Bearded Dragon Care

[DragonLady]

Hi everyone,
I've just just joined the forum here, with the hope of finding some more experienced dragon carers that could give me some advice on the care of beardies.
About a month ago I purchased two Inland Bearded Dragons, and I'm interested to know what are the best foods to feed these guys, and what foods to avoid.
I've done a lot of research on the internet and often found conflicting information, and some very dodgy information as well!
The two lizards I have are juveniles, so I've been feeding them lots of crickets and a few small meal worms, as well as salad greens. As they get older I've read that you should increase their vegetable intake.

What are the best vegetables for them? I've been giving them a mixture of  green, snow pea sprouts and bean sprouts, as well as chopped cucumber, carrot, tomato, peas, beans & apple. I've also been mixing reptile pellets from the pet store with their salad.
Are these vegetables ok for them? I've read that you should avoid spinach, broccoli, corn and any sort of cabbage as that can hamper their calcium absorption.
Anyway, I've been giving them calcium supplement with every meal, and keep a 10.0 UV globe & a basking globe (thermo-controlled) during the day. They've both shed since I purchased them which I guess is a good sign that I'm somewhat on the right rack!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing any comments or feedback you may have.

[DragonLady]

One further question that I forgot to mention.. What is the ideal temp to set their thermostat on? I've got it on 32 celcius at the moment, but I've read that you should provide up to 37-40 degrees in their basking area. Is that accurate?
Cheers

[pebbles]

hey Dragonlady
ill share some of my experiences with keeping dragons
As they get older their appetite changes and as adults they consume a lot more veggies to bugs but depending on their age bugs (crickets,Grasshoppers and woodies ) make up most of their diet as juveniles
I have a feeding tank for my dragons if you drop crickets in and then the lizard it helps monitor the amount the beardie is eating if you feed in their enclosure crickets will sometime hide and you get less idea of amount they are consuming but either way can work your lizards will get use to whichever way you choose ( a feeding container can be as simple as a old fish tank of a big plastic tub from Crazy Clark's and if you drill holes into it you can put a lid on while you do something else to let your beardies eat in peace)
Calcium is important and while they are young i have always used repti-cal powder daily with the occasional meal without
not a big fan of mealworms only feed the natural zoophoba worms to my adults occasionally and never to juveniles mealworms have a high chance of causing impaction (blockage of the bowel ) so have never risk mine but if your finding your guys are managing them keep feeding just keep eye on them and do in moderation
my veggie mix for them is usually buk choy ,carrot,yellow squash,snow peas,red cabbage (yes i know i read your post and i agree about corn but have fed red cabbage for at least 7yrs to many beardies and never had problem with it)and for juveniles i shred what i can
to encourage them to eat you should make the food (veggies) move  pick up in a pinching motion shredded veggies above a plate and let go do this a few times you might get a reaction
but most beardies are closer to 2 in age before they have a actually desire for the veggies you cut up in a way that make you feel appreciated (lol)  Ive fed a lot of beardies over the years and they can waste alot of hard effort veggie mix
UV should have no glass or shield between it and the lizards and if its a big enclosure make sure they have sticks or platforms that allow them closer to the light My UV is put on first thing in morning and turned off late at night 
30 to 38  is a good temp for basking but i turn hot lights on when I'm home and off when I'm out so I'm always around to monitor their basking  Beardies will sometime overheat if left to long basking at high temp and if the beardie opens it mouth to pant and stills sit tight under the light i would over ride the thermostat and turn it off if i used them
But we are getting closer to winter soon and heating is very important with little ones if you want to maintain them eating and growing and I rely on heat rocks that are thermostatically controlled for night heating in winter but there are many option to choose such as heat mats and heat chord if used correctly they all have some merits
back to the food
Strawberry,grapes and bananas are good as treats but very messy at times so feed sparingly
because the older that beardies get the worse their poo stinks and what you feed can be a factor but good husbandry will keep the discomfort of smell down
and every now and then i give my beardies pinky rats they good protein but usually only do this from 2 yr and only some of them want them  some dont
Oh then there is the plants you can pick and feed some being Dandelions and Nasturtiums (little yellow orange plants ) just make sure no chemicals are used
Hope all this helps
This is just some of the things i do or have done and have worked in raising my babies and if i can find  instructions i got from Banjo on how he got photos to load i would gladly put some up of adults ive raised from babies that are now 6yrs of age and younger ones ive accumalated over the years this hobby is very addictive
cheers

[DragonLady]

Hi Pebbles,
Thanks for all that info, some very helpful suggestions.
I'll definitely try the feeder tank idea, as I have two dragons, one slightly larger than the other, and they are very competitive with food, so it will be good to make sure my smaller one is getting enough live feed.
I'm not sure how old they both are, one might be about 1 yr, the other probably 8-10 months, going by their size. Its possible that they are a little older and just small for their age, as I don't think the guy I purchased them from was looking after them as well as he should. They looked quite thin, & both had bad diarrhea when I acquired them. I also know that they weren't kept under a proper uv light, or fed the correct calcium supplement... but I've remedied all those things now.
I've managed to get both to eat some veges if they are chopped very small, but they go crazy over live insects! Watching them hunt crickets is sooo comical! They have alot of personality!
I'll definitely try the diet suggestions you mentioned, thanks again for the advice. I'd love to see some photos if you can get them up. A very addictive hobby indeed!
Cheers