Questions about superworms

[mafu7]

Hi. I have a new bearded dragon that is about 5 or 6 inches. I have some questions about superworms.
1. How big should he be before I can feed him superworms?
2.What can I keep them in that they can't chew through at all? (I do not want to breed them, I will buy them 50 at a time from the pet store)
3.Are they okay as a sataple once he is big enough?(crickets are the biggest pain I have ever had to deal with in my life lol)
4.What would I feed them so they don't eat each other lol?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, mafu7

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

hello,

1. alot of people say its 16 inches from head to tail, or something like 8inches from head to vent.
2. i use shoe box tupperware containers from home depot. . . cost me 99cents each
3. I hear of alot of people using them as a staple once they are big enough, i just recently made the switch.
4. they can be kept on a mix of wheat bran, oats, baby cereal, basically anything wheat related. They also need a water source otherwise they will eat each other, i use carrots, tried water crystals they didnt work so well.

also crixs are nasty, ever thought of switching to roaches?

 

[mafu7]

I would never have roaches in the house. I will probably switch to phoenix worms until he is big enough for supers. Crickets are just too hard to keep alive. Phoenix worms may seem a bit pricey, but if you're buying crickets by the dozen and 10 out of every 12 die, than what good does that do? Lol. Have any experience with phoenix worms?

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

there small and expensive. . . your crickets shouldnt be dieing off at that rate at all. . . how are they kept?

 

[brunoboy]

Roaches are SO easy to maintain. They are excellent feeders and are the cheapest in the long-run. There are a number of available resources and breeders on-line. Roaches are rapidly gaining popularity as they are also amazing creatures.

They are clean, most have no odor, require very little maintenance, will not infest your home and dragons love them.

Silkworms are also an excellent feeder, but can be very expensive.

I agree, 16" is a good length for supers. bruno loves them but they really kind of wig me out because they are SO aggressive. All that wigglin'....... :roll:

 

[mafu7]

I had the crickets in a small cricket keeper with calcium gel food. We got 24 crickets and only fed a small portion of them before they were all dead. We just got home from the petstore and the employee we talked to said that the really small crix are a lot less hardy than the bigger crix, and can die if exposed to the cold for even a few minutes. So we got a dozen crickets and 50 mealworms to last him hopefully until we can order some phoenix worms. I actually figured out that the phoenix worms are actually 1 cent less (for the medium and large sizes) each than at my cheapest local pet store, and have more nutritional value. The crix are $0.90 a dozen at the pet store, which comes out to be $0.075 a cricket. The pws come out to be $0.065 a piece, and also have free shipping via priority with guaranteed live delivery. I am just trying to find an easy, messless, staple that is healthy for my beardie and easy on my money, and phoenix worms suit that the best. Buying crix in bulk is out of the question since I only have 1 small beardie and too many crix would go to waste.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

they shouldnt be dieing off that fast, or any at all. . .i just keep mine in a rubber maid container and there as happy as can be. they need to be provided with enough hiding places ( egg crates, paper towel tubes, anything really) i also feed mine a mix of wheat bran, baby cereal, crushed milk bone, and some blended adult dog food with some oatmeal. . . but to be completely honest, dog food works perfectly fine, they also need a source of moisture, carrots work well for this.

if kept cool, crixs do not grow very fast and ordering a 1000 pin head crickets would do the job for a very long time and would also grow with the beardie. meal worms are not to good to feed your lizards since they contain very little nutrition.

i also found out that my beardied lost interest in pw's, both of them for that matter decided one day they didnt like them at all. . . it was kinda strange, but it happens.

 

[mafu7]

Would it be possible to do that method without having to touch the crix lol?

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

what do you mean? im a lil confused. ..

 

[diggerdrake]

Yes you can slow down the growing of crix by keeping them cool. Bottom line is though that they wil still live no more than 8 weeks from birth. You can easily feed them to your by using a paper towel tube to get them out of the enclosure. If you are feeding in your dragon's viv then you will want to feed only a few at a time until the dragon is finished with his/her meal. Any left over should be removed immediately as they hide and later use your dragon as food as he/she sleeps. Crix are noctournal and do their business at night and could inflict some nasty bites on your dragon. The best way to feed any live feeders to your dragon is to have a tote used just for feeding. You put the crix in and then put the dragon in and let it eat its fill for 10-15 minutes. Remove the dragon and then easily dump any leftover crix back into their keeper. Any crix that you dust with calcium powder will not survive more than a day or two . So when dusting, only dust what you think the dragon will eat at that sitting. Crix require quite a bit of maintenance to ensure that they survive til time for feeding. The sheds and dead ones should be removed ASAP. A dead cricket will emit toxins that will kill off others. Theirpoop is not good for them either. Cleaning is needed at least every few days to ensure a healthy bin. Crix are a good and inexpensive staple for a growing dragon but in my opinion are a lot more hassle than other feeders available. Buying in bulk online is the best solution. Expect though some die-offs just from shipping. Typically I would buy 1000 and see 25-30 DOA. Out of the remaining you can expect a 10% die-off or more depending on your diligence in keeping them healthy. lots of work. keep an open mind to other feeders as there are quite a few that are more beneficial to your dragon than crix. If you are set in feeding superworms to your dragon when he/she gets big enough buying in bulk is inexpensive. Also if you are thinking ahead now would be the time to attempt breeding supers as it will take a few months before you have feeders ready. Any other info you need is readily available in the many posts here by some very knowledgable people. An if you don't see what info you are looking for all you have to do is ask.

 

[mafu7]

I'm not sure if I will feed supers or not. What is the best way to keep (not breed) crickets in bulk?

 

[mafu7]

Ok i am having trouble deciding if I should just get phoenix worms or get crickets. I don't think I can deal with the crickets, what is the easiest way to clean the enclosure? I might use a 10 gallon aquarium if I do decide on crix. But I mean, come on, you don't even have to look at the phoenix worms until it is feeding time lol. I think I am leaning toward them for now lol, unless there is an easy way to keep crickets, and I know there is not lol.

 

[neecie]

I recently added butterworms to my bd's menu. they are the easiest of all. stay in the frig, no food just substrate they come in, no poo, just great. pretty and have a faint fruity smell (if you put them up to your nose, HA!) kinda chubby, but not little like phoenix, not big like some hornworms and silkies can get. I try to vary her diet.........so won't stick with these soley.