Cochineal bugs as a staple?

[DanyVRO]

Hey guys,

People who read my introduction post know that I'm from Mexico and here in Mexico in the desert regions there are wild bearded dragons. They have been seen eating these cochineal bugs in the wild but I never thought about bringing that to my own captive bred beardie. Anyways I thought about it because I was talking to the guy that I get my crickets from (he's a local feeder breeder) and he told me that he sells these bugs and that they are great for geckos, baby monitors, water dragons and so on, so he told me to try some with my bearded dragon but I politely said no since I didn't know much about it.
So I decided to do my research in regards of the nutritional value of these kinds of bugs and the specific species that lives in Mexico and maybe any research on reptiles eating those, and I actually found them to be an extremely good source of calcium, protein and very low in fat for reptiles and amphibians, plus they are easy to breed apparently.

I wanted to ask u guys the experts, what do u think about trying these as a staple for my beardie. Have u ever heard about any reptiles in captivity eating these?

Thank you and have a good day.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Bearded dragons are opportunistic omnivores , I am guessing the wild beardies you are encountering ( in Mexico ) are the result of either a breeding pair being dumped by some dead beat , or escapees who lucked upon each other and mated. .

Heard similar stories about wild beardies in the subtropical and tropical /arid areas of Spain and the Middle East.

Can't comment Cochineal bugs as a suitable bug to be a staple feeder insect , know absolutely nothing about the insect .... will come back once I've read up about the insect.

Seems these insects are here ( Australia ) too , I knew there are picklypears ( nopal cactus ) here and had a vague memory of cochineal beetles being used as a bioweapon to try to stop new outbreaks of pricklypear , was a huge problem in the early 1/2 of last century here ....

http://www.cochinealdye.com/html/biology.html
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4143

Are these beardies nibbling at the colonies of the larvae on the nopal pads or catching the mature beetles ?

 

[DanyVRO]

I'm sorry for not answering that fast I've been very busy at work, but anyways.
You are exactly right about the nopal cactus, that is exactly what i've seen them eat, and u can see them eating dry leaves that have fallen on soil. To be honest I haven't seen the cochineal bugs that my local feeder breeder sells, from what I have read it is great to feed them these kinds of bugs but only young specimens because the older they get, the tougher the outer exoskeleton becomes, I thought of it like a madagascar cockroach. So I will ask my local provider how he sells them because from the research that I've done (unfortunately it's in spanish but I'll translate for you when I have the time) they are very nutritious and also my curiosity made me ask to some other online shops here in Mexico that sell live insects for reptiles consumption and they have told me that they sell those normally for some types of frogs, water dragons and bearded dragons. I will continue with my research before buying any of those, but I'm really interested in this, more so because dubia aren't always that readily available for me and these cochineal bugs are very easily bred.

Thank you for your response, and have a good day.

 

[Taterbug]

I've not heard of them as reptile feeders. I'd be interested to learn more about the nutritional properties too, I've only seen them in relation to natural dyes not as food.