kingofnobbys":3f5lrynp said:
<<< I suggest he only uses superworms as treats , and breeds silkworms as an alternative staple feeder insect , they are much more nutritious than superworms .
A know of several beardie breeders (here in NSW, Vic, QLD and SA) who breed silkworms as feeders (and harvest and hatch silkworm eggs by the 10,000s to feed their hatchlings , as well as woodies (a form of roach) and crickets as feeders.
He always fed crickets to his dragons in the past, but the breeders here have all been telling us that super worms are better.
<<< I disagree about superworms (definitely not good insects to give younger dragons at all, and only suitable to use as treats for adults …. the issue for young dragons is the hard to digest chiton (exoskeleton & high fat content and poor Ca/P) and for adults the fat content and poor Ca/P) ,see viewtopic.php?f=76&t=234999&p=1807834#p1807834
Have literally never heard or read a single mention of silk worms until now. I have heard of the roaches, but that they were better for young dragons. And I've heard that meal worms really aren't so great for them because they're pure chitin. (Sp?)
<<< Meal worms and super worms are very similar in body shape and construction , see above link or comparison.
Silkworms are a practically perfect feeder insect , soft bodied + high protein + high Ca/P + and slow moving and don't bite back.
I've found hatchlings love the surplus moths too and don't mind the freshly dead moths either.
I breed my own silkworms , so the only costs are :
>> buying bulk fresh mulberry leaves in season
>> buying silkworm chow in powder form when I don't have fresh or blanched frozen mulberry leaves over winter.
Where are you located? I don't know those abbreviations. I'm in South Eastern US.
Australia.
I'll look into this, thanks for the information. I'm updating him with newer research as I find it. I'm going to learn everything before jumping into this.
I'm also a first time rat owner. After 15 years of wanting one and reading everything I could find, I still wasn't fully prepared, and I'm still learning things that only experience can teach, so I know breeding will be a process as well. But I'm committed to doing it right.
In fact, simply owning dragons has taught me things that I wouldn't have even thought about trying to research until I had a reason to after seeing it. No tells you about how they look like they're having a seizure when trying to pop a shed! That's just one example. Or how rats can sleep sitting up with their eyes open..... Ah the joys of pets!