Feeding crickets to your bearded dragon is part of its essential care. But getting them out of the enclosure can be tricky.
Are you struggling when it comes to removing crickets out of your bearded dragon’s enclosure? Are you leaving crickets in the enclosure overnight?
Continue reading for tips to removing and feeding crickets, making your life a little easier when it comes to your bearded dragon care.
Why Should Not You Leave Crickets In Tank?
It is important that you ensure you remove all uneaten crickets from the enclosure and do not leave them in with your bearded dragon overnight.
When they are left in the enclosure, crickets will bite your dragon, they will spread pathogens and they will increase stress in your pet, which leads to other health issues.
Any uneaten crickets should be removed immediately after your pet has finished feeding.
How to Get Crickets Out Of A Bearded Dragon Cage
There are a number of methods bearded dragon owners use to remove uneaten crickets from the enclosure, these include:
Catching Them One by One
This is a time-consuming way to catch uneaten crickets from your bearded dragon habitat. You can use your hands or a piece of toilet paper. Gently catch each cricket and return it to its own habitat for the next feeding.
Black Box
Another luring method is to place some cricket food or salad in a black box that your dragon cannot get into, leave it in the enclosure, and lure the crickets into the box, which you can then use to return them to their holding tank.
Plastic Cup
Another common method used by bearded dragon owners is to lure crickets using cricket food and then catch each one with an overturned plastic cup. Slide a piece of paper under the cup and transport the cricket back to its holding enclosure.
Vacuum Cleaner
You can use a vacuum cleaner to remove the crickets by placing a shirt or piece of material over the hose or front of your portable vacuum cleaner.
Use an elastic band to hold the material in place.
Now simply vacuum up any remaining crickets. Keeping the vacuum on to hold the crickets to the material, you can return them to their holding tank.
Turn off the vacuum and then will drop into their enclosure.
Tips When Feeding Crickets
If you are struggling to get any uneaten crickets out of the enclosure, then there are some feeding tips you can use to reduce the time and energy you waste catching crickets.
Feed One at a Time
Some bearded dragon owners have found an effective method of feeding crickets is once dusted with Calcium powder, you drop one cricket into the enclosure at a time.
Once your bearded dragon has had enough, you can simply return the crickets to their enclosure.
Feed in Separate Container
If you have a spare enclosure or plastic tub, you can move your bearded dragon to the tub and feed in there. This eliminates any risk of crickets being in the main enclosure.
Once your pet has had enough, you can easily return the crickets to their holding tank.
Refrigerated Crickets
Placing the crickets in the fridge, just for a few minutes before feeding, will slow the crickets down.
This makes it easier for your dragon to catch them, but also makes them easier for you to catch them and remove them from your bearded dragon’s enclosure, reducing the risk of bites, stress, and more.
Feed From a Cup
You can try using a cup and placing the crickets in the cup.
Hold the cup at an angle in front of your bearded dragon, allowing it to eat directly from the cup.
This may take some practice, but is a great way to eliminate crickets in the enclosure.
Summary
Crickets can cause damage to your bearded dragon through bites and stress, which can lead to bigger problems.
There are many great ways to remove crickets from the enclosure, from catching them one by one to using a vacuum cleaner.
The easiest solution is how you feed the crickets, eliminating the risk of leaving live crickets in the enclosure.
