Bait shop worms

[pepatt]

Hey, I live right down the road from a bait shop. I wonder if their meal worms etc. are safe for my beardie? Don't know what the cost is in comparison to a pet store, but I really just want them as starters for breeding.
I'm thinking of breading super worms, too.
And crickets.
My wife is gonna freak!

 

[NegativeCreep]

I would stay away from them, they could be crawling with parasites. I would feed them to a fish that won't be digesting them and then cooked before I ate it, but I don't think I would feed them to my pet.

IMO, I wouldn't waste my time breeding mealworms, since they aren't a very healthy staple.
On the other hand, there are several folks here that breed supers successfully.

If you are serious about breeding crickets, you may look into breeding Dubias instead. They are healthier, more filling, cleaner, and self sustaining.. They are growing in popularity, and the reasons seem nearly endless.

 

[pepatt]

Ah, the parasites. Neglected to take that into consideration. Good point.

Dubias eh? Guess they'd be a lot quieter!
But you are risking my marriage to ask me to breed roaches in my house! :shock:
Can these be fed to a baby beardie? I assume I'd just feed him very young, soft dubias.
Seems as though these are easy to breed and not much of a risk of becoming a pest.

Thanks! I'll look into them. Any suggestions on places to buy a start?

 

[NegativeCreep]

Ah, the parasites. Neglected to take that into consideration. Good point.

Dubias eh? Guess they'd be a lot quieter!
But you are risking my marriage to ask me to breed roaches in my house! :shock:
Can these be fed to a baby beardie? I assume I'd just feed him very young, soft dubias.
Seems as though these are easy to breed and not much of a risk of becoming a pest.

Thanks! I'll look into them. Any suggestions on places to buy a start?

As far as I know (I don't have any personal experience with them!) you can feed the small ones to small beardies. But, it takes several months to establish a colony, so it would be something to consider now for future use. I am of the female variety, and I am considering them! Don't call them Roaches! They will save you tons of $$ in the long run, so that might help with the convincing. Plus, the pro's compared to raising crix are also numerous.

I plan on getting mine from theroachguy.com, but bestroach.com is a good place. Both are active on this community as well. There are tons of threads and resources just on this site for help in getting started.

 

[augsburg1530]

If you don't use the word "roach", people don't get too twisted about Dubia. I call them either just "Dubia beetles" or "Tropical Beetles". If you don't say "roach" people will never know.

That said, Dubia are far superior to crickets in every way. They don't die off like crix, don't stink like crix, don't make noise like crix and don't stink. I said don't stink twice because crix really, really stink.

You keep your adults as breeders and feed off the soft young nymphs. For a small dragon you just feed the smaller nymphs, for larger dragons feed the larger nymphs.

Dubia are the best and for me the best place to get them is from http://www.theroachguy.com check out his site, he has lots of info about dubia on there to help educate you.

Hope that helps,

Eric

 

[pepatt]

Thanks to all for the help.
I am currently setting up to start breeding dubias. In researching them I have found that all the information provided by those who have posted to be correct, and I'm pretty excited about the project.
Plus, I enjoy fishing, so it's a double plus!

Honestly, the dubias are the perfect answer. I started looking into worms when I realized breeding crix was going to be so noisy and smelly. I wasn't dead set on worms, I just didn't want to deal with these issues. Keeping other family members (wife) comfortable is an issue, too. She'll never know dubias are in the basement and she'll never have to deal with them. Best of all they are so good for Porter. I just want him to be healthy. 8)
Not breaking the bank is a plus, too!

If you don't use the word "roach", people don't get too twisted about Dubia. I call them either just "Dubia beetles" or "Tropical Beetles". If you don't say "roach" people will never know.

I'm starting to put this to use! I have found that even some of my male friends are freaked out by roaches. Even guys I hunt with! :?
Calling them Dubia Beetles is a good answer.
Thanks!

 

[frog]

well, i used an online bait shop to purchase some butterworms and they were just fine! i fed them all off, and my lizards (all four of them) are still just fine! and its WAY cheaper!

 

[diggerdrake]

If you don't use the word "roach", people don't get too twisted about Dubia. I call them either just "Dubia beetles" or "Tropical Beetles". If you don't say "roach" people will never know.

LOL I use the "R" word on purpose just to see peoples reaction. Ornery old cuss that I am.