Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just purchased phoenix worms to try and my 2 juvi leos ate em right up. They were a bit pricey, but other than that, why haven't I seen any mention of them on the forum??

I heard a couple people mentioning before in the past. Phoenix worms are very good feeders. They are high in calcium compared to other feeder insects. Good for you!

I want to say there also relativly new to the hobby as well. The first time I heard of them was about a year & a half ago. But yes, very nutritious.

I know Allen Repashy, the largest breeder of Rhacodactylus geckos, is using them to feed his collection of crested geckos, Rhacodactylus ciliatuses. They just love them and the crestie hatchlings fed on the diet of phoenix worms grew a lot quicker than the gecko fed solely CGD or solely on Phoenix worms. These are from the Allen's thread on his forum. From study done the Phoenix worms have more calcium than phosphorous...I think the ideal ratio of 2:1...which is not the case with crickets, mealworms or waxworms, which all have higher phosphorous than caclium. When feeding the Phoenix worms to your animals, you do not need to dust them with calcium supplement because the worms itself are pretty rich in calcium and have ideal caclium to phosphorous ratio of 2:1. It is a perfect food for gravid female geckos. But from my experience well gutloaded crickets and mealworms that are fed on food high in protein and calcium will also work well for the animals. I have a firebellied toad that are fed on crickets that have been fed on crushed dog food, tropical fish flakes, high protein cereal grains, and some veggies and greens for at least 24-48 hours prior feeding them out to the toad works well for 8 years, and he is still going strong.

Thanx to all for their input. I'm not planning on feeding the phoenix worms exclusively as I feel that variety is the healthiest. But will definitely feed them regularly along with the crickets, mealies and waxworms. Thanx again.

I just started using phoenix worms and my geckos just love them. What I like about them is they have a high calcium count, long shelf life and they dont really climb at all so I can use a dish with a shorter lip on it so the smaller geckos can see them easier.
My meal worms would always climb out of a shorter lipped container but these phoenix worms cant do that since they have a short body length.

'Cause they're pricey.

My reptilian specialist has even recommended I offer my lizards earthworms and other ground grubs. I don't know why people stick to crickets, mealworms and the traditional feeders. There's no reason why they can't be offered other unconventional, soft bodies feeders.

And don't tell me it is about pathogens or what they can catch from the ground. You can also breed them in controlled environments