advice on food when crickets are not popular

[TheWerewolf]

Phoenix worms can be feed as a staple the other bsfl should not be feed as a staple because they are to high in calcium.

Wait, now I'm confused. I thought the Phoenix, Repti and Calci all had the same amount of calcium. Are Phoenix worms lower in calcium because of how they are raised?

 

[tgolden]

Yes Phoenix worms are some what lower so they can be feed as a staple. The others are ok a few times a week. I'm using calcia worms right now twice a week.

 

[TheWerewolf]

Okay, checked the three websites they are sold on and it must be diet. Because, even though they are from the same species of fly they each have different calcium ratios. Well, I guess I'll be getting Reptiworms since they are the cheapest and I'll also be feeding roaches.

 

[bunnyrut]

i would just try to feed a mixture of different ones daily.
roaches are high in protein, repti/phoenix/calci are high in calcium.
silkworms are also high in protein and low in fat, but are expensive! and very fragile, lots of things can kill them.

Hornworms are full of water and very filling (http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/), but they grow quickly and should be fed to adults because of their size.

there are so many choices, but it comes down to what your beardie will eat.

 

[TheWerewolf]

Yeah, silkworms are trouble. My sister had some for a science experiment and they were also costly. The first batch even died because they were handled too much.

 

[Kaiser]

ReptiWorms and Phoenix Worms can be fed as staples feeders. CalciWorms cannot. The reason being is their nutritional content varies based on their diets.

A few of you here are saying that ReptiWorms cannot be used as a staple feeder or are confused whether or not they can be, when in actuality, they can. Here is the nutritional analysis of ReptiWorms: http://www.reptiworms.com/info.php?articles&articles_id=6&sid=7t4q9jbsqll97vpsn3jojtc686. Note that everything is ship-shape, and that the calcium-to-phosphorous ratio is within optimal range (0.43:0.30, in terms of percent; that's roughly 4300:3000, in terms of ppm), which is an approximately 1.43 ratio. The optimal calcium-to-phosphorous ratio for bearded dragons is somewhere between 1 and 2. The calcium is not too high.

Here is the nutritional analysis of Phoenix Worms: http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/the-template/comparison/Page. Note that everything is fine as a staple, and that the calcium-to-phosphorous ratio is also within optimal range (8155:5355, in terms of ppm), which is an approximately 1.52 ratio. Again, perfectly fine in range. If anything, the calcium-to-phosphorous ratio (and ppm) of Phoenix Worms is higher than ReptiWorms, so I'm not sure where you guys are getting the information that ReptiWorms have too much calcium to be used as a staple.

Here is the nutritional analysis of CalciWorms: http://www.timberlinefisheries.com/products/feeder-insects/calciworms/. The calcium-to-phosphorous ratio is 3.28, which is higher than the optimal range. Hence, why they cannot be used as feeders, but are fine as supplementation (which they perfectly state on their site).

For those of you who want to know more about the calcium-to-phosphorous ratio: the two nutrients are essentially linked in terms of metabolism. Calcium can only be absorbed with a relatively equivalent amount of phosphorous and vice-versa (it's actually more complicated than this since the body will attempt to absorb calcium or phosphorous by degrading its own stored calcium or phosphorous to compensate for the difference, but this is the main point). If the ratio is skewed heavily (with the optimum being between a 1:1 and 2:1 ratio), then health problems can occur over time (e.g., bone disorders if there is the ratio is skewed heavily in favor of phosphorous or calcification of organs if the ratio is skewed heavily in favor of calcium).

I hope that this clears up some things for you, as well as encourages you to continue asking questions and doing research.