bearded dragon superworm addiction help!

[jakeg1210]

Hey there,

I have a beardie who is 8-9 months and i started feeding her superworms a month agp thinking whats the worst that can happen. Well now she wont eat her crickets and wont touch anything but the worms I dont mind buying these at all, my issue is i dont know if this is okay as a staple as ill feed her only 4 a sitting because shes had a harder time pooping those out. Any advice to break this addiction or advice on superworms in general(i.e how many should be/can be consumed a day and if i should still try to feed crickets even though she wont go near them) would be of great help

 

[quyllur]

What are you temps at in your basking spot? I would look at bumping up (depending on what temp it is at currently) if he is having trouble digesting. Conversely, if the temps are to high, your beardie may not be basking enough and lowering the temp would be better. This is why it's so important to have accurate temperature readings.

If he is a healthy size and weight I would withhold the supers and just offer crickets or roaches at each feeding. If he doesn't eat, take them away, leave him with some greens, and try the crickets or roaches on the next feeding. Then if you want to feed a worm as a staple, look at phoenix/calciworms or silkworms. (Although I personally don't like the work 'staple' as I feel a dragon should be offered a wide variety of foods throughout its life and not be maintained on a single source of protein or two)

I don't subscribe to the idea that superworms have more chitin than a dragon can handle. Do they have more chitin than say a silk worm or a phoenix worm, sure, but they have less than a cricket or a roach with their legs/wings/carapace, so my thought is as long as you are feeding an appropriate size for your dragon and temperatures are correct, there shouldn't be a problem. That being said, they are higher in fat, so a strictly superworm diet could predispose your dragon to health issues such as liver problems, obesity etc.

 

[jakeg1210]

Thank you very much for the reply. Ive actually just got her heating good again this week as i had gotten a larger tank and needed more firepower to heat it with/ new arrangement. She is definitely in good size so I will take your advice and continue to try to feed crickets and cut off supers for now! I always have fresh greens for her, but i think she just figures she'll get supers anyways so maybe if she stops getting them she'll take the hint