Why no mealworms?

[Mwilliams32931]

I'm curious as a new owner. I have a mealworm farm for my quails and my baby was given to them at the store I bought her for. Since I raise them they get fruits and veggies and are as spoiled as mealworms can get.

 

[Zaxtor99]

A) Besides giving bearded dragons almost no nutritional value, they are hard to digest for bearded dragons and can get stuck in their stomach and short intestinal tract, and then cause impaction. Impaction can be read about in detail here: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/impaction/

 

[springyfc]

A) Besides giving bearded dragons almost no nutritional value, they are hard to digest for bearded dragons and can get stuck in their stomach and short intestinal tract, and then cause impaction. Impaction can be read about in detail here: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/impaction/

Yes, mealworm is rich in chitin and that's what cause the impaction. The beardies have very short intestine and are not able to digest chitin. The mealworm is the richest carrier of chitin, followed by superworm. Try find some thing with soft skin on to feed. See if black soldier fly larvae drag you attention :
http://www.symtonbsf.com/1/post/2013/12/10-benefits-of-black-soldier-fly-as-reptile-staple-feed.html