of insects (I say this as a couple escaped crickets run by my feet, lol). I wonder if any nutrtional analysis has ever been done on the native Australian insects and plants that the beardies eat...So anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts, ideas, or experiences that anyone has to offer!

Jamie

You bring up a very interesting subject, Jamie. It should be interesting to see if anyone has the kind of information you are seeking.

Creating your own formula sounds like quite a challenge. I wish you the best of luck in your search for information and in your quest for "the perfect blend".

My guys turn up their noses at anything that does not move. Perhaps you could create a blend that pops and fizzles when water is misted onto it. My guys would have a field day with something like that.

Hmmmm, pops and fizzles? Lol, I like it! I guess I am pretty lucky with most of my beardies. They will eat pretty much anything that I put into their food bowl, although some will hesitate at first. The funniest thing is when I am feeding a group of babies a new food item. They will all wait and just stare at the food until one of them is brave enough to take the first bite - and then its an all out feeding frenzy.

Jamie

I love it when a baby grabs a piece of lettuce and the others notice the movement and pounce. Before you know it, the lettuce is ripped from the first baby's mouth and disappears. He's just left standing there with this look on his face like "what the hell just happen???"