Question about superworms

[sandyvern]

I just got some superworms and gave them to my adult and my 8 month old....and they loved them!!! And my adult, who is like 2 1/2 years old had about 10-15...no problem. But my 8 month old had probably like 10...and loved them...but then the next day he had major poop issues with like partially digested looking superworms. So my question is...is this normal??? I got my adult when he was like 6 or 7 months old....and so he might of had them before I got him...but since I have had him he hasn't. And my baby (who isn't a baby anymore) I know has never had them before cause I got hm when he was 4 weeks old. So I was wondering maybe if it was just cause it was something new...and maybe should have only given him a couple of them to start with? This was on Tuesday that he had poop issues...yesterday all I gave him was a salad (which he never really touches)....and today he has had a salad but no crixs or worms of any kind. Just wanted to make sure he was ok before I fed him anymore. Yesterday and today he hasn't had anymore poop issues.

Just would like to know before I feed him anymore of them.....
Thanks in advance for any info anyone may have!
Sandy

 

[Thinker]

Supers are pretty big and chitenous. Adult dragons generally handle them well as an occasional treat, but be careful with your 8 month old. A better choice for that young-un would be Phoenix worms. I wouldn't chance more that 1 or 2 small supers with my 8-monther.

Dan

 

[sunkist]

I give both my juvies superworms as their staple. They process about 95% of them without a problem and both eat at least 10 each sitting. They've never cause any real poop related issues. Even with phoenix worms they boys would poop out unprocessed parts.

 

[akingsley9000]

I use supers as my staple as well for my 12 month and 15 month old. right now they are both in a semi brumation stage but typically they would each eat 10-15 per day.

When you first start giving supers you want to start of with a few a day to give their body time to adjust and make sure they are processing them properly.

Check you temps to make sure they are where they should be and make sure you provide enough time for them to digest them before lights out.

Since your 8 mo old hasn't had any issues since Tuesday - he should be fine. i would offer him a few today along with his salad and keep an eye out to see how he processes them this time.

How long is your 8 mo old?

As Sunkist mentioned it is not unusual to see some undigested parts like bits of shell but you should not be seeing whole sections of worms.

Also you may want to watch your 8 mo old and make sure he is chewing them before swallowing :roll:

 

[Catalyst]

my 8 month old had probably like 10...and loved them...but then the next day he had major poop issues with like partially digested looking superworms. So my question is...is this normal??? ... So I was wondering maybe if it was just cause it was something new...and maybe should have only given him a couple of them to start with?

No it's not normal, and yes you should have started him off slower With superworms, you want to make sure your dragon is 16 inches or longer (although some people have successfully used them with dragons as small as 14 inches long) and introduce them slowly so that your dragon's body has time to adjust to the new type of feeder. I'd suggest only giving 2 or 3 the first day and then watch his poo to make sure everything is digested okay. Pieces of shell are normal in the poo, but you don't want to see big chunks of undigested worm coming through. Once he can handle that amount of worms with no problem, slowly increase it until you hit your target number.

 

[sandyvern]

Thanks everyone! I wasn't thinking and should have started him off with fewer....my bad!!

Last time I checked he was 15" long...as of like 2 weeks ago. He is just a little piglet at least as far as crixs, phoenix worms and now supers!! Today I gave him 2 hoping to see if all goes well this time. He has been fine since Tuesday.

Thanks again!! :mrgreen:
Sandy