"The Switch" From Crickets to Worms

[killakyleog]

Im ready to make the switch I think...
My beardie is almost 6 months old and I HATE crix. So shes been eating them like crazy but i dont like them at all there ugly gross and scary haha and not filling. I ordered a 1000 online and got the wrong size on accident i ment to get like 1/4 inch but some how i got pinheads so now im waiting for them to grow.

I need ot know the benefits of each worm, i have super's and i dont like them so they are not an option plus the feet are scary.

My dragon is again almost 6 months old and about 10 inches with her nipped tail. so prolly 11 ish not counting missing part.
and the space between her eyes is about .5 inch

Id prefer to be able to buy in bulk

and if possible i would like to be able to feed to an adult leopard gecko which i may get soon. Hopefully well 2 lpg's

Im between these for my main staple:
Silky's
Butter's (but can those be used as a main staple?)
Phoenix
Waxy's
possibly mealies? if available i think there extinct now XD
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So what are the benefits of these, what can i feed to a pair of lpg's, and what stay a smaller size im a big size buff i like to feed my lil' lexi little guys then i can feed her bulk, what stay worms longer, what are easiest, what are least gross?, just the basics eh?

Respond soon pallie's cuz i wannna order tonight

 

[killakyleog]

OH and price too

 

[Catalyst]

I need ot know the benefits of each worm, i have super's and i dont like them so they are not an option plus the feet are scary.

Plus your girl is too small for them. It's recommended that you only use superworms if your dragon is 16 inches or longer, although some have started their dragons at 14 inches. I would see if you can work at getting over your dislike of supers - among worms they're among the easiest to keep and they're also easy to breed if you're interested in having a self sustaining food colony. Plus most dragons love them.

Im between these for my main staple:
Silky's
Butter's (but can those be used as a main staple?)
Phoenix
Waxy's
possibly mealies? if available i think there extinct now XD

Silkworms are a great feeder all around as far as nutrition and their worth to the animal. The downside is that they can be a bit of a pain to keep - you need to clean out their home on a daily basis from their silk and poop (frass), and if they're not kept clean enough they get sick and die. They also need a special food that you have to order in as well or they starve and die. So basically, great nutrition but can get pricy with extra food and I find them a pain to keep.

Butterworms can be used as a staple. They are easy to keep since you just put them in the fridge and leave them there until you're ready to feed them to your dragon. You can't breed them - they're sterilized before leaving their country of origin, and since all butterworms are imported they can be a bit expensive (although some places have more reasonable prices than others). You also can't generally choose a size when ordering these guys I beleive.

Pheonix worms work well as a staple and are pretty easy to keep. They're small though and it can take a lot of them to fill a growing dragon's appetite, which makes them expensive to use as a staple feeder since you'll go through so many.

Wax worms are very fatty, the equivalent to dragon junk food, and should only be offered occassionally as treats, definitely not used as a staple feeder.

Meal worms aren't very good feeders. They have a lot of shell (chitin) to them which makes them difficult to digest. This shell poses an impaction risk to smaller dragons. They make an okay treat for an adult dragon but shouldn't be used as a staple feeder for any dragon.

I don't know which ones you can also feed to LPGs, I've only dealt with bearded dragons.

 

[painthorseskyy]

I also have 2 leo's and a bearded dragon. I feed my beardie salad in the morning 2 hrs after his light goes on and i put 4 very small mealworms in the salad to encourage him. Later in the day i give him a mixture of silkies, PW, and maybe one or two butterworms ( they are expensive so i just give him one or two a day). After he eats that sometimes i'll stick a few more silkies and PW in his bowl for him to snack on throughout the day. Then at supper time if he ate the snack i'll offer him some crickets (i dont suggest doing that in the beginning if your switching him over because mine just refused to eat worms until he learned to love them). He's 4 months old right now and about 15". (his parents were huge so i guess this is okay)

So the worms i keep on hand is silkies, PW, butterworms, mealworms (very small), and waxworms. Then i also keep crickets.

The bearded dragon very rarely see's waxworms however my seven year old leo pretty much only eats waxworms. Because he's very inactive he only eats about once a week maybe once every two weeks and in order to keep weight on him since he's old and picky he likes the waxworms (which i substiute with a butterworm every chance i get because they are also slightly fatty yet very good for them)

The three year old leo gets a mixture of PW (his favorite) , butterworms, (he really hates silkies iono why) and very small mealworms. He snacks on these throughout the day and during his actual "meal time" he gets crickets because he LOVES to chase them.

So far this has worked really well for me. Its not too expensive and offers a really good variety. The leo's are very prone to getting "bored" with their meal if you feed them the exact same thing every day. Say if you only offered crickets...

The mealworms, waxworms, and butterworms are very easy to care for..just throw them in the fridge and they last for a few months. (i always run out after a few weeks )
The PW are also very easy i just stick them under my beardie's tank with the crickets. They do however turn black and inactive depending on the size pretty quickly, but i bet you will go through them fast enough you wont have to worry about that.
The silkies are i guess you could say are the most demanding to care for because u have to feed them and they are VERY sensitive to bacteria...
I'm about to also start feeding my beardie hornworms and see how he likes those for some more variety.