Lots of black Phoenix worms...

[Ruby2uesday]

I got my shipment of Phoenix worms last week and a half or so and about 1/2 of them were blackish in color already so ofcourse they don't last as long. is there anyway to keep them alive longer. i really feel that i wasted about 1/2 of my shipment this time!

 

[katieerin]

They are farther along in their lifespan, but this means they are also more beneficial for your dragon. Is there anyway you could just feed them to your dragon before the lighter ones? How many does he/she eat in a day? How many did you order?

Edit: Oh, and did you order the larges? I usually get the mediums.

 

[Ruby2uesday]

yeah, i bought the large ones. Hue seems to not like to eat the black ones as fast. He always shoots for the whiter ones. i may just have to "force" them on him. should i just get the meds? i heard that some people get a lot of smalls when they ordered their mediums? i'm about to place another order so wasn't sure what to do. wish i could just grow my own.

 

[Navan94]

yeah, i bought the large ones. Hue seems to not like to eat the black ones as fast. He always shoots for the whiter ones. i may just have to "force" them on him. should i just get the meds? i heard that some people get a lot of smalls when they ordered their mediums? i'm about to place another order so wasn't sure what to do. wish i could just grow my own.

My beardie usually shoots for the whiter ones first too, but I think they are just more noticeable because of the contrast from the repti-carpet (in my case anyway). By the time I start scraping the bottom of the tub there are a lot of black ones, but he'll still eat them up and I generally try to get the black ones out right away to feed when I notice them. As said before the black ones are packed with more calcium than the lighter ones. You'll notice when you start running out of worms that most of the black ones will not move. They're not dead. Once I put those into a little feeder cup for transport to the enclosure, they start wiggling around just as well as the lighter ones. The only thing you can do to provide a longer shelf life is to keep them in 55-65 degree climate. Some people use their wine fridges, where a normal refrigerator is too cold and will kill them.

I've contemplated large ones, just because my dragon eats 60-70 mediums per sitting. There are some smaller ones mixed in sometimes (not many), but there are just as many larger ones to compensate. I'm pretty confident my dubia colony is ready to feed from. As much as I've loved the ease of care and relief from crickets, I'm excited to stop ordering worms.

To answer your question though, I've never ordered the large ones for fear of shorter shelf life and I've had good luck with the mediums.... might give them a try and see what you think. I've only ordered about 7,000 worms from phoenixworm.com, since I started using them as a staple, and I can't say I've been disappointed with a single cup. Great feeder.

I've seen people here write that other live feeder vendors get their phoenix worms from http://www.phoenixworm.com. If you're buying from someone else...that may play a role in how long they last.

 

[katieerin]

Navan94 (sorry, don't know your name!) how do you get the sawdust off of so many? Do you put them in a bowl of water? I've heard that they will just float to the top, and the sawdust will sink...

 

[Ruby2uesday]

Thanks Nevan! and everyone else!!!!

man, wish i knew the black ones weren't dead..... live and learn i guess. I'll try some meds this go around and see how they do and make sure i use the black ones first. Hue just might come up against mommy dearest if he doesn't eat them, and he'll sit at the table until he does, or eat the same ones in the morning! LOL NO MORE WIRE HANGERS!!!! lol

Oh and i do use the phoenix worms.com! great worms, guess it's me that's the problem!

 

[diggerdrake]

The black PW are near the end of their cycle and will turn to flies soon after if fed. Feeding them off first is definately recommended. BTW the darker colored PW are actually higher in nutrition. Warm them up a bit before feeding to your dragon and they will liven up.

 

[Ruby2uesday]

Just ordered some medium size worms. will definatley try the warm up trick to "liven" any slow movers! Thanks for all the tips/advice! hate the thought of wasting my money! I'd rather just raise them myself if i knew how! any tutorials on that?

 

[Navan94]

Navan94 (sorry, don't know your name!) how do you get the sawdust off of so many? Do you put them in a bowl of water? I've heard that they will just float to the top, and the sawdust will sink...

I've always forked them out onto a paper towel. I try to avoid as much substrate as I can while scooping them out onto the paper towel. Roll a few of them away from the pile you scooped out and roll them a couple more times. That will be sufficient in getting the substrate off of them. I will usually roll 5-6 at a time, toss them in a transport cup, and repeat the process till I have the number I want. Of course when you get a fresh new order, it's almost a game trying to race the ones dashing for the edge of the paper towel.

I personally wouldn't recommend getting them wet. They are slickery little boogers if that happens and they have no problem going where they want to if they are slimy.

 

[jargonchipmunk]

I've just been grabbing several worms in my fingers trying to get as little dust as possible, and simply "slamming" them down into the trough. I use a seperate container to feed for now, so it doesn't matter if I make a mess. When I toss them down like that, all the dust falls right off of them, and gets them wiggling something crazy lol. They don't last long after that...

 

[Ruby2uesday]

Navan94 (sorry, don't know your name!) how do you get the sawdust off of so many? Do you put them in a bowl of water? I've heard that they will just float to the top, and the sawdust will sink...

i just get as much off as i can. But was told that the packaging isn't harmful to the beardie. Not that i keep mine coated, i just let them wriggle in my spoon a bit before "scooching" them off and into the bowl. I tried the rinsing them off but that was a pain. if anything i'd put them dry onto a papertowel and the material comes off as they wiggle, then just pick them up and put them in the bowl after that.

 

[bluedolphins]

I get the dust off of them by getting a sand sifter that they sell for the sand for reptile cages, (mine is a ZooMed metal scoop) and I just dump the bucket of worm and dust in it, place over a cereal bowl, tap the sides until it sifts out the dust and your left with only phoenix worms and no dust.

This way too, you cannot miss any worms hiding in the soil, your sure to get them all this way. 8)

 

[SteveOhh]

And the warming up trick definitely helps bring the PW to life! I usually take my feeder bowl and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, which is just long enough for it to get nice and warm. Dump the PW into the bowl and they start squirming! My beardie definitely seems to enjoy eating them more when they're moving around a lot.

 

[bkeaver]

question.. do phoenix worms really turn into flies if they arent used quick enough? if so how long does it take to get to that stage. I have been thinking of getting some but didnt know how to store them to slow down this progress aswell...

 

[Navan94]

question.. do phoenix worms really turn into flies if they arent used quick enough? if so how long does it take to get to that stage. I have been thinking of getting some but didnt know how to store them to slow down this progress aswell...

Just store them in a cool area of your home. Not the refrigerator. As I understand it, Black Soldier Flies have a very short life span. You should be able to keep phoenix worms for around a month with no worries of seeing a fly. I've placed several orders of phoenix worms and have never had them around long enough for one to change into a fly.