Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How soon can beardies start eating small meal worms? I have a clutch that hatched out on the first and i would like to be able to feed them mealworms every now and then, I already have a bunch for my baby leos. Ive read not to feed babys mealworms at first, so I was just wondering when they are considered old enough to eat them or if I just shouldnt at all. thanks.

Mealworms have a very high shell to meat ratio and Beardies just don't digest them well. I would recommend against them at any age.

Mealworms aren't all that benefical to dragons no matter what age. Best to wait till your dragons are big enough to eat superworms. For hatchlings dragons, appropriate sized and gut loaded crickets dusted regularly with calcium with d3 and multivitamins are a far better choice. Giving crickets are generally cheaper in bulk and not too difficult to keep alive, much better choice in the long run.

If you want to give your babies some variety, offer phoenix worms as a treat. These small fly larvae are high in calcium and have alot of wiggle to them so attract finicky eaters. However, crickets should still be the main insect food you give to babies.
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PHLdyPayne

It's always good to have a colony of mealworms. They are invaluable if you live where the winter snow storms can keep cricket deliveries from being sent out.[ Especially for people who don't keep roaches] Also,they are so easy to keep and although they are not a staple,they can get a slow eater interested in food again.Small mealworms are O.K. in small amounts,especially the freshly shed ones.