• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Meal worms?

Mile_High_Dragons

Mile_High_Dragons

New member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
93
Reaction score
5
Points
0
Location
Arvada, Colorado, United States
I have heard that the meat to shell ratio of mealworms is much higher than crickets. I was wondering, Is it true that feeding an ADULT bearded dragon strictly mealworms (along with greens & calcium of course) can lead to impaction?

What are your thoughts?

Have you tried this before? And what happened?

Is this potentially harmful for beardies?


Thanks everyone!
 

Attachments

  • DSCF3160.jpg
    DSCF3160.jpg
    203.5 KB · Views: 92
I'm not sure about the meat to shell ratio being higher than crickets to tell you the truth. They do have a higher chitin amount than crickets which can make them difficult to digest for some dragons (especially smaller). Nutrition wise they aren't something that should be fed as a staple (or even a treat in my opinion).

I tried feeding them to a dragon years ago only as a treat but the results weren't that great. He had issues digesting them and would regurgitate them but luckily never got impacted. His basking temps were 115 at the highest part of the gradient and he still had problems so I stopped them altogether. I switched to feeding silkworms, hornworms, roaches, and superworms. Occasionally I'd throw in a butterworm or wax worm. Almost any feeder with an exoskeleton can cause impaction if temps are off, if it's too big for the dragon or if the exoskeleton is really hard.

I feel that with so many other healthier feeder options it's just best to use something else as a staple. Hopefully that was helpful.
 
I would not suggest feeding strictly meal worms (even in addition to greens). I believe the ratio is more skeleton than meat, when compared to crickets, but I can't say I'm sure on that. As Candice mentioned, they seem to be a little harsh on the digestion for some dragons. I like them as a staple, but only a few at a time, once or twice per week.

If you're looking for something better than crickets, I would suggest roaches. Since I switched, my dragons will not have anything to do with crickets. And roach nymphs definitely have a higher meat to shell ratio. They also live longer, are easier to breed, and don't stink (when kept clean) like crickets!!
 
Thanks for the info everyone!

Matt: I acquired a small Dubia roach colony from a buddy a few months ago, (about 100 roaches) and I haven't seen them breed on a large enough scale to totally supply me with feeders. What do you suggest?
 
I know this was directed at Matt but I also had roaches in the past and would like to give a tip or 2. You can try offering oranges to the roaches if you haven't. It usually will make them get it on like rabbits. Dubia supposedly are a little slower to breed than some of the others. You may want to consider buying a couple more pairs of dubia as well.
 
Mile_High_Dragons said:
Thanks for the info everyone!

Matt: I acquired a small Dubia roach colony from a buddy a few months ago, (about 100 roaches) and I haven't seen them breed on a large enough scale to totally supply me with feeders. What do you suggest?
Click to expand...

Candice beat me to the punch. Unless you had 100 pair of adults, I'd say that you need more roaches. Of course, even then you would have to wait for a while for babies to be born, and then grow. It takes several months from baby to adult.

Personally, I started with about 1000 (with at least 25 pairs of adults) back in Jan. Since then I have ordered 3 more times to beef-up the adults to closer to 100 females (my last order was just med nymphs to tide me over until the babies are bigger). My colonies are just starting to show signs of some really nice growth.

I did not know that oranges would make them breed faster, but I might have to try that! I do know that if you don't keep them warm enough, they will live, but not breed (at least not very much). Make sure that they always have water (preferably the water crystals so they won't drown) and a high-protein diet, and keep them between 85-95 degrees. If you do give them fruits or vegetables, don't leave it in for more than 24 hours.

How do you have your colony set-up? (Container, heat-source, egg crates, substrate, etc?) I'm no pro at this, but I'm sure if I can't help, someone else on here with more experience can. :)
 
Matt2979 said:
I would not suggest feeding strictly meal worms (even in addition to greens). I believe the ratio is more skeleton than meat, when compared to crickets, but I can't say I'm sure on that. As Candice mentioned, they seem to be a little harsh on the digestion for some dragons. I like them as a staple, but only a few at a time, once or twice per week.

If you're looking for something better than crickets, I would suggest roaches. Since I switched, my dragons will not have anything to do with crickets. And roach nymphs definitely have a higher meat to shell ratio. They also live longer, are easier to breed, and don't stink (when kept clean) like crickets!!
Click to expand...

I just caught this and wanted to make sure that my typo did not confuse you. I only give mealworms as treats, not as a staple. And as far as the frequency that I mentioned (of a few, once or twice per week), that is not every week. I only buy them every now and then, and feed those numbers while I have some mealworms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top