Why mealworms when there's silkworms?

[phobosdthorga]

Why would you feed your Beardie mealworms when there's silkworms available, provided they're in-season? You're also risking impaction and your Dragon refusing all other food with the former, whilst the latter has MANY medicinal and digestive benefits, especially for the older reptiles. So why would you?

Lastly, I don't know if this is a myth, but my local pet-shop told me that the mealworms can 'burrow' their way out of the Beardies stomach if they're not killed first prior to feeding your Dragon(s), like some out of Ridley Scott's Alien movies. Is this true at all?

 

[KarlTheBeardie]

Hello I see you are relatively new here I cant answer much on the rest but meal worms will Not eat out of your beardie that is a myth but the impaction risk is there

 

[phobosdthorga]

Hello I see you are relatively new here I cant answer much on the rest but meal worms will Not eat out of your beardie that is a myth but the impaction risk is there

Thank you. I thought it was relatively silly, and clearly the pet-shop I went to knows jack about nearly all aspects of Beardie care

 

[KarlTheBeardie]

your welcome the reason I cant help more is cause my beardie Karl the sweetheart has never had a meal worm or silk worm in his life he has only had crickets and now super worms here in Canada we cant feed him dubias I wish I could help more though sorry

 

[phobosdthorga]

your welcome the reason I cant help more is cause my beardie Karl the sweetheart has never had a meal worm or silk worm in his life he has only had crickets and now super worms here in Canada we cant feed him dubias I wish I could help more though sorry

Yeah, I read here that you need a research permit to own and care for Dubias in Canada o_o How odd, considering everyone else is posting them around with no care in the world for how the law operates.

What do board members think of Woodies though? Are they more nutritious and easier to handle than Crickets on the whole? A package of Woodies, if I've estimated correctly, will last longer than crickets provided you feed and water them correctly. They also might smell less than crickets, but I do like how they squirm and I'm sure my Beardie does too whilst he's young right now

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree about silks being much healthier. I think their use has a lot to do with price and availability. They are much easier to get than silks are and pet stores tend to push them as a staple feeder. The part about them burrowing out of a dragon is just a myth. Sometimes if they aren't bitten they can pass through the digestive system intact. This is true for black soldier fly larvae too. It's not harmful.

 

[CooperDragon]

Dubias are popular in the US because they're easy to get and they aren't restricted except for in Florida (as far as I know) where they are considered invasive. Woodies are popular in Australia and seem like a decent staple bug, but I don't have any experience with them.

 

[phobosdthorga]

I agree about silks being much healthier. I think their use has a lot to do with price and availability. They are much easier to get than silks are and pet stores tend to push them as a staple feeder. The part about them burrowing out of a dragon is just a myth. Sometimes if they aren't bitten they can pass through the digestive system intact. This is true for black soldier fly larvae too. It's not harmful.

Cheers Silks here in Australia are pretty cheap compared to elsewhere, depending on where you look, plus the Mulberry Tree grows locally on the Eastern coast! My close friend's mother picked some leaves yesterday for my silkworm colony, and they're happily gobbling it up. Her friends from work are also bringing in a bunch of leaves from home for me tomorrow too, so everyone is chipping in cheerfully~ They're not too happy that the silkworms are being fed to my Iggy though

Where do Black Soldier Fly larvae fit in the food pyramid for Bearded Dragons?

Dubias are popular in the US because they're easy to get and they aren't restricted except for in Florida (as far as I know) where they are considered invasive. Woodies are popular in Australia and seem like a decent staple bug, but I don't have any experience with them.

Once again, thank you

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah the silks seem easier to get and the fresh mulberry leaves seem fairly common there while I don't think I've ever seen a mulberry leaf here (the silks eat chow). BSFL are a good healthy option high in calcium. I use them in rotation along with silks and hornworms while I use dubia roaches as a staple.

 

[phobosdthorga]

Yeah the silks seem easier to get and the fresh mulberry leaves seem fairly common there while I don't think I've ever seen a mulberry leaf here (the silks eat chow). BSFL are a good healthy option high in calcium. I use them in rotation along with silks and hornworms while I use dubia roaches as a staple.

How many silkworms a day do you feed your Dragon? Currently, I feed up to two, so I'm not sure if that's too few or too much. How quickly does it take BSFL to mature into flies? We also don't have hornworms here, but I believe that's a type of butterfly in your part of the world. This site pretty much has everything that's common as insect food for Bearded Dragons in Australia:

http://www.livefoods.com.au/

 

[CooperDragon]

I usually give him a few but not every day. He is an adult so he eats mostly veges. His bug meals come once or twice per week and I'll rotate in the worms or offer them as a snack between meals.

When I get a container of BSFL they usually hatch into flies within a month or so. My guy loves chasing down the flies so I offer them as they appear in the container. They're pretty sluggish and easy to catch if they fly off.

 

[phobosdthorga]

I usually give him a few but not every day. He is an adult so he eats mostly veges. His bug meals come once or twice per week and I'll rotate in the worms or offer them as a snack between meals.

When I get a container of BSFL they usually hatch into flies within a month or so. My guy loves chasing down the flies so I offer them as they appear in the container. They're pretty sluggish and easy to catch if they fly off.

I didn't consider the flies potential prey for the Dragon, I thought they'd be too fast and high-flying <3 At the moment, I try and mix in the silkworms with his veggies, which Iggy readily goes for. But typically, he gets the silkworms with the least amount of veggies possible in his maw x_x

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Feeding

 

[kingofnobbys]

your welcome the reason I cant help more is cause my beardie Karl the sweetheart has never had a meal worm or silk worm in his life he has only had crickets and now super worms here in Canada we cant feed him dubias I wish I could help more though sorry

Yeah, I read here that you need a research permit to own and care for Dubias in Canada o_o How odd, considering everyone else is posting them around with no care in the world for how the law operates.

What do board members think of Woodies though? Are they more nutritious and easier to handle than Crickets on the whole? A package of Woodies, if I've estimated correctly, will last longer than crickets provided you feed and water them correctly. They also might smell less than crickets, but I do like how they squirm and I'm sure my Beardie does too whilst he's young right now

<<< woodies are fine .... I prefer crickets and silkworms with supers for treats.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I usually give him a few but not every day. He is an adult so he eats mostly veges. His bug meals come once or twice per week and I'll rotate in the worms or offer them as a snack between meals.

When I get a container of BSFL they usually hatch into flies within a month or so. My guy loves chasing down the flies so I offer them as they appear in the container. They're pretty sluggish and easy to catch if they fly off.

I didn't consider the flies potential prey for the Dragon, I thought they'd be too fast and high-flying <3 At the moment, I try and mix in the silkworms with his veggies, which Iggy readily goes for. But typically, he gets the silkworms with the least amount of veggies possible in his maw x_x

Toothless and Peppa had a ball leaping and catching blue blowflies in their rearing tubs as little hatchlings, we however didn't enjoy dozens of blowflies buzzing about in the house for few weeks.