Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Would it be healthy to feed bearded dragons meal worms instead of crickets as long as the meal worms are dusted with vitamins? Because don't the vitamins give the dragons all the nutrition they need?

meal worms are high in fatty tissues and should only be fed as a treat, unless u use the new brand name MINI-MEAL WORMS. they are not a fatty because they are not actually meal worms and are much more active so they have a higher metabolism.

..."Would it be healthy to feed bearded dragons meal worms instead of crickets as long as the meal worms are dusted with vitamins? Because don't the vitamins give the dragons all the nutrition they need?"
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Vitamins and Nutrition are NOT the same thing! You can eat all of the vitamins you want and you will STARVE to death! Vitamins help the body USE the food---breaking it down and converting it...

Another example is that your body WOULD NOT be healthy if you ate only chocolate and lots of vitamin supplements. Your body would still lack the basic nutrients that the vitamins work WITH.

Mealworms should be used only as a treat for beardies--and not for babies. Their shell is hard to digest and they are just not a good healthy staple.

If you are just wanting a cheap staple then start raising your own feeder colonies--roaches and silkworms are both easy to breed. You can also order crickets online--for about $15 for 1000.

If you do decide to get your crickets on-line, watch out for too good to be true deals. Like LLLReptile has crickets for cheap, but their not very healthy and really don't last long. I use PremiumCrickets.com, their a bit more pricey (by like $4 or $5) but they are healthy and live a lot longer, in my experience. I've also heard of LLLReptile can occasionally send out some Brown Recluse & Black Widows every now and then. That's what i've heard on this board and others about them.

But for your herp supplies they have some killer prices at times. But the customer service SUCKS.

I'm sure others will have their cricket breeder preferences as well, just steer clear of the "GREAT" deals you'll see out there.

Good luck,

Ray

I agree with everything said above. Here is something to think about. If your a cricket farm and the competition is everywhere how do you survive. You cut costs. Its just a standard business model. Most of these guys use the cheapest feed possible, which is usually chicken scratch. Crickets can be decent feeder, but usually it's you feedng them the right food when they arrive and managing deaths and the lovely cricket smell. As mentioned above there are many reasons why mealworms shouldn't be used as an everyday feeder. It's like owning a sports car and using cheap gas. You may not see the short term affects, but the engine won't last as long!!! Silkworms are good feeders because they have a strict diet, but this sometimes can also be a pain since there food is expensive(unless you have a mulberry tree). I prefer roaches becasue they are easy to keep, breed, and feed. When I sell roaches to my customers they come from the same bins as my feeders. My pets are very important to me and I only feed them the best. I'm like everyone else who has bought roaches paid the price and haven't bought other feeders except for treats since. Now I breed and sell them because they are so interesting and misunderstood. Plus with roaches there are so many types colors and speeds. I'm up to 24 species and they are all unique. I someday plan on breeding other feeders and selling them, but they will be more expensive for people wanting well nutrioned feeders. I don't believe in gut-loading because feeder should be feed the proper food there entire life (until death do us part that is). Anyway, you can find my site in the classifieds section. I have documents under the help & support section and will answer any email sent my way.
James