Superworms as a staple?

[Kalypso]

Can someone shed some light on this subject for me please? I have been doing extensive research on beardies in the recent month or so, and have run across MANY people swearing by supers as a staple diet? I even held a conversation with a girl that told me that most beardie owners feed supers as opposed to crix, and that this is common practice.

Now, I have never kept bearded dragons, and am new to this species. However, after keeping Panther Chameleons for many years I know what insects contain as far as fat, protein, ect. and regardless of the species of herp, those facts don't change.

So I am curious about how bearded dragons handle supers as a staple, and why people choose to feed them as one (if there is any truth to what I was told on this other site I was on)? I mentioned the risk of fatty liver disease, and of course the rep becoming spoiled and refusing anything but supers being a risk factor, but was told that with beardies these are indeed NOT risks? I would love to hear from you guys as a sort of "second opinion". There is a lot of mis-information on the net, and lot's of self proclaimed "expert" keepers as well that guide many in the wrong direction.

From my experience supers have very little protein value, and nearly 3x the fat as a cricket (even if gutloaded). I have always fed them as a treat only, and made my staples crix, roaches, silkworms, and butterworms. I like to add as much variety as possible. Treats are the supers, waxworms, and hornworms.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject! Thanks for listening to mine

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Feeding Superworms as a staple feeder to your bearded dragon is not a good choice for much the reasons you have already listed. If you are looking for an alternative to crickets then the best choice by far would be to feed Dubia roaches. They are a favorite choice or both Beardies and Dragon Keepers. They are an excellent feeder and much better nutritionally than Crickets and it's easy to start your own self sustaining colony, don't have odor nor do they fly or hop, make noise or crawl up glass or tub walls. The Superworms should be used only as a treat.

You can read more here:
http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/starting-caring-for-a-dubia-roach-colony.6876/

 

[Zen ReptileZ]

I 2nd the Dubia comment. I'm an avid supporter of that feeder for all of my reptiles!

 

[Kalypso]

I agree, dubias do make great feeders. I don't mind feeding crix either, and I like to change it up a bit. I don't feed fully grown crix though. I usually go with a size down for adult herps as to avoid the barbs on the back of the legs, and the shell on the body. I just feed more sub adult crix instead

I tried to nicely explain to this other person that supers would not make a good staple diet, but was shot down and told "they don't have to eat many insects as an adult, so fatty liver disease isn't a risk". It was interesting.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

That person hasn't witnessed the appetite that some dragons have at times..lol

 

[Kalypso]

I can only imagine!! Sad thing is this was a person that was considered the "go to guy" (or girl) on the site for info concerning husbandry and diet! I am glad I found this forum for some clarification, but I knew that couldn't have been right. As super is a super, no matter what!