Calci-worms..

[babyelvissocute]

So the petstore near me only has supers, (which Elvis hates) mealworms (cant have) wax worms (he loves, but I only use them to fatten him up when he wasnt eating) and now calciworms (never heard of them! So, they come in containers of dirt, are small, and look squishy, can he eat them? And, since they are in dirt, will I have to wash them first?

Thanks,
Kaitlyn

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Kaitlyn... those are probably Phoenix worms(aka calci-worms). No they do not need to be washed, just brush excess bedding off of them. Beardies love them and they are loaded with calcium, hence the name calci-worm :wink: In fact, they are so loaded with calcium, you don't have to supplement with calcium powder/liquid while feeding them.

 

[babyelvissocute]

Really? Well that makes my life so much easier! I wanted to get him phoenix worms, but for some reason my mom doesnt trust me with her credit card! And, with his laziness and mbd, he doesnt really like to catch crickets..so I'll be sure to pick some of them up! Thanks.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

How old is Elvis now? How big is he?
The reason I ask is that the phoenix worms are very tiny, even the large ones. This is why they are generally fed to baby beardies. If Elvis is an adult(I know you have had him a while), the phoenix worms may not fill him up. He would have to eat ALOT of them and they can get pretty pricey.
Does the pet store you go to have any other worms, like supers or butters? If so, those might be better suited for him.

 

[babyelvissocute]

Are they small? They seemed kind of big at the petstore, well about the same size as wax worms. And he's 17.5 inches, and will be three in october. But because of his mbd, he has stunted growth and he's still growing and is in the middle of a full body shed. They have wax worms, meal worms, night crawlers, crickets, calciworms and supers. But for some reason he hates supers, I got a box of 50 small supers and he ate 3 then wouldnt touch them. Plus, one pinched me! And he likes crickets but has a hard time catching them because of his legs, but its gotten a little better and I feed him eight a day and he eats them all, it just takes all day for him to catch them. So I should not get calciworms?

 

[juniormmm]

If they are in a red/yellow container they should have the latin name above the word "Worms" It should say Hermetia Illucens which are in fact phoenix worms. They are small, but highly nutritious. They would be a great addition to your beardies diet especially since Elvis has MBD. The only drawback is that it may take ALOT of these worms to fill up Elvis. If you don't mind feeding most of the worms in the container for 1 feeding then I say go for it.

 

[babyelvissocute]

Alright thanks, I'll probaly give him like 10-15 a day along with crickets to fill him up. Would that work?

 

[juniormmm]

You won't know until you try