# what other live foods can bearded dragons eat?



## gonzo the great (Feb 9, 2006)

Hi, just a quick question on what other live food beardies can eat apart from locust, crix, waxworms.

this is a question i got asked as someone i know wants to know if they can eat garden worms or maggots.

Im not sure if they can or not so i said i would ask you lot to see what you say.

thanks in advance all.


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## CBR1100XX (Feb 19, 2006)

obviously I am no expert but you can try your beardie on a range of insects, but whether or not they are good for them I dont know, I feed mine Crickets, Locusts, Mealworms (small), waxworms, the odd spider I find around the house and moths.

I know they can also eat fish, but not tropical (just in case you want to empty your fish tank, I give mine a little cod and mackerel now and again and he devours it.

personally I think crickets are the way to go as they are cheap and good for them, but I just add little amounts of the other things to stop him getting bored with crix not that he does.

Sy


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## CBR1100XX (Feb 19, 2006)

just to add you have to watch with the maggots as they genearlly come from not nice stuff, so could be harmful. personally I would avoid maggots and make sure you clean the earthworms.

there will be a few on to offer better advice than myself.

:lol:


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## SilverSteno (Feb 12, 2006)

Probably best not to use earthworms dug up from the garden. They can harbour all kinds of bacteria and pesticides/herbicides (even if you don't use them in your garden any used in the surrounding area can have an effect). I know of one bird-food supplier that delivers earthworms - but they aren't cheep!


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## warren82 (Mar 31, 2006)

hi i would avoid both as someone already mentioned they can cause health problems as you dont know what their carrying. mine loves hoppers and quite often likes to have an odd pinkie he has also taken caned snails that i feed my blue tounge when hes in the mood.


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## Bev (Sep 7, 2005)

lets see, so far ive heard of:
silkworms (a nice staple foor, most nutritious of the bunch but a bit expensive)
crickets (stapl food comes in brown or vicious biteing black)
mealworms (not very nutritious mostly chitin)
waxworms (nutritous but fatty so treats only dudes)
superworms/morio (bit like mealworms)
butterworms (high calcium content and not as chitinous as mealworms)
locusts (like crickets but bigger and often liked better than crix, not a staple but a nice change now and then)


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## frankie (Mar 24, 2006)

hi beware bdis can only have silkworms until they are 1 the garden worms and other insects you find like spiders and flies probably be fine as long as they not fireflies. the only problem is you can neva gaurantee the insects have not been near harmful chemicals for your beardie.


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## NNY (Feb 2, 2006)

Theres no point risking it when the reps life is at risk. Would you rather pay £2.50 for a tub of safe to eat crix or dig up worms from the garden and then pay hundreds on vet bills?


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## SilverSteno (Feb 12, 2006)

If you wanted to give earthworms as an occassional treat these supply them: http://www.birdfood.co.uk/product_details.php?area_id=2&group_id=8&nav_id=29&prd_id=362 They aren't cheap though! But they will be parasite-free and since they are to feed garden birds they'll be of a good quality too :lol:


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## little_chrissy (Aug 21, 2005)

we breed hissin roaches and our beardy gets the babies she loves them


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## CBR1100XX (Feb 19, 2006)

Bev where can I get butter worms from (mail order), not seen any about but would be a good buy for calcium content.


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## CBR1100XX (Feb 19, 2006)

Found a possible supplier now on the FEEDER section.


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

Bev said:


> lets see, so far ive heard of:
> silkworms (a nice staple foor, most nutritious of the bunch but a bit expensive)
> crickets (stapl food comes in brown or vicious biteing black)
> mealworms (not very nutritious mostly chitin)
> ...


which one of those besides crickets can they eat in there diet, i hear meal worms are a no because there tough to dijest or something.

which of the worms basicaly can the beardie dijest easy because i was thinking of mixing it in his diet like crickets, veg and what type of worm is soft and easy for the beardie to handle


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Butterworms can be given - they are soft but they are high in fat (hence the name)

Mealworms can be given - especially the recently moulted ones that are still white. I would not use too many mealies.

For larger beardies there are Morio worms.

Calci grubs and silkworms (which can be fed to them at any age - I don't know where the previous poster got that they could only be fed until the beardie is one??????) are both good but expensive.

No-one has mentioned Dubia roaches - they are excellent.


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## Miss Lizee (Feb 25, 2011)

I've just ordered some calci worms. Not sure if that's the same as butterworms but also known as Phoenix worms in USA if you want to look into them


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

jools said:


> Butterworms can be given - they are soft but they are high in fat (hence the name)
> 
> Mealworms can be given - especially the recently moulted ones that are still white. I would not use too many mealies.
> 
> ...


what im thinking is feeding a beardie on a type of worm that it can digest without problems on a regular basis as in not treats.

so what id do is feed it worms or something one day and then the next day crickets and keep doing that while also fitting in fresh veg

but its finding a worm or other insect that it can dijest but also isnt high in fat


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## woodrott (Sep 14, 2008)

heres the list of my live food i feed each day

locs
crics
morio
Roche's
silkworms
butter worms 
wax worms
phoenix worms
beetle grubs
silkworm moths
wax worm moths


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

woodrott said:


> heres the list of my live food i feed each day
> 
> locs
> crics
> ...


 but which one of those can a bearded dragon eat regularly that it can digest as easy as it can the crickets it normally eats

meal worms i dont want to feed him because i hear they hard for them to digest


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## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

Chrisuk33 said:


> but which one of those can a bearded dragon eat regularly that it can digest as easy as it can the crickets it normally eats
> 
> meal worms i dont want to feed him because i hear they hard for them to digest


It says in his post this is what he feeds everyday.

I breed my own Dubia roaches which have the highest shell to meat ratio compared to crix, loc etc... My beardies love em with a passion


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

My beardies get a range of live food, all of which can be fed as regularly as you like. 
They get -
dubia roaches
turkistan roaches
crickets
locusts 
morio worms 
meal worms
giant african land snail eggs
giant african land snail babies

These are all fine as staple feeders, although I don't feed meal worms that often as they aren't big enough to be a satisfying meal!


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

Nigel_wales said:


> It says in his post this is what he feeds everyday.
> 
> I breed my own Dubia roaches which have the highest shell to meat ratio compared to crix, loc etc... My beardies love em with a passion


i do apolagise i dont mean to sound arrogant, i read everyones post and its just something someone has written on the furum and wondered if there was any truth to it.

my beardie is 3 months old i think, its het hypo
i was just trying to find extra live food to feed regular like crickets and put some veg in the diet to like broccolli and carrots


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Bev said:


> lets see, so far ive heard of:
> silkworms (a nice staple foor, most nutritious of the bunch but a bit expensive)
> crickets (stapl food comes in brown or vicious biteing black)
> mealworms (not very nutritious mostly chitin)
> ...


 
Silworms are very nutritious, but mine wouldn't eat them
Crickets are cheap, but a pain in the backside!
Mealworms are fine (chitin content is a myth caused by people quoting the chitin in the adult beetle)
Waxworms are a treat, but good for coating with dusting powder
Morios are an excellent regular foodstuff
Never tried butterworms
Locusts are a good regular food, but a bit expensive
Moths and butterflies seem to go down well, but make sure they're not contaminated by anything (collect some caterpillars and hatch them, perhaps?)
Roaches are excellent, but not always easy to get hold of


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

Jeffers3 said:


> Silworms are very nutritious, but mine wouldn't eat them
> Crickets are cheap, but a pain in the backside!
> Mealworms are fine (chitin content is a myth caused by people quoting the chitin in the adult beetle)
> Waxworms are a treat, but good for coating with dusting powder
> ...


right in that case if ther safe ill try the meal worms on him tonight
hes already had afew crickets today, at the moment hes basking


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## Gemstone Dragons (Jul 29, 2009)

Chrisuk33 said:


> right in that case if ther safe ill try the meal worms on him tonight
> hes already had afew crickets today, at the moment hes basking


Feed mealies and morio worms earlier in the day not the evening as this gives the beardie more basking hours to digest them, they are not indigestible as some advise just take a little longer than softer livefoods


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## pmdenton (Feb 19, 2011)

Gave my beardie meal worms now she wont touch crix or hoppers. i've left a couple of hoppers in the viv with her, but shes not interested, she waits for me to feed her meal worms.


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

*Crickets on the loose*

i put some crickets in my beardies viv, i think it ate some but now theres like 5 loose in the viv and i dont think its intrested, and the problem is, its his bedtime in about a hour and 45 mins, and these little buggers hide in the gap of the rocks and stuff, im worried when the beardie goes to sleep or rest for the night that the crickets will harm it somehow what shall i do?


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Chrisuk33 said:


> i put some crickets in my beardies viv, i think it ate some but now theres like 5 loose in the viv and i dont think its intrested, and the problem is, its his bedtime in about a hour and 45 mins, and these little buggers hide in the gap of the rocks and stuff, im worried when the beardie goes to sleep or rest for the night that the crickets will harm it somehow what shall i do?


Put plenty of food in for the crickets. They will only eat your beardie if they are very hungry!


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

pmdenton said:


> Gave my beardie meal worms now she wont touch crix or hoppers. i've left a couple of hoppers in the viv with her, but shes not interested, she waits for me to feed her meal worms.


i have the exact same problem
my beardie ate like 1 cricket then ignored the rest, if i feed him meal worms he can eat up to 10 like there candy

problem with this is, im told to much meal worm when its supose to be cricket can cause tiolet troubles or lack of, sooo if it dont really pay attention to the crickets but only mealies, what do i do?


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