Getting cranky about feeders... please help

[sunkist]

Okay so Lindy was living on small/medium crickets from Petsmart then his appetitie increase so I thought I would order some stuff online. ((Had gotten one container of phoenix worms to try from a local store - medium)).

Sooo I ordered phoenix worms - made the mistake of ordering small... the buggers are toooo fast! I can't keep them contained in the bowl while he eats them and I don't want them crawling up and out of the tank. GRRRRRRR

I ordered small crickets online... over 1/2 were dead and they were sooo small they were escaping evidently all over the apartment office. Soooo not happy with these stupid little baby crickets. Give me petsmart sized crickets anyday.

Anyway... I have on order to try phoenix worms - large, butterworms - small, and silkworms - small. I think.

Anyway... my question is... considering you have to watch what size it is your order for a 3.5 month old... what do you give them?????????????? And what SIZE do you give them????

The phoenix worms are just soooooo freaking fast!

Please help!!!!

 

[NegativeCreep]

Dr. Phoenix posted yesterday (I can't remember what thread) to take the worms out to dry for a minute on a paper towel. He said that if they were dry, they can't climb out of a bowl. I always had them escape, too.. I had an order of crix and pw's come in yesterday, so I ran home to try it! As long as I put them in dry, they couldn't even climb out of the small paper plates that we use (ok, one got out!). But, I know that they couldn't have gotten out of a bowl.
I was taking them and dunking them in water to remove the bedding, but last night, I just reached in and grabbed one or two at a time, dropped them on a paper towel until I got about 12 of them; then I sort of sifted them around until their bedding came loose and knocked them onto the plate after a few minutes.

Who did you order your crix from? With the recent dips in temperatures, are you sure they were dead? When crix get cold, they may seem to be dead, at first, but if you let them sit in a warmer environment for an hour or so, they 'come back to life'. Otherwise, I would check to see about a replacement order. If the temperatures didn't drop too low, you may be entitled to a replacement order. There are a lot of great places to get feeders from, and it will save you a lot of money, in the long run.

As for sizes.. I get the medium pw's, since the larger ones seem to die/turn dark too quickly. My girl eats the dark ones, but not readily. I also order the 1/4" crickets. Blazey can eat larger crix, but since they last about 4-6 weeks (depending on appetite, die off, etc.) they grow. So by the time I am at the end of a batch, they are mostly small enough for her to still eat. I have had to remove a few that got too big.. My girls is about 7" or so now.

 

[Paradon]

If you are buying Phoenix worms go large. I think even a small bearded can handle large because Phoenix worms are soft bodied larvae. They don't have any hard, indigestible chitin like crickets and mealworms do. And silk worms and butterwoms also don't have the hard chitin.

Now if you are feeding crickets, they should be no longer than the space between your bearded's eyes. I don't understand how the crickets are escaping and from what. They should be able to climb out of glass aquarium. Now if you are using those dull, non-see through plastic storage boxes, then, yes, they can climb up the sides and escape. I suggest you use the translucent one with smooth sides and that you can see through it. The crickets shouldn't be able to climb up and out.

 

[sunkist]

Thanks for the responses...

I'll have to try the drying of the phoenix worm thing because they were wet and were really fast.

The crickets were dead - still sitting in the same pile at the bottom of the container - I think they sent twice the amount I asked though so I'm not going to ask about a refund. These crickets are TEENY TEENY TEENY tiny. Like sooo small you can't pick them up. He almost swallows them whole. They were getting out of the shipping box not the container they are now saved in. They were going throught he wire mesh on the box being used for air. I think I just need the next size up if I order anymore.

I'm thinking about the dubia's but just don't know if Lindy can eat them or how to order what size. He's 8.5 inches now.

 

[NegativeCreep]

You know, I got some more yesterday, and I had a bunch escaping.. at work! hehe There must have been a void, and my crix are pretty small too. I got them home and into their tank, and everyone is happy now..

I swear sometimes, I get like double what I order, too. It can be a little overwhelming sometimes!

 

[Paradon]

Dubia roach is a lot of fun...let me tell ya! You can get a colony going and soon you will have tons of small ones for your 8 inch beardies. They grow pretty fast, too, and love veggies and greens. They are so much easier to work with than crickets. I have about 40 small dubias right now and boy do they grow fast and I have had them for only 3 days. Pretty soon I can get a colony going and start feeding them to my beardie. So far out of all the 40 dubia, I've had none died yet.

 

[sunkist]

Thanks for all the info...

I guess my thing is how big are the dubia. I have scoured and scoured and read Jason's site about them but can't get a real idea of how big. Can an 8.5 inch dragon eat an adult or do I only feet them babies??

I just feel sooo clueless.

 

[Paradon]

I think you would just feed off some babies once you have established a colony because the adults are kindda big for an 8 inch dragon. The main thing is: they are much easier to work with than crickets and they don't die nearly as fast. I bought 40 babies and none have died yet...so far.

 

[patrickb]

The crickets were dead - still sitting in the same pile at the bottom of the container - I think they sent twice the amount I asked though so I'm not going to ask about a refund. These crickets are TEENY TEENY TEENY tiny. Like sooo small you can't pick them up. He almost swallows them whole. They were getting out of the shipping box not the container they are now saved in. They were going throught he wire mesh on the box being used for air. I think I just need the next size up if I order anymore.

That's the company's fault there. They should not be using mesh that crickets could crawl through and get out during shipping. That's just irresponsible and it sounds like someone goofed up. I would contact them about a refund or a replacement shipped properly, not shipped like that.

I guess my thing is how big are the dubia. I have scoured and scoured and read Jason's site about them but can't get a real idea of how big. Can an 8.5 inch dragon eat an adult or do I only feet them babies??

I just feel sooo clueless.

Don't feel clueless, tis why you and us are here! To help educate each other. The adult dubia are about 2-2.5" in length, but you don't want to be feeding adults as they are the ones producing the babies. The best thing is that once you get a colony established, you will have many different sizes of them available at all times so you can feed any size dragon. Especially helpful if you decide to purchase another one later on. And even better, there will always be a size your dragon can eat as he grows bigger and bigger. They can eat adults once they are fully grown too. It may seem expensive to start them, but they can virtually eliminate your live feeder bill, other than the few things you may buy for variety and as treats.