Butter worms? Good Choice Or No..

[littlesavedgirl]

:study: Been doing some research on the best feeders for my Penny and have seen a wide variety. I'm waiting for an order of repiworms (sp?) and now i'm trying to get a jump on her diet inventory. I've read some not so good things about Superworms being to crunchy and hard to digest for babies (Penny is four months old and approximately <Hold Still Penny :wink: > 12 inches long head to tail). Then there is butterworms, no idea what they are but reading the Elliot Butter worm nutritional chart, they look like a good choice, but I want as much expertise as possible. Also shipping...is it necessary to pay $23 for air shipping?
I want to give her the best I can to make her happy and grow normally, so thanks in advance for your help

 

[catUK]

Butterworms are fatty and should only be fed as a treat- my beardie loves them when i occasionally feed her them. Superworms can be fed once your beardie is over 16 inches. Reptiworms are a great feeder- my beardie used to love them and they don't need dusted as they're naturally high in calcium. Another good staple is dubia roaches and good old crickets but i'm guessing you don't want to feed these as you didn't mention them. Silkworms are good feeders as long as theyr'e the correct size for your beardie, although they are harder to maintain and a bit more expensive

 

[GoFast]

Butters are not high in fat. As a matter of fact, they have less fat and more calcium that crickets. They also have almost as much protein.

The term "butter" seems to lead a lot of people into that high fat misconception.

 

[catUK]

It wasn't the 'butter' that lead me to think they were high in fat. I researched them when i wanted to find out how many i could feed my beardie and everywhere i looked said they were high in fat and to only feed occasionally

Butterworms (Chilecomadia moorei) are also high in fat. They should not form the basis of your lizards diet, but are a good addition as a 'snack'.

However after looking at the beautiful dragons website, your right, they're actually lower fat than crcikets and superworms etc so thanks for clearing that up GoFast- i wonder why everwhere says not to feed too many then...can't rely on the info these days lol

 

[BadCon]

The issue with butterworms is that there is no accurate information regarding their calcium content. The information that is available isn't listed in a meaningful form that could be easily compared to other feeders. Without knowing their calcium content you have no way of knowing what their Ca ratio is...so for all we know, its way to high. They are advertised as a high calcium feeder...which leaves me wondering just how high in calcium they are.

 

[GoFast]

The issue with butterworms is that there is no accurate information regarding their calcium content. The information that is available isn't listed in a meaningful form that could be easily compared to other feeders. Without knowing their calcium content you have no way of knowing what their Ca ratio is...so for all we know, its way to high. They are advertised as a high calcium feeder...which leaves me wondering just how high in calcium they are.

Actually, there are a few charts that I have found with that info. That is actually why I made my claim that they have more calcium that crickets.

Here is a quick google search that list calcium content. I forgot the list that did a great side by side comparison with multiple common feeders (no it wasnt beautiful dragons).

http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=butterworms+nutrition&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS417US402&ie=UTF-8


With that said, there is a varying degree of numbers between sources. I think a lot has to do with the individual bugs that were used for samples. Every bug is different, I'm sure.

 

[BadCon]

I have yet to see a chart that lists calcium in any meaningful way. They list a number, but the number doesn't mean anything as we have nothing to compare it to. They use an odd form of measurement that I have never seen another feeders calcium levels listed in...hence why I am suspicious of the actual calcium content. I believe these are high calcium feeders, don't get me wrong...but I also believe they are TOO high in calcium, with a wildly skewed Ca ratio. Until someone converts their form of measurement, or until they actually list the calcium content in the industry standard way, they should be relegated to treat status.

 

[littlesavedgirl]

Well I have learned a lot between you both but the most important part I enjoyed was that repiworms are good feeders. That's good news since I'm expecting my box of them either today or Tomarrow. I'll hold off on the butter worms until more is known about them and their calcium thingy number.
I sure appreciate the info, I'm always feeding crickets and am looking for variety for her. She prefers mustard green to kale but hated colar greens...picky little girl

 

[athenacp]

Butters were Digger's staple, especially when he got sick so much from the supers, it may not be the same for every dragon but he never had any problems with them, based on all the bloodwork and fecals I had.

 

[BadCon]

Well I have learned a lot between you both but the most important part I enjoyed was that repiworms are good feeders. That's good news since I'm expecting my box of them either today or Tomarrow. I'll hold off on the butter worms until more is known about them and their calcium thingy number.
I sure appreciate the info, I'm always feeding crickets and am looking for variety for her. She prefers mustard green to kale but hated colar greens...picky little girl

Butterworms are a good feeder. I didn't mean to scare you away from them. I just don't think they'd make a good 24/7 food without knowing their exact Ca ratio, but honestly...with their price, its doubtful anyone is feeding them in that kind of quantity. So please, by all means, order yourself some butterworms!

 

[GoFast]

Well I have learned a lot between you both but the most important part I enjoyed was that repiworms are good feeders. That's good news since I'm expecting my box of them either today or Tomarrow. I'll hold off on the butter worms until more is known about them and their calcium thingy number.
I sure appreciate the info, I'm always feeding crickets and am looking for variety for her. She prefers mustard green to kale but hated colar greens...picky little girl

Butterworms are a good feeder. I didn't mean to scare you away from them. I just don't think they'd make a good 24/7 food without knowing their exact Ca ratio, but honestly...with their price, its doubtful anyone is feeding them in that kind of quantity. So please, by all means, order yourself some butterworms!

To expand on that slightly, there really aren't ANY good foods to feed 24/7. A varied diet is best. Crickets here, butters there, hornworms for desert, etc....mix it up!

 

[littlesavedgirl]

Well just an update on my beardie and her menu. Her primary staple is Reptiworms, she responds very well to them and you can't miss with their nutritional content . She did have some medium supers last week and she really liked them and her digestion was consistant but then I read that she/He should not eat them till she is at least16 inches long, so I guess we'll half to wait on those again since he is 13 pushing 14 inches now. Today she had Butters for the first time but I only gave her two just in case it blocks her up. Better safe then sorry. She did love them!