Phoenix worms as staple

[wulfie]

I've read several conflicting threads on this subject. Is it or is it not okay to use them as a beardies staple? I don't want to start a dubia colony and I don't want to deal with raising crickets. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated

 

[Claudiusx]

They are perfectly fine to use as a staple. They just are a bit more expensive than other feeders like crickets and dubias.

-Brandon

 

[wulfie]

thanks for confirming that. I can't really do crickets or dubias due to my fiance's OCD, she hates bugs eventhough I have two tarantulas that we get crickets for every other week, but she definitely doesn't want me breeding crickets or dubias, whereas phoenix worms don't require a habitat, etc so she doesn't have to 'see' them

 

[Goodtruant]

They would be a great staple when used with a multivitamin (no added calcium). Easy to keep and maintain, require no feeding, and great for beardies.

However, they are expensive, and you can only keep so many at a time. You couldn't buy thousands at a time to save money, without them going bad or turning in to flies.

Our 1 year old beardie still enjoys phoenix worms, but I imagine that it would take 100-150 a day to fill him up. $10-15 a day would add up quickly ($3650-5475 per year to be exact). We also have a 6 month old who won't eat them. She would eat 50-100 a day if she would (she eats that many small dubia a day). $5-7.50 per day ($1825-2738 per year).

 

[Claudiusx]

However, they are expensive, and you can only keep so many at a time. You couldn't buy thousands at a time to save money, without them going bad or turning in to flies.

There is a way you can buy and keep bulk amounts actually. If you buy a wine fridge you can store bulk amounts in there for I believe a few months. 1 month at the least.

Wine fridges don't get as cool as refrigerators which is why you'd need a wine fridge and couldn't use your own fridge.

-Brandon

 

[CountofCasualty]

Keeping them in a wine fridge is true(50-60 degrees I think) it puts them in a dormant state. I plan on buying 5000-10000 and keeping them in a wine cooler when I can start buying them next month.

Also 10-15 dollars a day for 100-150 of them is VERY high. I've heard them as little as 5 dollars for 100...Even in Canada, which has some of the most expensive prices, they're 8.50 for 100.

You can also gut load them(there's a stickied thread in this topic) and that will cut down on how many the beardie will eat because they grow to almost twice their size.

 

[wulfie]

so getting them from the supplier, phoenixworms.com at $40 for 1000 is considered 'expensive'?

 

[Goodtruant]

so getting them from the supplier, phoenixworms.com at $40 for 1000 is considered 'expensive'?

Considering that you could go through 3000 in a month (or more), you might consider $120 per month expensive (depending on how much money you make, and considering how much it cost to have a dubia colony). You also have to consider the cost of a wine cooler, and the electricity to run it. And I don't see the option to get 1000 for $40. I see you can get 600 small, or 400 large, for $28 + $6 shipping. I'm not sure how long you could keep a beardie going on small worms. Our adult wont eat smalls, only the large.

On the PW website, if you got a deal on shipping ($10 for 3000 shipped?), the worms would cost $0.05 each. $150 for 3000. $1800 per year, for small worms.

It would cost $213 for 3000 large, $2556 per year. (sorry, I wasn't buying in bulk in my earlier math)

I've ordered them from Florida Herps before, and it was a little cheaper, but the worms were really bad quality. It was $59 shipped, for 1000 large worms, now I see it's $69. At least 1/2 of the 1000 were dead on arrival, of which they would only offer store credit, no refund.

We keep our worms at about 60-65 degrees and they will keep good for about 3-4 weeks, and then turn black. Luckily our dragon will still eat the black non moving ones, so they last 5+ weeks. Any colder and they started dying off.

 

[wulfie]

5000 large reptiworms for $80 (http://bit.ly/19o9Ai2) that's $960 a year and that's if you go through the full 5000 a month
10000 large reptiworms for $130

 

[Goodtruant]

5000 large reptiworms for $80 (http://bit.ly/19o9Ai2) that's $960 a year and that's if you go through the full 5000 a month
10000 large reptiworms for $130

That's a great deal! It's really more like$100 for 5k, and $160 for 10k, with tax and shipping though. Also you have to consider how much time it will take to get through 10,000 worms. 3+ months with one beardie? I don't think they would last that long before they turned in to flies.

The only problem I had with the repti's was the substrate. It's super messy and hard to remove. I also had more die-offs than phoenix worms (ordered direct).

After ordering thousands of worms from 4-5 different places, I only order the black fly larve through phoenixworms website.

 

[wulfie]

drop 'em in some water, substrate comes right off and larvae float
I really don't think it's gonna be THAT expensive to feed just one beardie, especially since their live prey vs fruits/veggies drops off after they've grown, 20% live 80% fruit/veggie

 

[Goodtruant]

drop 'em in some water, substrate comes right off and larvae float
I really don't think it's gonna be THAT expensive to feed just one beardie, especially since their live prey vs fruits/veggies drops off after they've grown, 20% live 80% fruit/veggie

Not that repti's I got, the substrate is more like peat moss, everything floats and sticks. Phoenix worm substrate sinks.

 

[wulfie]

and what's the cost of phoenix worms vs reptiworms?

 

[Goodtruant]

and what's the cost of phoenix worms vs reptiworms?

Repti's are much more cost effective.

 

[wulfie]

then reptiworms it is