Phoenix worms vs crickets as the staple

[Mikeo87]

Hello all,

I got by first beardie a few days ago, and have becomed a bit overwhelmed by the conflicting information on feeding; so im trying to sort all of this out and keep my little guy healthy. He is a little under 2 months old and around 6". Seems to have a decent amount of energy too.

We are currently feeding him crickets, who have been gutloaded with flukers orange cubes, oatmeal, apple, and carrots. We put a few in his viv at a time 3x a day. He usually eats 6 or so then loses interest and lets them crawl on him (at which point we remove them).

We are also giving him mixed veggies such as cilantro, carrots, bok choy, collard greens, etc. He will sometimes pick at these but isnt very thrilled since he is so young.

I was wondering about switching to phoenix worms as his staple live food instead of crickets. Has a primary diet of the worms been shown to be as healthy as crickets? How many should be offered per meal? Are crickets an inevitable part of juvenile beardie life?

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions!

 

[PandorasBox]

I started my ~5inch new baby bearded dragon (and first) on phoenix worms about a week ago. She damn near refused to eat crickets outside of her home unless starving and inside her home they would hide and be a pita to take out 3x a day. And since i work 6-2pm 5/7days a week i wanted something i could leave with her.

Phoenix worms have been given the "green light" status as a staple food, giving the beardie everything they need short of fruits/vegetables. People say they are too expensive, but there are a lot more to factor in.

1) Buying from their direct website (the freshest possible juts google phoenix worm) has 400count worms for roughly 7.5cents (usd not sure where you are) each which is only about double the cost of crickets for the same count.

2) SHE LOVES THEM! Watching her cobble these up is priceless.

3) She can eat while i go to work

4) They do not require extra time to gutload, or care. Simply leave them in the container and pull them out when you need them.

5) No more hunting down crickets 2-3 times a day as they hide under everything...

6) IMO *even though this is my first reptile* the cost of food shouldn't even be a factor when considering the health and life of a pet. They are strictly under YOUR care and finding food your bd will eat is mandatory ownership.

7) This helped her constantly look at her food dish for food, allowing me to introduce her to new fruits/vegies in the same dish of which she has started eating now (brings a tear to my eye to see her enjoying her meals)

8) Finally, my father cannot stand crickets. If i for some reason go out of town camping or what not, he would have no problem pulling out a few worms with tweezers each day and putting them into Pandora's food dish.

I know your original post date was like a month ago, but i am new to the forums and just started hunting for other topics on the phoenix worms (particularly, if my Pandora would eat the black phoenix worms. turns out they are just mature worms and she eats them all the same)

Hope i could help a bit and that you havn't abandoned this post.