I recently spoke with two professional breeders that feed hatchkubgs crickets for the first six weeks then feed meal worms exclusively through adulthood.
?Anyone else do it this way?
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Meal worms vs. crickets
scottsdragons
Aug 02, 2004 11:41 PM
Replies (3)
Kakadu
Aug 03, 2004 02:19 AM
Wouldn't recommend it. Mealworms are not at all a good choice to feed dragons. I don't even recommend them as treats for adults, if you are going to do it use a superworm.
Mealies have a horrible meat/shell ratio. They have no calcium and really high phosphorus so feeding them actually STEALs calcium away from your dragons diet. They are very fat and low in protein.
Superworms are not great either, but they are not as bad, have a slightly lower phosphorus level and have much better meat/shell ratio.
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Kakadu
Aug 03, 2004 02:21 AM
oh, of course I neglected to say...the drawback to having a LOE meat/shell ratio is that to get any nutrition a dragon has to eat a LOT of then, The shells are chitin and are not digestable. they build up in the dragons intestines and cause impaction which can cause paralysis or death.
I have seen more dragons injured by mealworms then any other insect.
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shaon94
Aug 03, 2004 02:33 PM
I say Silkworms are the way to go if you can afford them. If not then go with crickets and waxworms. Mealworms have a very high shell to meat ratio and if given in large amounts will kill your beardie. (they are good as treats once in a while) I recommend looking at the page at the bottom of this post for their nutrition. I am also new to the beardies this year so welcome.
If you are interested in silkworms here is my experience with them. (ordered from californiasilkworms.com)100 silkies = 10 bucks or so
Pros of Silkworms: 1. They don't smell (much) 2. They don't try and escape their environment. 3. they don't even try and escape the dragons food bowl. 4. Each adult Silkworm is worth about 3 crickets. 5. they have no exoskeleton so they are extremely easy to digest. 6. Supper easy to take care of.
Cons= Higher than normal fat content and I am not sure of the ramifications if there are any with this. I still recommend feeding crickets with this diet just not as much.
