superworms: what to do??

[sarahbethgal523]

So I have heard many different opinions on superworms and really just have a few main questions if anyone could help. Also, Lucy is a little older than 6th months old if that helps.

1. Age. Is there any specific age or size to start feeding superworms? She is around 14.5 inches long.

2. Crushing heads?! Some people say that you should crush their heads before feeding superworms because otherwise they will eat/chew the bearded dragons insides??? Sounds crazy to me, but I would not want that happening to my Lucy!

3. The guy at the pet store said that I should only give them to her a few times a week because they have hard outer shells. I thought that only mealworms had that, and superworms were O.K. Just trying to clear that up.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Gail]

Supers do have harder shells but they aren't as hard as mealies. They also have more meat compared to the shell which makes them a better feeder. Most people on here recommend 16" before feeding supers but I started my dragon on them when he was 12".
You could try feeding him some now but only 2 a day until you know for sure he is digesting them well. No need to cut of the heads, they won't chew through your dragon, thats just a urban legend.

 

[sarahbethgal523]

Thanks for responding so quickly!

So once I am sure she is digesting them properly, can I give them to her as a staple??

 

[Jess]

Yeah 15-16" is typically recommended, but I started mine at 13" and he did fine. Just take it slow with them at first, and make sure your beardie is digesting them well before you give it more.

I use them as a staple, but since they are higher in fat you don't need to feed as many. I usually get crickets once a week or so too, in the summer when Dudley is eating more. They aren't the healthiest staple out there, but the are cheap and convienent, and fine in moderation. As adults they should have no more than 30 a week, and juvies should only have 15/day max. I would recommend waiting until your beardie is well over the 16" mark before you use them as a staple... You don't want to over load his little system with them. :wink:

 

[sarahbethgal523]

Thank you so much for all of that information!
I think I am going to try giving them to Lucy around every other day or so and have crickets on the other days.

Sarah Beth

 

[pumpkinman]

I have 6 or 700 full grown supers in a bin and another 300 morphing. My dragons are only 11" but I am breeding them now so I have a huge supply in a few months.....
Of the 6-700 about 3 or 4 every day are freshly molted and are extremely soft. I have been giving them to my dragons as a treat. They develope that hard exoskeleton real fast so you have to look daily anf pick out the couple that are a pale cream color. The will have molted within the last few hours.


Chris

 

[paullyn59]

I did that too and now he will only eat the white ones. I will put 10 regular and only 2 white and he will pick out the white and ignore the rest. If I give no white he will not eat at all. I have even tried not giving him white for a couple of days but he still won't eat the regular ones.

 

[thanybeauty1]

I don't know if this is accurate but our vet told us that we can't use Superworms as a staple because they are high in fat and can give the beardies a fatty liver. She said we can do like 10 a day for treats but not as a staple.

 

[Gail]

10 a day would be a staple amount for a adult. Personally I don't use supers as a staple, I have before and my dragon got really fat. I still feed supers but I also feed dubia and silkies.

 

[pumpkinman]

10 a day would be a staple amount for a adult. Personally I don't use supers as a staple, I have before and my dragon got really fat. I still feed supers but I also feed dubia and silkies.

Maybe supers are an ideal staple for a gravid female?
I don't know. Maybe some breeders will chime in here.

 

[my1stBD]

I feed supers, crickets and roaches as staples. I give 2 days crickets, 1 day roaches, 1 day supers and then i start over. She is gaining weight, but not in excess. And the variety keeps them interrested

Also if you breed supers you will have various sizes. You can feed the smaller ones which wont cause them to get blocked up. ANd keep a few to reach adulthood to morph and restock your colony

 

[sarahbethgal523]

I feed supers, crickets and roaches as staples. I give 2 days crickets, 1 day roaches, 1 day supers and then i start over. She is gaining weight, but not in excess. And the variety keeps them interrested

Also if you breed supers you will have various sizes. You can feed the smaller ones which wont cause them to get blocked up. ANd keep a few to reach adulthood to morph and restock your colony

Wow! That sounds like a lot of food, with a great variety! About how much do you feed of each? I never thought to give some of each every day.. hmmm...

I went to the pet store to pick up some supers the other day and a worker told me also that they should only be feed a few times a week because they are fatty and BD's might not want to eat crix anymore.

 

[my1stBD]

I went to the pet store to pick up some supers the other day and a worker told me also that they should only be feed a few times a week because they are fatty and BD's might not want to eat crix anymore.

Fatty, well yes they contain more fat than a cricket, but are also larger than a cricket. Supers can be used as a staple as long as the dragon is long enough or as previous posters said, feed the newly shed supers which are still soft or buy smaller supers.
Also yes, beardies can get spoiled easlilly and there have been cases where beardies refuse other feeders after being introduced to supers. Its like candy or ice cream to them. Most absolotely love it - mine sure does
But if you offer variety, like i do with crickets as mainstaple and then 1 day roaches and another supers or even silk worms / hornworms / pheonix worms thrown in for variety, they get a good balanced diet.

About how much do you feed of each?

Well it depends on the age of your dragon mainly ........... what i can tell you is yours is 14.5 inches and 6 months old right? that makes Lucy a Juvie meaning more protein than greens.

She can safely have anywhere between 30-60 crickets per day (even more if she wants to) spread out over 2 feedings per day,
or
about 30 medium sized super worms (20 ish if you use large ones that have just shed their hard shell) spread out over 2 feedings per day,
or
30-50 appropriate sized roaches spread out over 2 feedings per day.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

You can order different sizes of supers from mulberryfarms.com.. They come in micro,small,medium and large.. The micros are safe to feed smaller dragons.. Scarlett's been eating them since she was about 4 months old and shes never had a problem with digestion..Now she eats the medium ones..