Flucker’s freeze dried crickets from Superworms??

[luvmybd]

Before COVID-19 my 5 year old dragon ate superworms as his source of protein.
Now he’s eating freeze dried crickets/worms and is pooping every other day Vs twice/week on superworms.
Although he seems to love the crickets, he’s not as friendly and his beard is sometimes dark, as underneath his upper chest.
Aside from the obvious change in diet, is this not uncommon?

Thank you for the help??

 

[KarrieRee]

Freeze dried crickets are horribly dry and not very nutritious - I recommend you start him on dubia roaches - he needs them 2-3 times per week w/ fresh green salads every day-- this forum recommends fresh nothing dried frozen canned or jarred --- I can provide websites for insects and worms for you if you like -- he may be dehydrated so I would give him either a bath or drop water on his nose or spray him --- you can rinse or wash the salads in the morning before serving and he will get moisture from them as well
Karrie

 

[luvmybd]

Thank you Karrie.
I just ordered some Horn worms and Superworms from Mulberry Farms.
Didn’t want to leave my house to buy from my local pet shop.

He’s also acting sluggish; not himself.
I’ll give baths everyday and a couple of blueberries and very thin pieces of apple to keep him hydrated.
He only eats salad when there are superworms inside.
He’s been with me for approximately six years and I hope he endures the mistake I made!?
I really love him.

 

[KarrieRee]

You can give him a bath once a week and limit the fruit it has alot of sugar especially bluberries- too much sugar can cause diabetes- you can bsfl as well as your super horn butter and silk worms to lure him to that bowl
Karrie

 

[luvmybd]

Karrie, why only 1x/week for a bath when the freeze dried products have considerably less water vs live food?
I’d think baths more often will provide the needed hydration, inclusive of giving him water to drink.

 

[KarrieRee]

Dragons don't need baths everyday - most on here give baths only when they need them like when they've pooped all over themselves - most get their hydration thru their greens and gutloaded live insects- unless he is actually drinking from the bath every time he's in it it's not doing any good--
Karrie

 

[luvmybd]

He poops in the sink filled with water.
First I put drops of water from the faucet onto his head. After he doesn’t drink anymore he wants to go into the water where he poops.
This is his routine for the last 5 years. He only pooped in his viv twice. And it was my fault.
When he wants to poo, he will wait at the front of his viv. He trained me well.

 

[Claudiusx]

That's great that you two have such a routine, and even better that he drinks water.

I've never been a fan of those "processed" types of foods for the dragons. I've never had success with them and I can bet they would make your dragon feel off if he's been used to the real stuff for 5 years now.

I'm glad you were able to order some bugs.

-Brandon

 

[AHBD]

Some dragons like the water so if yours does then that's perfectly fine. Blueberries are O.K, just not too many but they can certainly be part of the diet. Hopefully he'll be fine with these few diet changes he's had lately.

 

[luvmybd]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help and moral support.

Which company do most order their worms, crickets, etc. from?
I placed an order with Mulberry Farms.

 

[Claudiusx]

I've used mulberrfarms for over a decade now. But recently I've been mainly only buying BSFL, supers and mealies as the bulk of my bug orders, so I've been using rainbowmealworms for the supers and mealies, and smyton for the BSFL. I wish I had 1 spot for them all (that's what mulberryfarms was for me for years) but BSFL are so cheap from symton, and symton's BSFL have a great nutrition profile.

If I want to get a smorgasbord of stuff, I still use mulberryfarms, especially for silkworm eggs.

-Brandon