Are Mealworms safe for babies????????????????????????

[sieradon]

OK I have 2 small baby bearded dragons. I have been told by people on here not to feed them mealworms which I have stopped because of constipation. I went to the pet store last night (Petsmart) and I asked for 200 small crickets because my beardies eat about 20-30 a day. He said to try other things. And I said that I have tried the mash food and greens which they nibble at and the girl co-worker came over and said to give them mealworm and I said they aren't supposed to have them when they are babies and she said they can if you cut the heads off the worms. They are each about 8 inches long head to tail. I am looking for a final answer to this question. Also he seems to be attracted by my long hair and tries to eat it.

 

[AtlasStrike]

No. Babies especially should not eat meal worms. Cutting their heads off would make no difference.

You should probably start ordering feeders online, since babies eat SO MUCH food. Phoenix (repti) worms are a very good choice as are crickets and dubia roaches.

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Feeding]

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The reason why you shouldn't feed mealworms to babies is because of the hard chitin (outer shell). It's not as easily digestable as supers and are more at risk for impaction.
Most pet stores don't know what they're talking about.

 

[Sarai]

I absolutely agree, although I am no expert, I have experience with my own dragon. Because I listened to what the Petstore told me to do I used mealworms as a staple for about 2 months, and it caused a lot of damage to my beardies intestines. It cost a hefty vet bill as well as long term care that I have to give, that normal healthy beardies would not need. I would suggest another worm like phoenix or calci worms. Personally I use reptiworms as a staple. Cutting off the heads won't change that the worm itself is difficult to digest.

 

[Ratlovinkippy211]

don't give him mealworms.. the shell is too hard for the little guys to eat.
Maybe when their larger and even than i do like to use other types of bugs.