Superworms as staple

[CesarDaKIng]

so im trying to figure out if i want to get a bearded dragon and the thing that is holding me back is the amount of ckickets they need i cant afford them and even if i could my landlord would not allow them (shes very squeemish) however i do have a hure meal worm colony for my leos and other lizards and i heard once the reach 16inches its okay to feed them. Now the only problem i have with that is i want to get a young one so i can raise it and watch it grow and 16inches seems like an adult and i feel like ill be missing so critical bonding time. so my question is, since i have meals worms of all sizes, and i can get pretty small ones from petco if needed (1/2, 3/4, and 1inchers) so could i get a younger small one like say maybe ten inches and give him smaller ones? ive read about the intestine thing they have, but people are always saying they only feed them these super huge worms so i wonder if thats the problem.

 

[Momomo]

The heading of your thread says superworms, but you are talking about mealworms. Which is it? Are you aware that these two are completely different species?

 

[Erok000]

Fyi, mealworms are a big no no with dragons. Supers are ok once they are 16". And you are right , you would miss watching them grow in that time. But,, If you already breed worms, why not look into breeding roaches? Its very simmiliar and better than crickets and supers,lol.and Im pretty sure your leos can eat them too.

 

[brittani299]

It is very confusing. Meal worms are horrible and should never be fed. But super worms are ok once they are 16 inches. But you can get freshly shed super worms and feed them to smaller beardies.

 

[jwideman]

I would start a superworm colony. It's just like a mealworm colony except the larvae have to be isolated to pupate.

 

[CesarDaKIng]

Im sorry it was a simple mistake, i ment superworms, and yes i am very aware of the differences, mealies have harder shells and and are not canibalistic and stay very small and need to be refrigerated to keep them from breeding and have less fat then supers. Supers get much larger and have softer bodies and a higher fat content and are canibalistic and there for need to be seperated so they will morph and become beetles and they are much larger than mealies and yes i am very aware beards cant have mealies and my landlord deffinatly wont tolerate roaches i used to breed them too but i had to move. im not inexperienced with reptiles and i very much know what im doing, i have frilled dragons and they digest supers fine, i just feed the appropiate sized ones, not the fourfoot long ones so i was seeing if it would work with a beardie. I breed supers it was just a simple word mistake.

 

[jwideman]

Okay, now that we've got that out of the way...
Many folks advise against even feeding superworms as a staple to fully grown BDs. But some folks have used them as a staple even for juveniles. I think every BD is different. If you introduce the superworms slowly, gut-load them, watch for impaction, and have another feeder to switch off to, it might not be a bad idea.

 

[brittani299]

I am feeding my 17 inch female superworms right now. She got impaction from them. So I have to stop. But I am keeping them because the freshly shed ones don't have shells and are good for my baby

 

[jwideman]

I am feeding my 17 inch female superworms right now. She got impaction from them. So I have to stop. But I am keeping them because the freshly shed ones don't have shells and are good for my baby

Incidentally, how are you dealing with the impaction? Warm baths and belly rubs?

 

[brittani299]

Yea and some applesauce and olive oil