# Meal worms & bearded dragons



## DeadCricket (Sep 27, 2011)

So much conflicting information! When you look up feeding meal worms to bearded dragons it seems to be nearly 50/50 with do and don't. Some say treat them occasionally & others say, don't bother they have very low nutritional value. 

When you look up just meal worms the information seems to be fairly consistent on the fact that they are great food and higher in nutritional value than crickets.

Personally, I started my beardies on crickets and then moved to meal worms mixed in with veg to get them interested in the veg. I must say, my beardies love meal worms! They seem to be healthy, they are active, bright and curious and growing like crazy! 

I would however, hate to think this is a false or temporary appearance. Can anyone actually give me a straight, fact based reason they are or aren't good?


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## Jeannine (Sep 27, 2011)

*i think the problem with mealworms is their hard outer skin? which can cause impaction? i give my girl 6 every few weeks 

like you i have seen the conflicting information and guess i prefer to err on the side of caution then end up with a sick BD
*


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## DeadCricket (Sep 27, 2011)

How long gave you been doing that for? Haven't had any issues? They seem to chew them up well enough


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## damian83 (Sep 27, 2011)

mine love them. only once a week but one was sick spewing up after the globe blew when we were away and had no heat.
i tell ya what having kids id prefer to change nappys than clean up the spew again


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## sookie (Sep 27, 2011)

I just tip the container of mealworms into squishies outdoors playpen,and on nice days when he goes outside for his playtime he just digs up the ones he wants.....finds em buried,some get the chance to change into bugs..........he LOVES them.it's fun as well to watch him acting 'wild'.


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## -Peter (Sep 27, 2011)

Jeannine said:


> *i think the problem with mealworms is their hard outer skin? which can cause impaction? i give my girl 6 every few weeks
> 
> like you i have seen the conflicting information and guess i prefer to err on the side of caution then end up with a sick BD
> *




So how do they cope with the exoskeleton of other inverts? Soft shell crickets anyone?


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## DeadCricket (Sep 27, 2011)

Mine don't seem to be having a problem. I would assume that if your basking rock temperature is high enough they should be fine to digest it. If you think about their natural habitat, they aren't always going to find soft things to eat. Most bugs aren't all that soft


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## viciousred (Sep 27, 2011)

My friends bearded dragon recently died within 36 hours of eating some meal worms, an autopsy confirmed a bacterial infection from the meal worms......


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## DeadCricket (Sep 27, 2011)

That's unfortunate, must be hard to have a pet die! I would hate to think how it would be.


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## BurtonReptiles (Sep 27, 2011)

i feed them to mine all the time but no more then 6 a week


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## leamos (Sep 27, 2011)

I give them as a treat too, I put a dozen or two into a new container and keep the rest in the fridge, in the separate container I add a small handful of rolled oats, some fish food and a pinch of calcium and vit powder and a piece of carrot. This ensures max nutrition when fed out. I leave it somewhere warm like on top of enclosure lights and the warm speeds them up and they shed more frequently. And simply feed out the one that have just shed every few days


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## Jeannine (Sep 27, 2011)

-Peter said:


> So how do they cope with the exoskeleton of other inverts? Soft shell crickets anyone?



*just repeating what i have been told and read both in here and on other reptile sites

think i just wont bother anymore and for the record apparently their outer shell is 'harder' and less digestible then crickets, woodies, etc *


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## DeadCricket (Sep 27, 2011)

Well the problem is that all the info can't decide. Its about 50/50 on whether they are good or not


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## 004dam (Sep 27, 2011)

Jeannine said:


> *i think the problem with mealworms is their hard outer skin? which can cause impaction? i give my girl 6 every few weeks
> 
> like you i have seen the conflicting information and guess i prefer to err on the side of caution then end up with a sick BD
> *



I have heard they have a very tough outer shell. I hear them alot on the turtle forums but that's all I hear of them very hard outer shell.


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## The_Dreaded_Pets (Sep 27, 2011)

havnt tryed my pygmys on mealies however silkworms are in season and have no hard shel maby try those my female loves em


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## DeadCricket (Oct 7, 2011)

Just thought I would update this. My beardies have been eating a mixed diet of veg, crickets and meal worms for a while now. They have put on a bit of weight, but nothing too bad so all in all, I would say no worries. Also, the shell does seem pretty much mostly digested.


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## Helikaon (Oct 7, 2011)

I raised a clutch of them on jsut mealworms, no probs. i believe it is the size that counts, if you offer an acceptable size meal worm. (so dont feed an adult mealy to a hatchy beardy) and have proper temps then no probs. There are guys in the states that raise them to adulthood on just mealies and whatever supplements they give.


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## DeadCricket (Oct 7, 2011)

They actually seem to prefer meal worms, they must taste better


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## ajandj (Oct 8, 2011)

I've done alot of reading about mealworms and beardies and l have found that mealworms contain chitin, which is in the exoskeletons of all insects - but mealies have large amounts. It is believed that beardies have trouble digesting this and this is what leads to iumpaction. I have also been reading that if mealworms are not chomped up enough, they can live in the beadies gut and actually eat him from the inside out. 
I don't know if this is true or not, it's just what i was reading on a website.
I have bought the mini mealies, and offer a couple of them a couple of times a week. Like most people l find that Yoda loves them, but again l want to air on the side of caution.


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## MesseNoire (Oct 8, 2011)

Mealies wont eat through their guts
A lot of what people seem to believe about mealies is usually rumor
There was an interesting article about the nutrition of mealies and the fact and fiction also in a magazine a while ago
I will see if I can find it

Kind regards,
Dylan


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## Jen (Oct 8, 2011)

If the chitin worries you, just use freshly shed worms, they are soft and white. I feed any i find in my colony to my levis, they love them.


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## ajandj (Oct 9, 2011)

leamos said:


> I give them as a treat too, I put a dozen or two into a new container and keep the rest in the fridge, in the separate container I add a small handful of rolled oats, some fish food and a pinch of calcium and vit powder and a piece of carrot. This ensures max nutrition when fed out. I leave it somewhere warm like on top of enclosure lights and the warm speeds them up and they shed more frequently. And simply feed out the one that have just shed every few days


what sort of fishfood do you use? granules or flakes? do you munch it all up in a processor? and do you feed this to your crickets too?

Sorry for all the questions


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## -Peter (Oct 9, 2011)

mealworms can steal your car and strip your assets, just saying, saw it on the net somewhere.


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## ajandj (Oct 9, 2011)

haha


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## DeadCricket (Oct 9, 2011)

That's where my necklace has gone! Little thieves!


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## aryius (Oct 9, 2011)

silkworms are nutritionally superior to mealworms and have no hard carapace to cause compaction. they are also easy to breed if you can get your hands on a steady supply of mulberry leaves (or iceberg lettuce which they sometimes will eat). if you were to feed mealworms to a bearded dragon that isn't fully grown i would recommend tearing their heads off first


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## ajandj (Oct 9, 2011)

and why would you tear their heads off?


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## aryius (Oct 10, 2011)

the mealworm head is the toughest part of its body for a beardie to digest. tearing the head off allows easier digestion
while still maintaining the slight nutritional boost gained by feeding them to your beardie.


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## ajandj (Oct 10, 2011)

ah ok


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## rae6mon (Oct 10, 2011)

I have been feeding mealies to my beardie for a year now without a problem. Actually he loves them and won't go for crickets any more either. At first I mixed them in with vegies and pellets to get him interested, and I have followed this strategy ever since because it works and is a healthier diet. My vet recommended I try this method and I asked her the same questions about mealies causing impaction and she said that she had never seen a case. My beardie was 1yr old at the time and she said with his size it won,t be a problem. Just my experience!


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## DeadCricket (Oct 10, 2011)

rae6mon said:


> I have been feeding mealies to my beardie for a year now without a problem. Actually he loves them and won't go for crickets any more either. At first I mixed them in with vegies and pellets to get him interested, and I have followed this strategy ever since because it works and is a healthier diet. My vet recommended I try this method and I asked her the same questions about mealies causing impaction and she said that she had never seen a case. My beardie was 1yr old at the time and she said with his size it won,t be a problem. Just my experience!



Good to hear someone else has shared my experiences! They don't seem to mind woodies though so I'm using them too and my geckos are eating really well on extra crickets lol

So, in an embarrassing fail, I have another question. I had the little ones out and eating bok choy, in a brief second of not paying enough attention, my yearling bearded dragon may have decided the younger mountain dragon was food. Now along the lines of hard, indigestable food, how is my beardie going to go with a mountain dragon in his belly?


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## damian83 (Oct 22, 2011)

DeadCricket said:


> They actually seem to prefer meal worms, they must taste better



just like us eating crackling instead of the pork i guess


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## Feurety (Oct 22, 2011)

i have 2 beardies in the house and they eat greens everyday and 30-40 mealworms every 2-3 days .. never had a single prob .. perfectly digested every time ... and they are very healthy beardies.. all this talk about mealworms is a load of bull ...


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## ianinoz (Oct 22, 2011)

-Peter said:


> mealworms can steal your car and strip your assets, just saying, saw it on the net somewhere.



That's a bum wrap , mealworms are lovely friendly social little guys , grab them and love to crawl all over you and to give you nice cuddle.
Crickets on the other hand - they stare at you and study you, and don't let their churping lull you into a false sense of security, the evil buggers are really conspiring against and planning a Coldiz style great escape , here's the proof 





They are evil , EVIL, EVIL I tell you. /jk 
One question - what do beardies eat in the wild - wouldn't that be best guide to what's OK for them to eat in captivity ?


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## DeadCricket (Oct 23, 2011)

ianinoz;2064008
One question - what do beardies eat in the wild - wouldn't that be best guide to what's OK for them to eat in captivity ?[/SIZE said:


> [/SIZE]



They would eat anything they could find. 
Leaves
Flowers
Inverts
Other lizards

Anything that they felt they could get their mouths around

One of mine tried to eat the end of a stick the other day.


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## StimiLove (Oct 23, 2011)

I dont own lizards, but thought i would share my experience with meal worms. I fed them to my axolotls. I feel so bad for it. They couldn't digest the outer shells and the worms impacted them. The ones stomach ruptured and he didn't have a nice death. I know lizards and axoltls are completely different critters - but just thought i'd share my story...


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## DeadCricket (Oct 23, 2011)

Not good mate. I've got 2 axilotls. I've never really considered feeding them anything other than blood worms as they seem to enjoy them so much, though I have heard they love garden skinks. Wouldn't be easy to have one or more of my buddies pushing up daisy's. 

I'm thinking of starting a SFR colony when herp shop has its stocks back up. Aparently they are even easier to care for than crickets!


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