Beardie won't digest reptiworms, does digest crix, help?

[SRT12141992]

My beardie won't fully digest his reptiworms, there always undigested worms in his poop after he eats them, but when i feed him crickets they digest perfectly fine, why won't the worms digest? I don't want to resort to only feeding him crickets because crickets are such a pain to store. Is there anything I can do to help him digest the worms? I've checked his setup/temps they are all fine

 

[scm133]

I am sure others will chime in, but it could be the amount of worms at one feeding. I have read, when they eat a lot of the reptiworms at one time, that they will show up in the poop. I have had that happen a few times, when Hugo pigged out on them. They are soft bodied, and it is strange that they sometimes will not digest fully. :dontknow:

 

[SRT12141992]

I am sure others will chime in, but it could be the amount of worms at one feeding. I have read, when they eat a lot of the reptiworms at one time, that they will show up in the poop. I have had that happen a few times, when Hugo pigged out on them. They are soft bodied, and it is strange that they sometimes will not digest fully. :dontknow:

Hmm that could be it, I used to give him like 40 at a time, now giving him around 20-30 at a time, he gobbles them up super fast, maybe i should do like multiple feedings in the day?
I was also wondering should I be dusting with them with calcium? I do already but I know they naturally have calcium so could i be overdoing the calci?

 

[scm133]

I have found smaller amounts seemed to solve the problem. No, from what I have read, and been told...no need to dust the repti-worms with calcium.

 

[marriott1012]

I was feeding phoenix worms today and there was a bunch of them in his poop. One was actually alive wiggling around. The temps are fine and he digests dubia very well and has also digested reptiles or phonics worms in the past. It puzzles me because they are soft bodied. One theory I had was that he was eating them and sometimes eats so fast it seems like he does not chew. Maybe one slipped through his digestive track unharmed lol.

 

[scm133]

I was feeding phoenix worms today and there was a bunch of them in his poop. One was actually alive wiggling around. The temps are fine and he digests dubia very well and has also digested reptiles or phonics worms in the past. It puzzles me because they are soft bodied. One theory I had was that he was eating them and sometimes eats so fast it seems like he does not chew. Maybe one slipped through his digestive track unharmed lol.

From what I have read, BDs have a tendency to gobble them down without properly chewing them up. This is sort of gross, but.....it is like us finding unchewed corn in our stools... I know GROSS. There have been suggestions to stick a pin in them before feeding...that way the dragon's digestive juices can take care of the improperly chewed worms.

 

[marriott1012]

I was feeding phoenix worms today and there was a bunch of them in his poop. One was actually alive wiggling around. The temps are fine and he digests dubia very well and has also digested reptiles or phonics worms in the past. It puzzles me because they are soft bodied. One theory I had was that he was eating them and sometimes eats so fast it seems like he does not chew. Maybe one slipped through his digestive track unharmed lol.

From what I have read, BDs have a tendency to gobble them down without properly chewing them up. This is sort of gross, but.....it is like us finding unchewed corn in our stools... I know GROSS. There have been suggestions to stick a pin in them before feeding...that way the dragon's digestive juices can take care of the improperly chewed worms.

Maybe a tad gross but is very true. Maybe I will try the pin idea. He loves them and eats template very fast sometimes a few at a time. Thanks for the info. The wiggling worm caught me off guard haha I wouldn't have expected that.

 

[SRT12141992]

I was feeding phoenix worms today and there was a bunch of them in his poop. One was actually alive wiggling around. The temps are fine and he digests dubia very well and has also digested reptiles or phonics worms in the past. It puzzles me because they are soft bodied. One theory I had was that he was eating them and sometimes eats so fast it seems like he does not chew. Maybe one slipped through his digestive track unharmed lol.

From what I have read, BDs have a tendency to gobble them down without properly chewing them up. This is sort of gross, but.....it is like us finding unchewed corn in our stools... I know GROSS. There have been suggestions to stick a pin in them before feeding...that way the dragon's digestive juices can take care of the improperly chewed worms.

I've been trying to handfeed him one at a time, 'cuz when i put them all in his bowl he eats them all up in like two seconds. He does seem to chew em up good when i handfeed but he also bites me which is painful. So I jsut drop one at a time in his cage, but it still is annoying how much time it takes to feed him now. Hmm maybe i could try the pin suggestion. I did find a live one in his poop once it was so nasty lol my dad said i should feed it back to him, GROSS, haha.

 

[marriott1012]

I was feeding phoenix worms today and there was a bunch of them in his poop. One was actually alive wiggling around. The temps are fine and he digests dubia very well and has also digested reptiles or phonics worms in the past. It puzzles me because they are soft bodied. One theory I had was that he was eating them and sometimes eats so fast it seems like he does not chew. Maybe one slipped through his digestive track unharmed lol.

From what I have read, BDs have a tendency to gobble them down without properly chewing them up. This is sort of gross, but.....it is like us finding unchewed corn in our stools... I know GROSS. There have been suggestions to stick a pin in them before feeding...that way the dragon's digestive juices can take care of the improperly chewed worms.

I've been trying to handfeed him one at a time, 'cuz when i put them all in his bowl he eats them all up in like two seconds. He does seem to chew em up good when i handfeed but he also bites me which is painful. So I jsut drop one at a time in his cage, but it still is annoying how much time it takes to feed him now. Hmm maybe i could try the pin suggestion

I hand feed my beardie and he has only got me once haha and it did not actually hurt which was good. Hand feeding get th more really ensures they will chew them. But it is time consuming, but I love watching the him eat, I mean that's one of the main reasons to have a lizard, Imo, is to watch it eat. Have the reptiles worms ever had a strong amonia smell to them? The last order I got from them did after a few days and many seemed to be dying so I switched this order to phonics worms but they are more expensive

 

[SRT12141992]

Yeah, sometimes they do upon arrival, its no biggie u just need to air them out for a few mins and it'll go away, it happens if they don't have enough packing sometimes too. Your lucky, mines gotten me twice when handfeeding now and it hurt like a bitch, even bled a little. Today I was handfeeding him and he was getting so excited when I just put my hand in the tank to move his bowl he bit onto my hand hahah

 

[marriott1012]

Yeah, sometimes they do upon arrival, its no biggie u just need to air them out for a few mins and it'll go away, it happens if they don't have enough packing sometimes too. Your lucky, mines gotten me twice when handfeeding now and it hurt like a bitch, even bled a little. Today I was handfeeding him and he was getting so excited when I just put my hand in the tank to move his bowl he bit onto my hand hahah

Ah ya I have read that else where. The dragon didnt seem to mind eating them lol. Have he is 5 months now and has been very good since I got him about a month ago. He knows when it's dinner time whether sees the roachs bin or the worm container and comes right to the bottom of the cage. He is very willing to munch it out of my hand haha so I guess I've just been lucky not to get bite. Hopefully this pattern keeps up for when he is older and more powerful hah.

 

[marriott1012]

Yeah, sometimes they do upon arrival, its no biggie u just need to air them out for a few mins and it'll go away, it happens if they don't have enough packing sometimes too. Your lucky, mines gotten me twice when handfeeding now and it hurt like a bitch, even bled a little. Today I was handfeeding him and he was getting so excited when I just put my hand in the tank to move his bowl he bit onto my hand hahah

 

[SRT12141992]

Yeah, sometimes they do upon arrival, its no biggie u just need to air them out for a few mins and it'll go away, it happens if they don't have enough packing sometimes too. Your lucky, mines gotten me twice when handfeeding now and it hurt like a bitch, even bled a little. Today I was handfeeding him and he was getting so excited when I just put my hand in the tank to move his bowl he bit onto my hand hahah

Ah ya I have read that else where. The dragon didnt seem to mind eating them lol. Have he is 5 months now and has been very good since I got him about a month ago. He knows when it's dinner time whether sees the roachs bin or the worm container and comes right to the bottom of the cage. He is very willing to munch it out of my hand haha so I guess I've just been lucky not to get bite. Hopefully this pattern keeps up for when he is older and more powerful hah.

Nice, yeah mines about a year old, he is around 14-15inches, so not too big but his jaws are still powerful lol, and sometimes he licks my hand when trying to get the food it feels so weird lol. I used to feed him like 40-60reptiworms at once, big mistake 'cuz he ate them all in 4 seconds then the next day when he pooped it was scary how many undigested worms were in it, lol. Today i've been trying something different, feeding him in 10-15 worm intervals a few times a day see if it works better.

 

[marriott1012]

Nice, yeah mines about a year old, he is around 14-15inches, so not too big but his jaws are still powerful lol, and sometimes he licks my hand when trying to get the food it feels so weird lol. I used to feed him like 40-60reptiworms at once, big mistake 'cuz he ate them all in 4 seconds then the next day when he pooped it was scary how many undigested worms were in it, lol. Today i've been trying something different, feeding him in 10-15 worm intervals a few times a day see if it works better.[/quote]

that is a good idea. I feed mine two times a day and keep salads in for most of the day to see if he will eat it. Sometimes he nibbles at it lol. I recently fed him canned grasshoppers and he loves them it seems. He is about 11 inches long and his tail is shedding for the second time, she. I got him it was in the midst of shedding.

 

[Goodtruant]

We feed ours phoenix worms a little at a time (2-3 at a time), and usually it's 15-20 worms and 10-15 crickets per feeding, so it's a mix.