Appropriate feeders or not?

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

I know this isint a question about breeding feeders but which is appropriate for my beardie. I apologize if its in the wrong place.

Justin thinks that one of the reasons Kadaj wont eat is lack of variety. Since hes lost
some weight, I am getting 25 wax worms.

Some other possibilities are:

Flightless fruit flies (culture)
black soldier fly larvae
Baby dubias
springtail culture
rice flour beetle culture

Please let me know your opinions and if any of these are not appropriate for a 3 month old beardie. Thank you!

 

[KarenInCA]

Not sure about the fruit flies, but it seems they would be super small.

Soldier flies -Larva - Those are the same as Phoenix worms. I feed them to Rin along with crickets or dubai and other worms (same feedings)
When I feed them to him, I toss the worms and dirt they are in, into a bowl, the dirt falls to the bottom and the worms float. I then scoop out the worms from the water, and put them either on the lid of the container or a very shallow bowl, and let him eat them that way. They are cleaned off, and can eat several at one setting, as well as get some fluids into him while eating them. They are very high in calcium as well.

Dubia- For a 3 month old, x-small to small is good. Once he reaches 5 months, small to medium is probably better. Remember the smaller the dubia the less meat is on them. Rin LOVES dubia. I just fed him 25 mediums today, in place of crickets. He KNOWS when I have a bag of dubia vs a bag of crickets. and his eyes get big and he gets so excited when he sees the bag in front of him. (be careful waving a bag of food in front of him, last week, I waved a bag of dubia in front of him, and before I knew it, he had bitten the bag, but thankfully had not bitten it through to the plastic getting into his mouth, he was just so excited!! And I was not paying close enough attention to it being too close to his face.)-lesson learned.

I also believe that variety is best for both nutrition and keeping their interest. Not any one feeder will give him all the nutrients he needs, and in the wild, Im sure they would get more than one type of feeder as well.

I'll let others speak for the rest that you posted about, as I don't feed Rin most of those.
Have you also considered horn worms or butter worms? With a 3 month old, I would cut up the horn worms first, unless you get them very small. But smaller butter worms should be okay with their sizes.

One last thing, I don't know if you feed him inside or outside of his viv, but if you feed him inside the viv, you might want to consider getting a tub that is outside the viv for feeders. They can control them easier without distractions outside the viv, and any that are not eaten, you can put back for the next day, and don't have to waste as much.

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

KarenInCA:

Thank you so much for your information and advice! I will very much consider this when I buy more feeders for him. The tub also sounds like a great idea as there are too many hiding spots even in his travel viv which consists of minimum items.

Awww, that sounds so cute. I love seeing Beardies excited over food.

 

[jarich]

Ya, the springtails and fruit flies will be too small for them to really bother with. The rice flour larvae might work, but again are pretty tiny too. As well as the dubia and phoenix worms (black soldier fly larvae) you can also use crickets, locusts, etc. Like Karen said, the more variety the better.

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

I do have some crickets left of the 1000 I bought but yeah I think I will buy him a mix of: wax worms, butter worms, phoenix worms and dubias. However, I think he is too young to eat horn worms. And thanks for telling me the others were too small

 

[Jacqqui]

You can get horn worms that are as tiny as you like. They are sold anywhere from eggs to 4".
My babies eat the small ones. In the pic below the tiny worms are about a 1/2" to 1". The bigger ones are the size my juvenile dragons eat are about 1 1/2". Since they are very soft and brightly colored the beardies love them. i wouldn't cut them in half unless you have a dragon that has already eaten them before, because they like to see them move. Also Horn worms have a high moisture count and a lot of that is lost when you cut or squeeze them to hard.

 

[Taterbug]

I ordered x-small hornworms... They aren't small for long! They were huge in about a week.
Silk worms are great too and you can get them in small sizes.
Do keep in mind the waxworms and butterworms are higher in fat and lower in nutrition than bugs like crickets or roaches. They should be a smaller part if a varied diet.

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

Ohh wow thanks guys! I was thinking that they were all too big. I will order a few when Kadaj isint sick to see if he will eat them. His tailbone and spine are starting to show which is a reason for some wax and butter worms once we figure out what is wrong with him but I will add horn worms to the list. Is it true they got nasty bites?

 

[Jacqqui]

If he is sick and you can get him to eat the hornworms they are more nutritious way to fatten him up. The hornworms can bite but you usually have to worry more with the HUGE ones. My kids see them and jump and run form where ever they are the worms don't know what hit them and they have no time to bite!! Crickets bite also and I worried more about them (nasty!!) Hornworms also have a lot of moisture and that helps. I would try to get your baby on hornworms sooner rather than later instead of the waxworms that are just fat. I have a baby that was underweight and I got him eating hornworms and he is fattening up and really doing well.

Good luck

 

[Sauzo]

Most beardies love hornworms. While I read they can bite, I've never had one bite me and I've feed ones that were about 3 inches in length. They do have sticky little feet though. And they are a great way to hydrate your dragon.

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

Thak you so much guys, sorry for the late reply. Its been chaos on my end here and rarely a moment's rest. I will definitely get Justin to get some asap. They might help his belly feel better from his meds.