Beardie ate Lightning bug

[Sherri]

No, I won't use them as a staple...I have a dubia colony going...pretty good one now LOL
Once he started a round of meds; Metronidazole...Panacur and Ponazuril, he went off his dubia totally. I had to syringe/spoon feed him for 3 weeks or so and he would not take anything that was as thin as water.

So I got more hornworms to keep him better hydrated and to start gaining weight. I fed him freshly molted dubia and he loved those but they were not enough to get him gaining.

He hates silkworms or I would use those primarily.
I started doing the tough love about a week after the meds were finished. I stopped the babyfood feedings. A couple days later he started eating his dubia again but I had already ordered the horns LOL

He only ate them for 2 days and went off them again :roll:

I want him to eat his own feeders and not be syringe fed so whatever it takes :mrgreen:
The hornworms hydrate him well and since he is now also on baytril (started on Tuesday) for a possible RI I don't want to bathe as often.

I have hornworms, small supers, silkworms and butterworms for his feasting pleasure. He will only eat maybe 4 horns total in a day (they are only 1.5" and as thin as a pencil right now) and maybe a couple of butters. He has not tried the supers yet :roll:

OK, that was a long answer to say; No, I don't usually use them as a staple and do not plan to, but once I get him back on his dubia he will likely have them a few times a week for hydration along with the butters. (I would rather he had the butters but he does not like them as well as the horns uhg.)

Sorry for the novel!
Sherri

 

[Prouddragonmama]

Lol that was a very informative post!! My beast has never gone off feeders even with all the meds :mrgreen: and loves his salad 8) if only we could kick the coccidia we'd be great!! He would walk a tight rope if a horn worm was on the other end lol!! Just wondering if u did use as a semi staple and how the poo was lol I know the horns help hydrate cause mine poops in flood form I wish I could use as a staple he sure loves them! My new one however ate any bug fine untill I gave her a horn then she said no way to silks butters or supers :evil: took some tough love to get her to eat again

 

[sk1tzo]

Lola ate a hornworm today! It was funny, I received my worms today and there was one very verryyyy tiny hornworm,the smallest I have ever seen. So I took the plunge and shoved it in her mouth. She must have gotten a nice taste of worm insides or whatever they like about them! Because I waved a 1 inch hornworm in front of her face and she had her mouth open a tiny bit and followed it very closely with her eyes! So I put it on the floor in front of her and within 2 seconds she grabbed it and ate it! She looks quite contented at the moment now.

All the hornworms are about 1 inch so I will try to do the paper bag refrigeration thing. I just can't feed her supers anymore after I saw almost whole ones sitting at the back of her throat, it makes me remember that whenever I see one. yuck! I may try silkworms later on, but I think she will mostly be on a diet of hornworms. Is there any reason why I shouldn't use them as a staple?

 

[Prouddragonmama]

U have herd some say yes to horns as staple and some say no way!! Great question!! Very watery poop if u do!! :shock: but I think it's good to know they are well hydrated

 

[sk1tzo]

Well she only poos in her daily soak so watery poo isn't a big problem haha. :shock:

 

[Sherri]

Hi!
For one thing the protein level of horns is only 9% compared to most other worms averaging 15-17%. They are very low in fat; 3% so it does no harm to give them Also, we know they are so full of liquid so I plan to have my guy have one juicy one everyday to help with hydration LOL It really does help with that! :mrgreen:

I *think* (and I hope an expert will come let us know for sure!) that b/c the protein level is much lower we should not use them as the main staple. What do you think? LOL

I just posted a question on the Feeding or Feeders board (think it was feeders) comparing butters to phoenix to horns. If anyone answers over there we may get better info :roll:

Sherri

:headbang: :headbang: On her eating a horns! I would NOT have a problem at all using them as a staple for awhile because the alternative is much much worse! (not eating at all!) There is nothing harmful like too much fat and getting all that liquid would be such a good thing for her! Really, for a while I would certainly do it!

Let's see what Tracie and Diane think about it! LOL :mrgreen: :laughing6:

 

[sk1tzo]

They are quite juicy :roll: When she would get huge ones I would see a ton of liquid coming out of them, ew! She ate 2 more 1 inch worms this evening!! She was hyper after eating lol, it was cute, and she rarely does the thing where she would slowly put her head down because she was so weak!

Good point on the low protein, I'll find your thread and follow it! I tried to start a Dubia colony awhile but it kinda freaked me out lol especially the adults!

 

[coastergirl946]

I have been following this thread from the beginning. I am ecstatic to see that she's made it and is showing wonderful signs of improvement.

 

[MissT]

You are doing a great job with her! Iv also been following this since the beginning and she has made a great turn around! Hooray!!

 

[sk1tzo]

Thank youu! I'm really proud of her !

 

[diamc]

That's so great that Lola is eating the hornworms. They will do her a lot of good, also very good for the kidneys.
They are fine to feed as a staple. I always recommend 2 feeders though so they don't lose interest. Silks or butters would be great 2nd feeders.
Lola is our "miracle beardie" and we are very proud of her. She wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for your quick thinking and great care, so we're very proud of you too. :wink:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, hornworms would be fine as a staple, along with crickets or roaches as another staple for variety.
I am so happy that she pulled through for you & is doing so well now! That is excellent work & very quick thinking indeed. I know that Lola must be eternally grateful to you.


Tracie

 

[sk1tzo]

Aww thanks! She is a miracle beardie! I can't stand crickets lol! So maybe I'll by 10 occassionally and throw out the other ones she doesn't eat. I just ordered more hornworms because the ones I got were already 2 inches. I got four 24 count small ones so I'll try putting them in the fridge. Diane, did you mean butters? Just want to make sure. I heard that butterworms get a small treatment of radiation so they don't become moths bc they don't want the moths in the US because they are pests? It makes me feel weird about feeding them, but I'm not sure that's correct.

Her beard is actually going into a full shed so I'm wondering what will happen to her wound. I'm pretty sure I see scales under a kind of yellow greasy-looking area.

 

[BeardedDragon6]

I just went trough the whoole thread. and srsly. i cried at the start. Im happy that we don't have any of those bugs here. but we don't have any good vets here any way. :CCCCC

Im very happy that shes better. the little scrub thing on her beard is the smallest problem. c:

 

[diamc]

Yes, I meant butters not betters lol. I edited my post. I had never heard anything about butters being injected with anything to prevent them from changing into moths. In fact, when they get hard and before the ones I have change, I just throw them out. I found this nutritional info about them on the mulberry website.

Moisture 58.54
Ash 1.04
Protein 16.20
Fat 5.21
Calories/Fat 87.73
Calcium (ml/100 grs) 42.90**