Superworms and hornworms for juvenile?

[bluesoda025]

I am thinking of either purchasing some superworms or hornworms (or both!) for my 4 month old beardie. She's 98 grams, just weighed her yesterday, and I estimate that she's around 11-12" now. Would it be ok to feed superworms to her? That is, is she big enough to eat them? I have read that only dragons past a certain size should eat them or something. She has eaten pretty big crickets before without having any problems though. As for the hornworms, what is the max size of those that she can eat? I've seen beardies eat hornworms that look GIGANTIC compared to what they normally eat, and they still seem to gobble them up, so yeah -- I have no idea what size of hornworms is good to purchase for a dragon of her size.

 

[GoFast]

Still a bit too small for superworms IMO. They have this kink in their digestive tract that smooths out around 16" of length. Until they are very susceptible to impaction. I believe there are "small" superworms though. Personally, I would stick to crickets or even smaller dubias for just a little while longer.

 

[bluesoda025]

Hm, I had a feeling that was the case. I think I'll just get some hornworms then. Would 1" be a good size? 2" sounds too big, right?

Yeah, the reason I'm trying to switch to other feeders is because my dragon is kind of disinterested in crickets now. I have a silkworm colony going though, and I'll probably be feeding with those mainly, for the next few weeks/months.

 

[GoFast]

I honestly dont know much about the hornworms. I tried giving my dragon one and he couldnt have cared less....

 

[fez09]

Have you tried Dubia or Turks?? I would def hold off on supers until your dragon is 16 inches...

 

[bluesoda025]

What are turks? Another type of roach?
I don't think I will be able to keep any sort of roaches in the house. My mom is ultra terrified of them, and I will probably get kicked out of the house if I even bring one into the house. So they are kind of out of the question for me. :/

 

[valkener]

We're feeding our beardie Supers since a week now. We try to pick the smallest ones (we just bought 1000), but he also gets big ones. He is about six inches without the tail and he's been digesting them fine (pooped the day after he had his 4 first supers). I gotta admit though his poops are a lot bigger.

In nature reptiles eat/swallow whatever prey/bugs they can get, but they also get more exercise/running. I'd say if the heat/uvb is strong he will digest them fine but you might not wanna risk it. For us, there was no other solutions because we are in college and the beardie is already illegal, but keeping crickets/roaches in the dorm is even more unimaginable. So we just got a big box of supers and he loves em.

 

[Chevyrockstar]

my beardies slash and storm. have been eating them for over a month now. slash started when he was about 9"-10" Storm was 11". i have had ZERO problems. slash is currently 11+" and storm is 13+" now.

 

[runningguy]

My dragon is 11" long and I give him 1-4 small superworms at a time. He digests them just fine and loves them. Call a worm farm and ask for .5-.75 inch size worms. Most would be happy to sell you small ones.

 

[dragonfanatic4454]

Different dragons digest supers differently. Some of them can handle them, others can't and that's when you have impactions. It is always safer t owait until 16" just to make sure unless you can get the smaller ones, and then it is best fed sparingly mixed with crickets and roaches.

 

[Momto3boys]

Also if you have no choice..Ive read a few people will only fed freshly moleted supers to smaller beardies, that way they are soft and not hard...

dont know if that helps at all. You can also try Phoenix worms!

 

[bluesoda025]

From the sound of it, it's probably safer for me to hold off on superworms until she grows bigger. But as for staple feeders, I've got tons of silkworms. And she is actually not eating many of them right now, because she has parasites, which I didn't find out about til a few days ago and I've just begun treating her for them. I was just trying to see if there were some other good feeders for more variety. I've had bad experiences with crickets and would rather not use them for a while. :/ In fact, she might have gotten pinworms from them, who knows. I have also given her phoenix worms, and she loves those -- gobbles them right up. They are just so expensive though. I bought 200 of them, and she polished them off in less than 2 weeks -- and that was while she was lethargic with a low appetite! I was also surprised at how tiny those tubs of phoenix worms are, Lol. I expected a much bigger tub for 100 worms, but I guess they aren't that big anyways.

 

[Momto3boys]

have you tried or considered roaches?

 

[zebraflavencs]

have you tried or considered roaches?

I think I can shed some light on Roaches for you love... Dubias resemble pill bugs or rolly pollies... They don't climb well, they don't fly, and they certainly don't survive long outside of their bins. These are a tropical species, and have certain needs that must be met in order for them to not only survive, but thrive.

Now as for the Horns, yes the small ones are a good treat, 1-2 times a week.
Butter worms are a good semi staple along with crickets, roaches, silks and pws.

I've raised all 4 of my dragons on dubias, and I have some monster dragons !

I would be more than pleased to communicate with your mother about the dubias, but do some research about them, so you are ready to rebuttal her concerns.
Just email me, and I'll have a chat with your mother... From one Mom to another.
Janie