Using birdseed as bedding.

[Sena Dragontooth]

I am looking to switch my bearded dragon's bedding from crushed walnut shells to millet, but I'm wondering if it would be safe to use wild birdseed purchased from a place like Wal-Mart or the like. Has anyone tried this, and would it be safe, or should I spend the extra money and purchase pure white millet? I was looking at the different wild birdseeds and the nutritional contents and think it could be okay, but I want some other opinions.

 

[supreme_reptiles]

Well, I've never used it in my bearded dragon cages but I have used it in my uromastyx cages. The uromastyx have strong jaws that can crack open the bird seed shells so ingestion is not a problem. I'm not sure if I would be comfortable with using it in my beardie cages, but perhaps you might want to get more opinions on this. The problem I have encountered with the bird seed from various places is worms and moths. I bake my seeds in the oven at 450 for half an hour to get rid of any critters or eggs that may have been laid in the seeds. This seems to keep the moths and worms at bay. Then I put them in my uromastyx cages. I use a mesh screen scooper to sift through the seeds. I made the mistake of not baking my seeds the first time I used them, and when summer came and the house got warm I was inundated with these moths. So, make sure you bake them!

 

[Miss Tuniwha]

one word.. moths.

I used seed for my Uros at one point.. ... then stopped once I learned of (the hard way) of the moths.

 

[Shadera]

You can also freeze the seed for at least 72 hours to kill off the nasties.

 

[offroad537]

do not use wild bird seed and bending, you well get alot of problems. if you want something cheap use new paper.

 

[Twizted Paths]

You can also freeze the seed for at least 72 hours to kill off the nasties.

I tried that & have moths, I hate them

 

[offroad537]

how about not use wild bird seed at all use news paper

 

[Shadera]

I tried that & have moths, I hate them

really? You must have the mutant strain. You know, the ones that probably start out on bird seed then switch to human flesh. -snicker-

Seed moths are a giant pain in the butt, I feel for ya. They get into everything once they hatch.

 

[Twizted Paths]

really? You must have the mutant strain. You know, the ones that probably start out on bird seed then switch to human flesh. -snicker-

*twitch*

Seed moths are a giant pain in the butt, I feel for ya. They get into everything once they hatch.

I already had to throw out a bunch of food & now my snake's frig is full of human food. I am still laid off & can't afford this. Stupid icky mutant freak bugs

I wanted boa morphs not moth mutants