Some superworm questions

[gandhi]

Gandhi has gone off crickets so I tried him on superworms and he loves them! (He's 19 inches long by the way). I just have a few questions about them.

1. Are they good as a staple diet? I've looked through previous posts but couldn't find a definite answer
2. How many should I let him eat in a day? He's 8 months old. I'm guessing I shouldn't just let him eat as many as he can because i've heared that they're high in fat.
3. Do I need to dust them with calcium?

Thanks in advance

 

[nesta's mommy]

I've used superworms as a staple among others. I personally have found that my beardie doesn't process their shells as well as she would when other things are involved. Therefore I do superworms and molting (white) roaches, they're very soft and i think it helps her digest. but that's just nesta personally! i know many people who feed superworms as a staple with the appropriate veggies. I dust the worms.

 

[Buggsy]

I have used them as a staple, with butter-worm treats, as she was an adult 35-50 feeders a week, you could try 3-4 supers a day mixed with another feeder such as roaches.

Im in the UK so Gizmo gets locusts, she loves them above all else!

 

[gandhi]

Great - thanks for your replies guys

so, do I have to dust the supers?

 

[Fallencomrade2008]

The dusting isn't about what your feeding them, its about getting their vitamins and such. So yes you should dust them just like you did crix. They are higher in fat than a crix so you should get 1 other feeder and alternate between the two. Doing that will keep him loveing them too. He wont just quit like the crix lol. I personally do supers, dubia roaches, and Hornworms when i feel like buying them.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Suppers are a great staple but a little high in fat and they also have the chitin to contend with, so like the other post I would suggest that you add another feeder to the diet if you use suppers. It is also better for your beardie to have variety in their diet and they also tend to get bored of eating the same thing. I use dubia roaches and suppers and feed 50/50. The dubias are less fatty and a beardie favorite. They are a more expensive feeder than the suppers, but they are also much easier to house and breed if you are looking at being self sustaining in the future. I know roaches, ew, but personally I think crix are much grosser than roaches. Roaches don't smell, chirp or try to jump on you. I don't try to breed the suppers, and buy them 1,000 at a time. The dubias will cost you around 75 bucks to get enough babies and adults to start a breeding colony, but with the suppers being eaten as well your colony can be well underway in just a few months. I had a great colony going until the better half fed Scorch all the females. :roll: Then I had to start all over.

 

[gandhi]

The only reason I asked about dusting them was because I didn't dust the pheonix worms when he used to have them on alternate days because of the high calcium content. I was just checking that superworms wern't the same.

I think what I will do is get some locusts from the pet shop and look into starting a colony - Which I have already done once but never got round to it! 75 bucks? I'm in England so I guess thats about £30 ish! Infact I still have the contact details of a guy who I was talking to about it on this forum before, So when I have a bit more money to hand I shall get onto that. Not sure about the hornworms because I havn't ever been able to get them in England. Maybe I'll try butterworms too as a treat. Wow, Gandhi is turning into a lucky little lizard!!!!

Thanks for everyones input, much appreciated

 

[gandhi]

A colony of roaches is what i meant by the way - not locusts!!