Pupa or dead? BSFL and wax worms

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kevinade

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Hey all, I feed my rankings dragon a mix of crickets, dubia, BSFL and wax worms. For the latter two, I don't have a perfect temp (either the fridge or room temperature) so a good proportion end up turning black. How can I tell if they are dead or just pupated (any pictures would be really helpful!)? From what I've read its ok to feed the pupa but not dead ones - is that right for both BSFL and wax worms? Much appreciated!
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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The BSFL turn black and less flexible before they emerge into flies. Both the black BSFL and the flies are OK to feed off. I'm not certain about the wax worms.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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If your wax worms are black they are spoiled and dead. Black BSFL are just BSFL that are nearing their metamorphosis into a fly, so they are perfectly safe to feed.

-Brandon
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
I'd wait for the flies to start hatching to be sure - BSFL do die and you don't want to feed a dead and rotted inside lava to your pet.

My policy is no dead insects to my pets ( unless I killed them ) . NOT WORTH THE RISK.

What I do (when I feel energetic, is I separate the BSFL from the darker PUPEA , they are easy to pick apart as the are immobile , and hard shelled.
OR I if can hear the flies trying to escape then I deal with Black Soldier Flies .

They go into a separate tub with a lid and when the flies emerge I catch them ( is easy by hand ) and I crush their heads to make them less "flighty" , my skinks and beardies love the flies as treats.
Inevitably a few flies escape and end up hanging out near the lights and window - the resident G.Dudia geckos make them disappear in short order ( like the occasional rogue cricket ).

If I have a lot of flies hatching , more than 20 -30 , I'll catch as many of them as I can, squish their heads to slow them down and they go outside with any freshly dead cricket for the resident wild skinks , dragons ( jackies and eastern water dragons ) and frogs and I'm pretty sure the magpies are partial to them too especially when they are nesting and raising chicks.
 
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