What to do when we run out of insects?

[reytamminen]

My lizard is 5 months old. he usually eats 40-60 crickets a day. we have an ongoing subscription that sends us crickets every week, but there was a glitch and we won’t be getting any crix for another week. he already ate all of his crickets for this week. is it okay to substitute something (like veggies) for the crix? we have a bunch of collard greens for him, the occasional strawberry chunk for a treat. i’m out of town on a trip right now (he’s with me), petsmart isn’t very far but i’m not sure if i can get my grandpa to bring me there, so we might not be able to get any bugs until next week. i could try to order some freeze dried bugs on amazon and get next day shipping, but freeze dried bugs aren’t very good so :/

 

[kingofnobbys]

Visit a pet shop and buy an emergency supply of suitable sized bugs/.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Feeding

 

[KarrieRee]

You need to get another staple going --- dubias are a good one- a week is a long time to go w/ out insects for a 5 month old as that is the main diet-- and you need to have your grandfather take you there-- your dragon needs to eat -- veggies are good but he needs the protein-- I would look at getting some dubia roaches when you get home they are easier to care for anyway --- get a 10 gallon aquarium and some dubia food / water crystals -- you can keep about 200 or so in the 10 gallon --- they last longer they dont chirp and they dont stink and they are not escape artist --
www.dubiaroaches.com -- offer him the salad but you do need to get some insects --- see if the pet store has phoenix worms they are the same as BSFL and a good staple feeder - you will need to feed like 50-75 of the slowly so he does not swallow them whole ---they will come out indigested if he eats them too fast --- put them on the top of his salads and DO NOT dust them --- sometimes pet stores carry those too ---

 

[kingofnobbys]

You need to get another staple going --- dubias are a good one- a week is a long time to go w/ out insects for a 5 month old as that is the main diet-- and you need to have your grandfather take you there-- your dragon needs to eat -- veggies are good but he needs the protein-- I would look at getting some dubia roaches when you get home they are easier to care for anyway --- get a 10 gallon aquarium and some dubia food / water crystals -- you can keep about 200 or so in the 10 gallon --- they last longer they dont chirp and they dont stink and they are not escape artist --
http://www.dubiaroaches.com -- offer him the salad but you do need to get some insects --- see if the pet store has phoenix worms they are the same as BSFL and a good staple feeder - you will need to feed like 50-75 of the slowly so he does not swallow them whole ---they will come out indigested if he eats them too fast --- put them on the top of his salads and DO NOT dust them --- sometimes pet stores carry those too ---

I agree .

More than one source of bulk insects is a good idea. And more than one species of insect on hand is a good situation .

I have three that I use
LIVEFOODS ( QLD ) backup ( crickets , superworms , mealworms , BSFL )
BIOSUPPLIES ( SYDNEY ) every 3 weeks ( crickets , superworms , mealworms , BSFL )
FROG ARCADE ( MELB ) occasionally ( crickets , mealworms , superworms )

I have silkworm eggs in fridge ( dormant , that I can hatch when I need or think I'll need them ).

My mix of insects on hand lately have been
crickets ( med to large )
supers
mealworms ( lavae, pupae and beetles , my skinks and dragons love the pupae and beetles )
'
I can easily hatch a 500 or so silkworm eggs and have silkworms big enough to feed to hatchlings in about 6 weeks .

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, until you can get your regular shipment you can get canned insects at most pet stores. Look for can'o worms or can'o crickets. You can also buy a 50 count container of superworms and give him 3-4 a day. If you buy superworms, open the lid to check that they are alive + moving. Superworms are easy to keep at room temp. That, along with leafy greens should keep him healthy.

 

[Lizard of Light]

Vitabugs’ Bug Box boxed crickets are very good for insect dry spells and/or giving some variety. And since they’re sealed up in little boxes, you don’t really have to worry about parasites with them (parasites only happen if crickets are exposed to reptile fecal matter, and since unboxed crickets get loose easily, pet store hygeine plays a huge role). Petsmart carries them and I like getting them sometimes for Ardie and he loves them too.

 

[Mike37130]

I'm pretty sure your situation has resolved by now but I wanted to give him my suggestion for any others that may run into this issue. One thing I did that has worked extremely well for me and my bearded dragon is that I would buy crickets in bulk. But what I do with that bulk order of crickets is a little different than others. First I would gutload them. I would package them in individual meal size portions and flash freeze them using dry ice. I only used the Frozen crickets as backups and a salad topping. I usually stuck with the live dubia roaches as her staple food as she was growing up. Also in a pinch you can use boiled eggs. Keep in mind they're high and fat so not too often. They are very nutritious though for bearded dragons. I fed my baby bearded dragon one boiled egg a week. She is now two years old and in perfect health.

 

[Ashnic2010]

I'm pretty late here but Rapashy has a grub pie you can feed when you are in a pinch but I wouldn't go a week on that. Freeze dried as you said is bad but it's better than nothing.

 

[fcooper]

I'm pretty late here but Rapashy has a grub pie you can feed when you are in a pinch but I wouldn't go a week on that. Freeze dried as you said is bad but it's better than nothing.

There is pretty much no replacement to live insects, dead ones do not work.

 

[Mike37130]

There is pretty much no replacement to live insects, dead ones do not work.

That is not necessarily true depending on what kind of dead insects you are feeding. Of course, live insects or undoubtedly the best but frozen insects especially if you pre gut load them before freezing are just as good. Now freeze-dried insects have a lot of the same nutritional value as a live insect but they do not have that all important moisture your bearded dragon needs but they make excellent salad toppers.