How big is TOO big?

[cholulasmama]

So I recently ordered the beardie sampler combination pack from Rainbow Worms (SMOKING hot deal by the way. Less than 30 bucks for 25 dubias, 250 supers, 100 BSFL, 50 waxworms and 12 hornworms) for Cholula (6, almost 7 months old). I wanted to give her more variety in her diet and I figured this is the best, most cost effective way.

She's getting pretty up in size now, probably about 12 or 13 inches head to tail, but some of these feeders are pretty big. The hornworms are especially massive. I'm scared to feed the superworms and the hornworms to her because they're so big, and she's used to reptiworms and small-medium sized dubias. I gave her a couple of supers to try and she absolutely loved them, but it took her a little while to fully chomp them down so I'm a bit concerned.

So my question(s) is(are):

Are these feeders too big for her? And if they are, can I chop them up or would that make her less inclined to eat them? I don't want to give them away to a friend JUST yet, but I will if they aren't good for her to eat.

 

[PatsyB]

How big is your bearded dragon, weight/length? The supers will probably be fine. I was giving Luci large supers since he was about 7 months old and he would bite them into pieces then clean up the pieces he dropped on the ground. As far as hornworms I would be careful. If you think the worm is too big for him don't feed it, go with your gut. I had an incident yesterday with my chameleon and a hornworm, the worm was a bit too big for him and I ended up having to pull it out of his mouth

 

[MisterD83]

because hornworms are soft and gooey I usually go by the length of the hornworm is no larger than the torso of the beardie. The over all width of the hornworms should be smaller than the distance between the eyes on the beardie.


Feeders like crickets should be able fit between the eyes of the dragon as well. IF he or she is a good chewer slightly larger ones can be fed. Superworms, every dragon I've watched eat them bites them in half first then eats them so again the width fitting between the eyes is all thats necessary, but I still make sure they are still torso length or smaller.

 

[cholulasmama]

Superworms, every dragon I've watched eat them bites them in half first then eats them so again the width fitting between the eyes is all thats necessary, but I still make sure they are still torso length or smaller.

Oddly enough, Cholula doesn't bite them all the way through, just kind of halfway. Then she sits there with it hanging out of her mouth like "how do I even eat this" and then she gulps it down. I'm telling you, these superworms are HUGE. Not bigger than her torso or wider than the space between her eyes, but they're really big. I guess I'll just see how her poop looks later and make sure she's digesting them properly.

 

[PatsyB]

Another good idea with the supers is to dig around for the white ones, they are all meat and real easy to eat! I think I get more excited about them than my dragons do!

 

[jager]

Another good idea with the supers is to dig around for the white ones, they are all meat and real easy to eat! I think I get more excited about them than my dragons do!

I didn't realize that. So the lighter the super, the softer it is?
Also I may sound silly but what is BSFL?

 

[cholulasmama]

Also I may sound silly but what is BSFL?

Not silly at all. Black Soldier Fly Larvae. AKA reptiworms and phoenix worms

 

[jager]

Do you just feed them the larva? I haven't seen that before. I can't get dubias here and my only choices are silk worm, supers, hornworms, butter and wax worms. I don't even know what a phoenix or reptiworm looks like.

 

[cholulasmama]

Do you just feed them the larva? I haven't seen that before. I can't get dubias here and my only choices are silk worm, supers, hornworms, butter and wax worms. I don't even know what a phoenix or reptiworm looks like.

BSFL makes a great staple because they are really high in calcium. But you can certainly use supers and silkworms as long as you dust them with calcium and D3. You run a bit more of a risk of weight gain with those but if you feed the way you're supposed to, you should be fine. Can you order online? That's the best way to get feeders. Backwater Reptiles is a good place to order from because they do free priority shipping to 48 states.

 

[jager]

I am in southern ontario, dubias are considered an invasive species here. I am not sure of the rules regarding having insects shipped here.

I have found silk worms hard to keep so far. I only buy a few at a time, basically what he can eat within a couple days only. I try to mix it up between all the worms that are available to me. I am going to have to search around and see if I can find somewhere that sells BSFL that is nearby. I was told that I didn't need the D3 added to the calcium if he was getting enough UV. Is that not correct?

 

[cholulasmama]

I am going to have to search around and see if I can find somewhere that sells BSFL that is nearby. I was told that I didn't need the D3 added to the calcium if he was getting enough UV. Is that not correct?

Yeah I don't use D3, I just dust with calcium. Keep in mind that you don't have to dust BSFL because of the high calcium content. And also remember that they are also sold under the names reptiworm and phoenix worm. They're pretty inexpensive and they aren't as obnoxious and creepy as crickets and roaches so I use them a lot.

 

[jager]

I'm not a fan of crickets either, they freak me out. I have sent many flying across the room when trying to remove them from the tank at night and they decided to jump at my arm or something. I am glad that my guy decided he had no interest in them anymore, perhaps it was the screams coming from me whenever the jumped toward me LOL.

Thank you for the info

 

[cholulasmama]

I'm not a fan of crickets either, they freak me out. I have sent many flying across the room when trying to remove them from the tank at night and they decided to jump at my arm or something. I am glad that my guy decided he had no interest in them anymore, perhaps it was the screams coming from me whenever the jumped toward me LOL.

Thank you for the info

Of course, good luck![emoji4]

 

[PatsyB]

I didn't realize that. So the lighter the super, the softer it is?
Also I may sound silly but what is BSFL?

The white supers are the ones that just molted and there shell hasn't grown back yet. It's like eating the meat out of a crab leg

 

[cholulasmama]

Good news! Cholula digested the supers she ate last night normally. I'm thinking that they should be fine, but I'll definitely try to feed the ones that have just shed. I'm also going to limit her to only 3 or 4 a day just to stay safe.