Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i feed my hatchlings with newly molted mealworms.. is this safe? pls advice. thanks in advance.

Hi
mealeworms have a hard sceleton and r hard to digest .
i would avoid them .
i not even give them to my adult beardies .
in the netherlands whe can buy buffaloworms they r very small and save for hatchling .
if you cant find them .
then i would feed them cricks .
not bigger then the space between the eyes .
byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Newly molted mealworms are not too bad but shouldn't be a staple. Though their exoskeletons are not as hard as the dark mealworms these insects really do not have much nutritional value. Crickets are better providing the crickets are fed a good gutload or at least a healthy diet before being fed to your dragons. Pretty much everything you can feed a dragon, you can feed crickets (greens, fruit etc) just add in something like dragon pellets, fish flakes, crushed low fat cat food, skim milk powder or a brand product made for gutloading crickets.

Other good feeder insects for dragons are phoenix worms (these are great for small dragons, as they are pretty small and soft bodied, yet have a high amount of calcium and protein for their size), small to medium silkworms (large are great for adults dragons), baby roaches of various species, and butterworms.
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PHLdyPayne

Hi
sorry i dint know new molded cause no problems .
but i never give them have read so many bad things if impaction was a problem then most o time people feeded mealworms .
can you show a picture how the phoenix worms look like ??
maybe whe call them in the netherlands buffalo worms .
i always do them in a cup with sticky toung farms calsium with good result .
byeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

phoenix worms are black soldier fly larvae, looks sort of like maggots but not as big or plump but same pale appearance. The main site for them is below. If you scroll down, you will see a picture of a leopard gecko eating them.

www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/StoreFront

Newly molted mealworms have a soft exoskeleton for a few days then it hardens. because the new 'skin' is softer and not as thick as older skin, it is a bit more easier digested by dragons. However, this doesn't change the low nutritional value of meal worms compared to similar sized silkworms or other healthier feeder insects.
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PHLdyPayne

Hi
thx for reply you always so helpfull
they look like the buffaloworms whe have here in the netherlands .
i wil make a pic soon if am able to .
but they not return to a fly they return in a little tiny purple beetle .
i feed them to my hatchling beardies and ad exra calsium to it .
i know you cant buy them in usa .
maybe it can there return in some kind of pest .
because the temp there is higer ,i know the colorado beetle is a pest in usa right ??
byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl