Difficulty switching to Reptiworms?

[BeardedAaliyah]

Aaliyah's main staple is crickets, and she gobbles 10 up within two minutes. When feeding Reptiworms, she only ate 4. She is almost totally disinterested in them. Reptiworms are easier and cheaper than using crickets as a staple, which is why I decided to use them. I was wondering how to transition her over. She showed more interest in Reptiworms than she did Waxworms, which is somewhat promising. She dislikes canned/dead crickets. She obviously prefers live ones.

Has anyone else had difficulty switching over? How did you overcome it?

 

[brezofleur]

When I fed Athena reptis, she would only eat a couple and refuse the rest. She still doesn't care for them. It might just be a personal taste with yours.

Athena does get bored of her food though. While my dubia colony grows, I go back and forth between crickets and dubia. I would suggest trying something other than repti if she continues to refuse them.

Waxworms, as a note, are really fatty and should only be given as treats and not as a staple.

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

When I fed Athena reptis, she would only eat a couple and refuse the rest. She still doesn't care for them. It might just be a personal taste with yours.

Athena does get bored of her food though. While my dubia colony grows, I go back and forth between crickets and dubia. I would suggest trying something other than repti if she continues to refuse them.

Waxworms, as a note, are really fatty and should only be given as treats and not as a staple.

We tried giving her Waxworms as a treat. I'm aware they're fatty. Aaliyah was sick and lost some weight, so we bought Waxworms to fatten her up. Aaliyah typically is fed only crickets, and I doubt she'll ever tire of them. We'll continue to offer her Reptiworms, and see if a break from crickets will make her more likely to eat Reptiworms. She'll eat them, but not as aggressively, or as many. She ate a few then ran over to the Kricket Keeper. :roll: We'll see. If she refuses to eat them, I'll continue to buy crickets. I would rather not, but it is her choice.

Thanks for your comment!

 

[brezofleur]

I personally despise crickets. Abominations, they are, lol. But, as you said, it's her choice. As long as she's eating enough, then who am I to say otherwise?

 

[bonz152]

It took my beardie a little bit of time to get used to reptiworms and still does get more excited about dubia roaches. But i always put some in her bowl and eventually I'd go in there and they would be gone. She still won't eat them when I'm watching but does clean her bowl throughout the day. I will say that she seems to like Phoenix worms better than reptiworms for some reason. Just a preference I guess. I find them to wiggle a little bit more and to be lighter in color. For some reason that's appealing.

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

I personally despise crickets. Abominations, they are, lol. But, as you said, it's her choice. As long as she's eating enough, then who am I to say otherwise?

Ahhh! Tell me about it. They grow way too fast, so bulk is not an option until Aaliyah is an adult. We'll see if she takes to them later. She'll eat them over awhile.

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

It took my beardie a little bit of time to get used to reptiworms and still does get more excited about dubia roaches. But i always put some in her bowl and eventually I'd go in there and they would be gone. She still won't eat them when I'm watching but does clean her bowl throughout the day. I will say that she seems to like Phoenix worms better than reptiworms for some reason. Just a preference I guess. I find them to wiggle a little bit more and to be lighter in color. For some reason that's appealing.

I've heard great things about dubia roaches. I may do those when I'm living on my own. Beardies love movement.

 

[brezofleur]

I've heard great things about dubia roaches. I may do those when I'm living on my own. Beardies love movement.

Dubia are FANTASTIC! Are you living with your folks? Roommates? Do you have your own room? Dubia are fabulous when it comes to breeding. I keep my dubia bin in the living room of my 1 bedroom apartment and frequently host parties and get together. *No one* has ever asked what is in the bin, let alone know that I have thousands of roaches in there. I never freely tell people that I have them so everyone is blissfully ignorant if they're afraid of crawlies.

And it makes my baby girl happy to have them, lol.

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

I've heard great things about dubia roaches. I may do those when I'm living on my own. Beardies love movement.

Dubia are FANTASTIC! Are you living with your folks? Roommates? Do you have your own room? Dubia are fabulous when it comes to breeding. I keep my dubia bin in the living room of my 1 bedroom apartment and frequently host parties and get together. *No one* has ever asked what is in the bin, let alone know that I have thousands of roaches in there. I never freely tell people that I have them so everyone is blissfully ignorant if they're afraid of crawlies.

And it makes my baby girl happy to have them, lol.

I'm with my mom. I just don't have room with the 20 and 49 gallon tanks in my room. Let alone dealing with Mouse (she jumps/knocks over everything). I should be moving out in about a year, however, and my boyfriend and I have decided we would love to start a colony. I convinced him to handle them. We just don't have any extra space now, and I can't house them anywhere else. She'll be an adult by then, and feeding her won't be as difficult. Crickets, I hear, in large quantities smell. Dubias, however, are easy feeders, don't smell, and are pretty meaty. :mrgreen: What website did you use for the dubia? I hear roach guy is amazing.

 

[bonz152]

I don't have a colony, but instead buy small dubia nymphs in bulk (600-800 at a time). It is more expensive but I keep them in a very small bin on top of a dresser. They grow pretty fast so I just wait wait a couple of weeks and before I know it I have medium nymphs to feed my dragon. I give her roach nymphs every 3rd day or so and do Phoenix worms on the other days. It's a good mix of feeders without having a colony.

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

I don't have a colony, but instead buy small dubia nymphs in bulk (600-800 at a time). It is more expensive but I keep them in a very small bin on top of a dresser. They grow pretty fast so I just wait wait a couple of weeks and before I know it I have medium nymphs to feed my dragon. I give her roach nymphs every 3rd day or so and do Phoenix worms on the other days. It's a good mix of feeders without having a colony.

That's a great idea. Who do you buy from?

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

I am happy to say Aaliyah is eating about 16-18 Reptiworms per meal, and she eats them aggressively like crickets! She even ate the dark ones (becoming flies) that barely moved. We have to show her them, granted, but I saw her attacking the window where the container was. We compared prices, and the crickets are only a little bit more expensive in the long run, but Reptiworms are much easier to deal with.