Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My bearded dragon constantly runs away every time i try to handle him. He is about 10 inches long and i was wondering if it is ok to feed him mealworms occassionally.

My beardies are a little bigger and they love an occassional mealworm treat. Mealworms get a bad wrap, but I've never had a problem with them. Just don't feed them more than 3 or 5 at a time and don't make this their staple diet - more of a treat, because they will eat a ton of them if you let them. My male tried to jump in the box I keep the worms in so he could chow down.

They get a bad rap cause they are fatty, have a tough shell, and are addicting, just like superworms. Supposedly with supers the chitin is thinner or not as much compared to how much meat is inside so freshly molted supers are often recommended. But, either of these worms dragons will take a liking to and may refuse other foods waiting for the worms. chris

How many mealworms a week/day is too many?

Try petting him under his chin while talking to him, or try hand-feeding him a special treat. He'll calm down once he realizes that you are not a predator. Most beardies are social animals once they get accustomed to being handled. They'll love the attention.
Cricket

IF your dragon is new, it will take awhile for him to get used to you. I had my dragon for months (6 months now or more) and she only recently (in the last month or two) came much more docile and calm when I pick her up and hold her.

For the mealworms, I wouldn't use them except as an occaisonal treat, like maybe 1-3 works a month. However, I don't bother with them at all. I feed my dragon silkworms almost exclusively (insect wise, she still gets all her greens), and she loves them. In fact, she refuses crickets nearly every time i have to get some when I run out of silkworms and my new order hasn't come in. Silkworms are more nutricious than either mealies or superworms, don't have the heavy exoskeleton and all around, are better than crickets and meal/super worms.