Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm a beardie virgin who has just gotten a beardie about a week ago. I accidently/stupidly lost him/her in the front yard and Luckily just found him/her again yesterday.
The few days before the runaway episode i started researching the idea of feeding him/her silkworms. I went to one website and it showed i had to buy the chow and the worms.
i don't understand how this all works. How long do the worms live?
How much should i buy to try to keep alive.
My beardie is small. The pet store says its about 5 months old but i don't believe that. i think its much younger. from nose to tip of tail she is about 6 inches. i just checked and i think she is a she. I read somewhere how to tell the sex.
In the interim i'm going to feed her crickets.

Here is a picture of her... Syd.

six inches is very small for a 6 month old bearded dragon. That is more the normal size for a 6 week bearded dragon. Silkworms are varily easy to raise and you do need to buy the chow, unless you have a stead supply of mulberry leaves which is the only things they can eat. the chow itself is derived from mulberry leaves.

Not sure exactly how long silkworms live, about 2 months or so from egg to coccoon. The best thing to do is buy them small, feed them to your dragon but keep about 25-50 aside to grow and allow to coccoon. Once coccooned, they come out as small brown moths (about an inch long or less) which will pair up and mate. In a day or so the male will let go and the female will lay eggs. Let the eggs remain till they turn a purplish color, then put them in the fridge for 2-4 months. Take out what eggs you need after chilling them and within about 10 days they will hatch. Feed the little catapillers grated chow, or put out small strip of chow and let the worms crawl on it to eat. Feed them every day, removing any uneaten chow regularly to prevent it going moldy. Most times it just dries up but remove it anyway. In a week or two you will have inch long silkworms or bigger.

At all stages they do well at room temperature (between 70-80F) with low humidity. The only tricky part is making sure you keep the worms, the chow and their environment as sterile as possible, to prevent mold or bacteria from developing, something that will kill your silkworms quickly.
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PHLdyPayne

Do i have to raise silkworms to have them as a diet for my beardie, same goes for crickets. I rather not raise any insects. If i do i will raise silkies.

Silkworms cannot be the main part of your beardie diet, and I would not suggest feeding them to young bearded dragons. They are fatty and lack nutrients and should only be givin occasionally or so im told.

You can buy crickets every week and feed them good food such as moist dog food, carrots, fruits and special cricket jelly (cricket water). They can last almost a week with some casualties out of the bunch.

Crickets & Fruits/Veggies should be the largest part of your beardies Diet.

Vegetable matter should be 10-25% for young abd 30-35% for full grown adults.

Actually, silkworms SHOULD be the main staple of a young dragon's diet. They are not fatty at all and are packed with nutrients and calcium. Also, there is no concern of impaction, as there can be with crickets. You were probably thinking of WAX worms. There's nothing wrong with crickets, I use both silkies and crickets....but silkies are definitely better.
Also, an adult's diet should consist of 75-80% vegetable matter.
-Nicky
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Loneliness it shadows me, quicker than darkness
Crawls to the surface of my skin, visibly surrounded by it
Black is all I feel, so this is how it feels to be free
Surrounded by empty souls, artificial courage used
And because so, once was mine
I walk this maze alone
The man's beside himself
Man's below himself
Man's behind himself
Am I inside myself
Chaos and hate shadow me, pain/hate it fills me up
Only one thing makes me feel, missing better half of me
-Alice In Chains
2.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo, Layne, & Chiquita
2.4 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki, Delilah, Sadie & Cheyenne
1.0 Betta: Mr. Purple

Nicky,

Im only telling you what I have read from more than 4 sources, from books about Bearded Dragon care.

Will,
Which books would those be?
Thanks.
-Nicky
-----
Loneliness it shadows me, quicker than darkness
Crawls to the surface of my skin, visibly surrounded by it
Black is all I feel, so this is how it feels to be free
Surrounded by empty souls, artificial courage used
And because so, once was mine
I walk this maze alone
The man's beside himself
Man's below himself
Man's behind himself
Am I inside myself
Chaos and hate shadow me, pain it fills me up
Only one thing makes me feel, missing better half of me
-Alice In Chains
2.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo, Layne, & Chiquita
2.4 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki, Delilah, Sadie & Cheyenne
1.0 Betta: Mr. Purple

I was mestaken. It talks about Crickets being the staple and then there is one sentance that says "Silkworms can also be used." Sorry.

Although I would still recomend using a lot of crickets in their diet to develop their hunting skills and give them some excercize.

Silkworms are the best feeder insect as far as nutritional value that is available. As far as i have read, although i belive some roaches are pretty close.

You may be thinking of Waxworms, which are very fatty and should only be fed occasionally. Or butterworms.

As far as percents, protien should make up 90% of a hatchling-juvies diet. this is best met with a varied diet of silkworms, crickets, freshly molted mealworms, occasional wax or butterworms, and roaches. And 10% veggies. When they are adults they should be eating 90% veggies and 10% protien. Veggies should consist of a salad of mostly staple greens (collard, mustard, or dandelion greens, endive, escarole etc) and supplemented with smaller amounts of treat-like veggies (bell peppers, shredded carrots, shredded purple cabbage, clover, sweet clover, dandelion heads, kale, pod peas, squashes). Fruits can be a very small portion of the diet. (Berries, bananas, etc) for an excellent list of edible fruits and veggies and all other things go to www.beautifuldragons.com
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1.2 Leopard Gecko's (normal:normal:tang:baldy hypo tang)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

'The Guide to Owning a Bearded Dragon' written by David Zoffier & Tom Mazorlig states on page 42. "Vegetable matter should make up a sustantial portion of a bearded Dragon's diet: 10-25% for hatclings and Young, 30-35 for an adult (about 2 years old).

Im not trying to start a confrontation, but I think I read it as you saying 90% Vegitables...? I could be wrong though, just comparing sources.

Will,

You're correct. It's been a while since I've read that particular book, but I believe it states something like 30-50% vegetable matter for adults. Unfortunately...that book was published in 1997. In the past 8 years, there's been a wealth of knowledge learned about bearded dragons and their captive care requirements than was previously known before. Most of the care books on dragons are grossly outdated, it's a shame. That's why you always have to research lots of different sources.
-Nicky
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Loneliness it shadows me, quicker than darkness
Crawls to the surface of my skin, visibly surrounded by it
Black is all I feel, so this is how it feels to be free
Surrounded by empty souls, artificial courage used
And because so, once was mine
I walk this maze alone
The man's beside himself
Man's below himself
Man's behind himself
Am I inside myself
Chaos and hate shadow me, pain it fills me up
Only one thing makes me feel, missing better half of me
-Alice In Chains
2.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo, Layne, & Chiquita
2.4 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki, Delilah, Sadie & Cheyenne
1.0 Betta: Mr. Purple

Thank you everyone for your help.