Dusting Crickets for Bearded Dragon

Question
QUESTION: We have a 2 month old bearded dragon. I have read about dusting crickets (4-5 times/week with calcium and 2 times/week with vitamins).  He eats about 15-20 crickets each day.  In reading one of the other responses, I think you were indicating to only dust them once per day.  Should we be dusting all the crickets or or just part of them. Also, are they supposed to be coated heavily or just lightly.  This would make a difference in about double the calcium or vitamins he would get on each cricket.  We are feeding him crickets that 1/2" or smaller (most 3/8").  We use the Rep-cal products for calcium (w/o phosphorous) and vitamins (Herptivite).  Thank you.

ANSWER: Hello Ken,

Well, you don't need to heavily dust the crickets.  Here is an easy way to do it.  Once daily, grab a small pinch of calcium dust, put it in a baggie with that meals' crickets.  Just basically shake & bake them...:-))  That is sufficient, 4-5 times a week.  
The vitamins are not nearly as important, & you could get by with either 1-2 times weekly.  As long as he is starting to eat some greens & veggies, it will balance out.  The Herptivite, just give a small pinch as well.  
Are you feeding 2-3 times per day though?  He should be eating more than 15-20 crickets a day, for a growing boy.  

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He does eat about 15-20 per day of crickets. He still is only eating a small piece or two of greens each day (with much coaxing).  So I do need to lightly dust all 15-20 crickets per day with either calcium (4-5 times per week) or Herptivite (1-2 times per week). I wanted to make sure we were not giving him too much by dusting all.

ANSWER: Hello Ken,

You should really try to get him eating more than the 15-20 crickets daily for a growing boy he needs them.  Are all of your temperatures correct in there?  What type & brand of UVB are you using again, or did you tell me before?
If the small pinch of dust does not cover them all then that is ok.  Whatever it covers when you do the shake & bake method, is really all he needs.  Just a small pinch is all he needs, tiny really since he is small.  No you don't want to overdo it.
How many times are you offering him crickets?  He should be offered them at least 2 times per day right now.  
So yes, whatever amount of dust you put in there of calcium should just about or maybe not quite cover all of the crickets, but at least put all of the crickets in & see how much it covers them.  Do this 4 times per week, & then the other 1-2 days use just a tiny pinch of herptivite.  
Now, if he eats crickets twice a day, he wont need any additional dustings on that day, just once a day is sufficient.

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The temperatures are fine. I have had a number of questions for you and your help has been superb.  Temps are 100-105F in basking light and around 75-78 F in the cooler end.  Tank is 40 gallon. My original question to you had to do with his closing his eyes and we got rid of the compact UVB as recommended.  Now we are using an 18" tube Reptisun 10  in a relective tube fixture as you recommended. He still seems to close his eyes more than I would think is normal, but the new light has been in place for 2 or 3 weeks now.  We offer him crickets usually once per day after we get home from school/work, but twice on weekends.  We are giving him greens and he has just today eaten some from his dish without us feeding them to him.  We have his lights on for 12 1/2 hours, but many days he heads to bed about 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the lights go off.  Any concerns with the eyes closing or his early bedtime?

Answer
Hello Ken,

Great, the temperatures sounds fine.  The tank size is good for now.  He will need it upgraded once he is an adult to at least a 75 or larger.  
I am glad you got rid of the compact UVB.  The Reptisun 10 tube, how close do you have it to him?  Do you have a bright white light placed directly beside the UVB light?  The Reptisun 10, should be no closer than 8 inches to him.  It is imperative that a bright white light be used with any flourescent tube UVB light.
Do you have it placed directly overhead or is it mounted to the side?  
Maybe you should try to get some type of worms ordered for him so he can have something to eat in the mornings.  He is going too long without eating being such a young one.  He needs protein a couple of times per day to grow adequately.  You could try getting some phoenix worms or some butterworms which have calcium in them, or even some silkworms for him.  You could leave them out for him in the mornings since you don't have time to feed him then, that way he can have crickets when you get home.
It is wintertime still, so the short days do affect their sleep cycles.

Tracie