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Bearded Dragons

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Nufanoo9

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I had one pet store tell me that silkworms are bad for Bearded Dragons but then i see on all these websites that they are okay ...i just need some feed back
 
Since you seem to be searching for a good non-cricket insect food item for beardies, may I recommend (for adults and near-adults) giant mealworms?  My beardie loves them, and he also snarfs down the pupae faster than anything.  Younger beardies can be fed mealworms.  If the beardie is extremely young and small, you're best off sticking with pinhead crickets, or perhaps freshly-shed mealworms so that they don't get impacted with the hard exoskeleton.
 
do you mean super worms?  I have read that giant mealworms are nothing more than hormonaly enhanced versions of the regular mealworm and that the hormones may not be a good thing.  Superworms on the other hand are a totally different species and my animals love them.

Steve Schindler
 
Warning: Infodump

Silkworms are an excellent food source.  They are very calcium rich, which is not the case with most other feeders.  Most feeder insects have a really poor calcium to phosphorus ratio (too much phosphorus inhibits proper utilization of the clacium), and this isn't the case with silk worms.  They're soft, which means they are easier to digest.  On the down side, they're a bit pricey and require a specialized diet (either mulberry leaves or a prepared food that's not exactly cheap) to maintain.  

As a staple for an older (subadult or adult) dragon, they're just fine.  For a younger dragon, I'd go with crickets due to the volume consumed and the lower fat content.  Older dragons who aren't eating insect matter daily should be fine on a staple of supers.  Once they're close to done growing, they shouldn't be taking in enough insect matter for the slightly higher fat to matter.

On mealies for young beardies: No, no, and also no.  For smaller dragons, the chiton can cause impaction.  Larger juveniles are better off eating superworms.  At about ten inches, you can start supplementing their diet with the medium/2" size.  

Giant mealworms are fed a hormone that prevents them from metamophosizing into beetles.  I personally don't like them for that reason, and for the reason that medium supers are a better food item anyway.

Another good worm is the trevo, aka butter worm.  These are imorted worms, also with a very high calcium content, and a decent food source. They're a bit pricey and do not keep well (due to temperature sensitivity), but I get them every now and then for variety.

Small crix vs. larger ones: Larger crix have a way worse calcium to phosphorus ratio, and in my opinion, shared by my vet, superworms are a better staple for adults.   I feed my adults 5 supers two to three times a week. (Cut down on them if they start to get fat or spoiled and refusing salad.)  Smaller crix are an ideal food source for younger dragons.  They are easier to get in a variety of sizes to help prevent your dragon from getting hind leg paralysis from too large of a food item, and the younger ones have excellent nutritional value. Also, smaller individual food items digest faster, increase the metabolism, and promote growth.

Hope this helps.
 
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