Superworms for 14 inch, almost 2 year old???

[SpikesAgirl]

Hi everyone,
I've been trying to figure this out and I'm stumped. Lots of you know Dino (previously pneumonia & current fungus patient). Dino has always been on the small side and I've been hesitant to give her Superworms. I've seen some posts suggesting that they should not be fed until the dragon is 16" long due to a natural kink in the intestine that straightens as they get older/longer. If Dino is going to be 2 years old at the end of August, do you think because she us under 16", that she still has that kink or because she is pretty much an adult, it would straighten out? I would love to give her supers, just really afraid that she might be too small. Spike used to eat those suckers like she'd never had them before and was never going to see them ever again! We used to love to watch her scarf them down!! The crunching...ooooh the crunching! :lol: I hate giving Dino mealworms as her alternate feeder when she isn't having crickets. (I try to change it up for her.) Waxworms are out now because she's getting to be a little fattie-poop-a-lattie! Reptaid is making her eat like a PIG! Just wanted to give her something different, more nutritious and easily digested. The nearest place to me for hornworms is almost an hour from me and to be honest, I don't know a whole lot about them. They call the hornworms "tomato worms" and OH MY GOD are they HUGE, GREEN AND GROSS looking! I think if she bit into one and it squirted, I'd be DONE! I don't even know if she's big enough to eat those either! All that's local is Petco & Petsmart. Occasionally I can find a good container of calciworms in Petco (those are phoenix worms, right?) but most of the time, they're all dead in the container or they've morphed into flies! If you wanna laugh, you should see me in the store, carefully lifting the lid to every container to check them. I opened one up once and there was a fly on the inside of the damn lid... I screamed, and dropped that container like it was ON FIRE! :laughhard: Not.Even.Kidding! You guys have no idea... I REALLY, REALLY HATE bugs. The little shop I got her at doesn't have anything else either. Sometimes they have butterworms. It's a hit or miss with those so I stopped trying (how are they for nutrition anyway, never thought to look it up). Thoughts, opinions, "expert" advice???
Thanks! <3

 

[ShannyBeard]

Go ahead and feed the super worms!! My little rescue, Papa Smurf, eats them and he's even smaller. I believe there is mo harm in feeding them in mature adults, even if the adult is smaller than 16".

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Good to know Shanny! Thanks! I haven't spoke to my vet since Dino was on her deathbed. I'm not going back there. I do have another one to call to set up an appt with. Just haven't had the time to get there, so haven't called otherwise I would've asked them. :wink:

 

[ShannyBeard]

I was a little hesitant to feed them to him since he was 14", but when I read up on the kink that straightens over time, I figured no matter how small the dragon stayed his digestive system should mature. Right??

 

[SpikesAgirl]

I'm no expert on beardie intestinal growth or shape but sounds logical to me...no one else seems to be concerned...YET. :wink: Maybe I'll go get some tomorrow and see how she does with one...or two!

 

[lauraj1055]

Mine have been eating superworms since they were 5 months old, and less than 14" If you are concerened, get the mediums, however my 6 month old gobbles the big ones up no problem.

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Hi Laura!
Where do you find medium ones? Petco & Petsmart usually only have one size, don't they? Do you order yours? You have LOTS of beardie babies, don't you? :wink: (I remember following your link to your babies pictures! :love10: ) The closest place to me other than those two is Zoo Creatures in NH which is about an hour away for me. :| The place where I bought her doesn't sell them. They're more of an aquatic place than reptile. If I can't find medium ones, I'm willing to let her try the big ones. I think she'll LOVE them. :wink: Thanks for responding!

 

[lauraj1055]

Hi Laura!
Where do you find medium ones? Petco & Petsmart usually only have one size, don't they? Do you order yours? You have LOTS of beardie babies, don't you? :wink: (I remember following your link to your babies pictures! :love10: ) The closest place to me other than those two is Zoo Creatures in NH which is about an hour away for me. :| The place where I bought her doesn't sell them. They're more of an aquatic place than reptile. If I can't find medium ones, I'm willing to let her try the big ones. I think she'll LOVE them. :wink: Thanks for responding!

Here you go!
http://www.beardeddragons.co/beardeddragon/index.php?route=product/category&path=62

So much cheaper than Petco or any petstore! http://www.mulberryfarms.com has them too in all sizes.

I just saw beardeddragon.co is out of mediums, so you can try mulberryfarms though

And yes I have 9 dragons of my own and 3 babies, so that is a lot of feeding. My babies eat the small supers no problem!

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Thanks for the link Laura, that's awesome! I'll check it out later on!!! Babies really are piggie wiggies! Love them though! :love5:

 

[lauraj1055]

Thanks for the link Laura, that's awesome! I'll check it out later on!!! Babies really are piggie wiggies! Love them though! :love5:

Yup! and they keep you on your toes!

 

[dragonlover3]

Go ahead and feed the super worms!! My little rescue, Papa Smurf, eats them and he's even smaller. I believe there is mo harm in feeding them in mature adults, even if the adult is smaller than 16".

Yes, ...what Shannon said! .....I think 16" is a guide not a rule! and they come in different sizes for your dining pleasure... :lol:

 

[Paradon]

I don't see why not, if he's fully grown. Just like what the others have said. :wink:

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Well, Dino had her first superworms for dinner tonight and she loved 'em!! She chewed 'em up real good! :wink: Thank you all for your advice and sharing your experience with me with your smaller sized beardies and those SUPER worms! :notworthy: I would not have dared to give them to her without all of your input!!

 

[mistygirl]

mulberry farms is a great place to buy worms because they sell them by size. They usually have them in stock and once I got a shipment that died off really quick, I wrote them and they sent a replacement right away so their customer service is great. The hornworms are pretty creepy but my girl loves them. I usually buy the small ones and keep them in the fridge (I have a spare small fridge on my porch. Seems to reduce the growth because keep them out and they grow to immense proportions to big for my girl to eat. I have a reptile store near me and they sell a few at a time to me sometimes, but I agree they are really a creepy looking worm I also buy silkworms and butterworms from mulberry and my girl likes those too.

 

[carlisv]

If your little girl hasn't had supers before, or anything like them, your best bet is to start slow - one or two at first and see how that goes. Monitor her poop for a few days in case she has difficulty digesting them. If things seem normal add one or two each feeding. My Richard, who's 2 years old, 22 inches and 760 grams, can easily eat 12 large ones at a sitting. And he loves the beetles they turn into too! Our other baby, Dubs, is the same age but 19 inches and 550 grams. Supers sometimes give him digestive issues so we only let him have 1 or 2 with his huge pile of Phoenix worms.

You can't go wrong if you start slow and keep an eye out for digestive issues. We get our supers from a local pet store, and we can get 100 great big ones for $11ish. That lasts about 2 months since we also feed Phoenix worms and butterworms.