hand-feeding yes or no? & btween eyes-food size length or wi

[Rumplestilzkin]

2 Questions:

I thought I read that you should not hand-feed, but I keep reading posts where people are hand-feeding their beardies. Is there a right or wrong answer, or does it depend on the personality of the beardie?

Also, I know the size of the food should not be bigger than the space between their eyes. I watched a video on a site that i purchased crickets and it said the width of the cricket should not be fatter than space between eyes. I thought it was the length of the cricket, but maybe I just assumed that?

 

[Serrameth]

i would also like to know the answer to question two..as i have the same dilema!

i hear that hand feeding is a good idea..kinda like a dog? makes them get used to you and associate you with something good!

 

[runningguy]

When I first got my beardie about 6 weeks ago he would eat insects and veggies in front of me. Now he doesn't eat the veggies if I'm around. I have to quietly go into the room to watch (which never works because he can hear me) or check his plate late in the day to see how much he ate. But he will usually take collard greens or dandelion greens out of my hand, so if I hand feed him I know that he ate some greens, instead of just guessing by what is left on his plate. Long post for such a short answer....

For feeder size I consider not only the size but also how soft the insect is and how tough it is for him to swallow. If he can swallow it whole in one gulp or has to bite into it once then swallow, it is OK. When you see the videos on YouTube of people giving beardies a mouse and the beardie has to chew it five times and it takes a minute to swallow, that is not good. Remember that there is no harm in giving insects that are slightly too small, except that you need more of them (which can cost more). Just buy a few big crickets and watch carefully for a few days before buying large crickets in bulk on line.

 

[Jess]

Ive always hand fed my beardie alot of things, but he has to hunt his crickets on his own. The only down side is that he wont eat his veggies with out me, but he is still young so Im pretty sure that he will eat more on his own when he is more interested in them. But at least I know that he eats some of his veggies!

And Ive always gone by length for crickets, and width for worms. If you want to see if your beardie can eat bigger cricket, just ask the pet store to throw in 2 or 3 larger ones along with the size you usually buy. If he does good with them, then you can go ahead and feed the bigger ones.