Bad Waxworns? Help please

[Beardo]

I'm new to the forum, so I would appreciate any help I could get. Last night we got a small tub of about 50 Waxworns from Petco, and put them in the fridge overnight. This morning, we took them out, but they all seemed dead. They were still white and tan, only a few black ones (those we threw out) but even though they were colored correctly, they were limp (really limp!) and squishy, no wriggling at all! Now, tonight, our beardo is in the corner, arching his back and hissing at me. I am worried he might have a stomach ache or have gotten ill because of the dead worms. It could be nothing... but I wanted to ask around and see if anyone could help. Are the worms really dead? (They were wriggling when at Petco, and we fed Beardo about 20 of them) Could they be harmful? Any input is appreciated! Thanks,
Hope

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum! Waxworms for me are hard to maintain as they need cool temps like 55F not cold temps when I put mine in the fridge door they are dead like you've mentioned.. But what you need to know is waxworms shouldn't be a staple food they are more of treat so he may just be full they are about 16% protein and 13% calcium

 

[Beardo]

Thanks for the info. This is the first time we've fed them to him, like you said as a treat, so he could just be acclimating to the new food. From now on we could feed all the worms to him as soon as we get them so we don't kill them with cold.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thanks for the info. This is the first time we've fed them to him, like you said as a treat, so he could just be acclimating to the new food. From now on we could feed all the worms to him as soon as we get them so we don't kill them with cold.

I personally wouldn't feed all of them to him at one sitting.. Where are you located? I am going to buy some again but this time since it's winter I'm just going to put them on the basement floor where it's cooler...

 

[Hdrydr31]

If he's still hissing and arching his back it could be that he's backed up.... has he pooped??

 

[Beardo]

If he's still hissing and arching his back it could be that he's backed up.... has he pooped??

That is possibility. He hasn't popped yet so maybe I just disturbed him while he was trying to digest. We'll keep an eye on that. We are in n.e. so it's pretty cold, probably too much food and not enough heat. Thanks!

 

[Hdrydr31]

That is possibility. He hasn't popped yet so maybe I just disturbed him while he was trying to digest. We'll keep an eye on that. We are in n.e. so it's pretty cold, probably too much food and not enough heat. Thanks!

yep get him to do his business, warm him up and remember to stop feeding 1-2 hours before lights out.

 

[PatsyB]

Did you let the wax worms warm up before you fed them to him? I find with wax worms I have to let them sit out for at least 45 min to get them moving around. I do agree though, they are just a treat food not something to be fed every day. Are you feeding him anything else besides wax worms? Doesn't sound like those should back him up like that. What kind of substrate is he on and what is in his tank? What are your temps like?

 

[Beardo]

Did you let the wax worms warm up before you fed them to him? I find with wax worms I have to let them sit out for at least 45 min to get them moving around. I do agree though, they are just a treat food not something to be fed every day. Are you feeding him anything else besides wax worms? Doesn't sound like those should back him up like that. What kind of substrate is he on and what is in his tank? What are your temps like?

He usually eats carrots, blueberries, kale, crickets, and once in a while these little mushy bearded dragon pellets. He's on sand, which he does snap up accidentally from time to time if a cricket is in the sand, and he has a hammoc, heat rock, and plastic plant in his tank. He has two lamps, a heat and a uv. Next time we'll give him fewer worms, and warming them up seems like a good idea. I think he finally pooped. Thanks for all your help guys!

 

[Hdrydr31]

I would take the heat rock out as they don't need them, they can't feel heat on their bellies so they can burn themselves, and the heat rocks can have abnormalities causing them to get really hot is just a few spots...all of which beardies don't need any heat from below this also includes stick on heat stripes.

 

[PatsyB]

Remove the heat rock and change up his veggies a bit. Carrots have too much vitamin A which isn't good in large amounts. Kale is okay to feed but you need to mix it up with another green and blueberries and other fruits should be given in moderation because of the sugars they contain. Here are some links for salad ideas: http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Beardo]

We consult the beautiful dragons website quite often, thanks for the other link. Beardo's actually my brother's dragon, but I'll tell him about the heating rock. How are dandelion greens for an everyday food? We just gave him a bath today... Only a small poop before the bath and nothing else yet. I read a little about olive oil on bearded food- does that work to help them poop? Or how about prunes?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yes dandelion greens are a good staple as you'll see on the beautiful dragons list that is 1 of them.. What you should do is do a variety of greens/veggies...
What I do since Izzy loves collard greens I use that as a staple and add in 1-2 different greens that are on the list along with a veggie or 2 on the list. But I switch it around going off the list and what I can find in the stores every couple of weeks.. As just like us they get bored of their food.
As long as he's pooping then I wouldn't worry too much.. Just depends on how much they eat the day before and if they ate in the am or early in the afternoon..

 

[PatsyB]

Dandelion is one of my staple greens along with mustard greens because Luci LOVES his mustards, sometimes mix in collards and then always a veggie or a fruit. A drop of olive oil on his food will help if he isn't pooping but remember it's okay if they don't go everyday. If he is going every other day or so he still fine.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Dandelion is one of my staple greens along with mustard greens because Luci LOVES his mustards, sometimes mix in collards and then always a veggie or a fruit. A drop of olive oil on his food will help if he isn't pooping but remember it's okay if they don't go everyday. If he is going every other day or so he still fine.

What veggie and fruit have you had good luck with PatsyB? Izzy has not shown much liking to any so far

 

[PatsyB]

Well when Dexter used to eat her veggies and greens she liked strawberries, papaya, cactus and frozen thawed blueberries. Luci won't eat fruit in front of me but I know the other day he had a blueberry. Dolly really likes butternut squash so far. I've tried bell peppers of all colors, cucumbers, radish, jicama, carrots, the list goes on. Luci will occasionally eat zucchini if I shred it and put it on top of his greens.

 

[Hdrydr31]

ok good then I'm not alone I've tried all sorts of veggies and fruits and so far none have peeked her interest.. yet I guess..