# Maggots (blue bottle fly larvae) as food?



## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

hi all, 

does anyone use these as food for lizards? just wonderng as they are really cheap and i can get them readily available really easily, 

i found this nutrional information on them....

*Blue Bottle Fly Larvae*
Moisture 68.54
Ash 1.44
Protein 16.10
Fat 8.21
Calories/Fat 77.73
Calcium (ml/100 grs) 32.90

ead that some people do use them with good success, then i read of the skin being tough and not dissolved by stomach acid right away, and maggots swollowed hole eating out etc, basically the same story you hear about mealworms, with again no proof, and i feed those to all my little lizards as their staple and they are all healthy and happy , 

so any thoughts on maggots as food?


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## Jase Boa (Oct 22, 2007)

Never fed off maggots but have waited for them to turn to flies and fed them off :2thumb:


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

found this table for other feeders (crickets etc) so added maggot info on the end and colour co-ordinated it so its easy to follow, 

Crickets
Mealworms
Waxworms
Superworms
Maggots
*Moisture*
68.96 
62.89 
60.97 
58.91
68.54
*Ash* 
1.52 
1.20 
0.97 
1.29 
1.44
*Protein*
20.72 
18.65 
15.40 
18.92
16.10
*Fat *
5.74 
13.64 
20.12 
15.07 
8.21
*Carbohydrates*
3.06 
3.62 
2.54 
5.81 

*mg/100g Calc*
21.53 
3.28 
13.14 
10.80 
32.90
*mg/kg Vit*
105.90 
38.10 
23.60 
9.80 

*Dietary Fiber* 
2.80 
2.00 
1.60 
2.20 

Calories/Fat 
51.66 
122.76 
181.08 
135.63 
77.73


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## amyloveys (Jan 12, 2008)

interesting ..... sits and waits for more replys :whistling2:


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## Dj-timmy (May 27, 2009)

I own a fishing tackle shop so have loads of them. Gave some white ones to my BD and he was ill for about three days afterwards . Don't know if it was the maggots or just coincidence. Don't think I will try again.


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

I have been doing some more research into the areas of the table that dont have any info on the maggots, and from what i have found, they dont seem to have as much protein as mealworms and crickets, but they do have alot more calcium and alot less fat!!!



Dj-timmy said:


> I own a fishing tackle shop so have loads of them. Gave some white ones to my BD and he was ill for about three days afterwards . Don't know if it was the maggots or just coincidence. Don't think I will try again.


when you say ill, do you mean he vomited? had runny crap? or was actually ill? also is your beardie an adult?

im just asking because i know if a young beardie eats alot of a new thing they can be sick/have loose craps, adults can be the same but not usually sick just runny craps, y adults had runny craps for a weekish when i changed their veg diet all good now : victory:


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## Dj-timmy (May 27, 2009)

Yeah sick and runny crap for about a week.


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

how many did you feed it? and was it an adult? chances are it just ate too much or ate too fast or both lol, thats why he may have been sick, and the craps where probably as it has never had them before, that often happens with new food items


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## Fozzy (May 26, 2009)

i was wondering whether they would be good cus u can get like a 1000 for a fiver at my local fishing shop xD obviously not the dyed one's those.


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

Fozzy said:


> i was wondering whether they would be good cus u can get like a 1000 for a fiver at my local fishing shop xD obviously not the dyed one's those.


Im going to get a small tub full tomorrow, (like 50p - £1's worth or somthing) and see if they can be fed fish flakes, and some veg stuffs which i have read they can, and if they can i will definately be using them as a food maybe even as a staple live food in equal amount to crickets and mealies as their nutrional value seems better then mealworms : victory:


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## cordylidae (Nov 2, 2008)

Lizard Loft said:


> Im going to get a small tub full tomorrow, (like 50p - £1's worth or somthing) and see if they can be fed fish flakes, and some veg stuffs which i have read they can, and if they can i will definately be using them as a food maybe even as a staple live food in equal amount to crickets and mealies as their nutrional value seems better then mealworms : victory:


if you do tis do not feed until the second gen as the one in the shop are fed rotting meat etc


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

rase0121 said:


> if you do tis do not feed until the second gen as the one in the shop are fed rotting meat etc


Yea i know should of said my intentions before.........

i plan to get some see if they feed n fish flake etc if they do set up a breeding tank/viv and breed some myself then use them as feeders : victory:

would they not clear their systems out of the rotting meat if you didnt feed them for say 24-48hours??


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## teiryklav (Mar 20, 2009)

wait, isn't maggots parasitic? they would go to the lizard's nose and mouth to feed in inside layer tissue that can kill them. or this is a different maggot?

i've a case of my green tree dragon (WC) get maggots parasites and doesn't survive. i guess they're not really good things to feed your lizard..?


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## andy123 (Oct 23, 2008)

i keep the maggots hatch them to bluebottles then feed them but i would never feed the maggot itself:lol2:


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

teiryklav said:


> wait, isn't maggots parasitic? they would go to the lizard's nose and mouth to feed in inside layer tissue that can kill them. or this is a different maggot?
> 
> i've a case of my green tree dragon (WC) get maggots parasites and doesn't survive. i guess they're not really good things to feed your lizard..?


Mealworms also eat carrion and people have been telling similar stories aboutthem for years and they are one of the most common reptile foods,




andy123 said:


> i keep the maggots hatch them to bluebottles then feed them but i would never feed the maggot itself:lol2:


why not? i found one of my rep books today and it actually suggests maggots........or corn grubs as they sometimes call them as a food source


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## axorozzas (Aug 16, 2008)

> wait, isn't maggots parasitic? they would go to the lizard's nose and mouth to feed in inside layer tissue that can kill them. or this is a different maggot?


Bluebottle maggots aren't parasitic. They feed only on dead tissue. 

They're sometimes used for cleaning wounds in hospitals. (I know sounds lovely doesn't it)

When you consider every fly species starts off as a maggot, there are LOADS of types of maggot.


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## Dj-timmy (May 27, 2009)

> would they not clear their systems out of the rotting meat if you didnt feed them for say 24-48hours??


Maggots feed when they are younger and fill their stomaches. This then lasts until they pupate and turn into flies



> if you do tis do not feed until the second gen as the one in the shop are fed rotting meat etc


Animals eat them all the time in the "wild".


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

axorozzas said:


> Bluebottle maggots aren't parasitic. They feed only on dead tissue.
> 
> They're sometimes used for cleaning wounds in hospitals. (I know sounds lovely doesn't it)
> 
> When you consider every fly species starts off as a maggot, there are LOADS of types of maggot.





Dj-timmy said:


> Maggots feed when they are younger and fill their stomaches. This then lasts until they pupate and turn into flies
> 
> 
> > ahh i see, ill try and find some on the internet that have been kept on a different diet before i buy some from a fishing shop,
> ...


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

just found this whilst researching the matter concerning breeding them, 

"One of the easiest ways to breed maggots is to pierce 5mm holes in the lid of a tin of pet food and put it outside. After at least five days, remove the lid, tip it into a bucket of water and strain it through fly wire to get the maggots. *Rinse the maggots in running water for 15 minutes to release the contents of their intestine. This will prevent bacteria being passed on to your animal.* You can store maggots in a jar of flour in the freezer until you are ready to use them."

does do you think rinsing them like that will release the contents of their stomachs? if so could you just do that with fish shop ones then gutload and feed them off?

heres the site i got it off if you want to take a look Breeding Live Foods - EPA


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## kettykev (May 15, 2009)

Not to feed until 2nd gen?
So you have some maggots and let them pupate into flies, they breed ......what do you suggest they lay their eggs onto?

Flies lay eggs on rotting flesh.


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## Genseric (Oct 7, 2007)

Just out of interest... did this go anywhere?


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Just reading this myself thought i'd post my own experiences.
Used to feed maggots/blue bottles to my panther chameleons & leopard/fat tailed geckos with no problems.
Use only the white ones & keep them cool & gutload them yourself.
Fish like e'm too. :whistling2:


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## Stelios (Aug 28, 2009)

I feed them to my spiders when I have left overs from fishing.


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## Genseric (Oct 7, 2007)

I want to try and breed them.. but have no idea how


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## htf666 (Jun 23, 2007)

My mate used to catch lots of trout.When he cleaned them he threw the guts on the compost heap and got loads of maggots.The difference between these and shop bought ones was amazing. At the time I kept goldfish so I used to try to feed on shop bought maggots which are fed on chicken offal. The fish would eat one or two and then spit them out.The trout reared ones they would eat loads. I had a tame green toad in a large viv which would sit on a tree stump and let you place food next to it. I had to stop feeding it at no. 53 as it looked rather round. So maggots, yes but not shop bought ones.Harry


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## Genseric (Oct 7, 2007)

Well I have a load of casters, and just made some mix up similar to what I would give the roaches, and water..well a water dish full of wet coco peat. See how that goes with them.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Bluebottles feed and lay their eggs on rotting meat.


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## LFG (Apr 2, 2007)

Just digging this up wondering if anyone has any more recent views/experiences on this?


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## plank (Jul 7, 2008)

what about the ammonia they produce


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## E71000 (Jul 2, 2013)

So how did it go?

Did you feed the maggots live or did u kill them first 

I was thinking about feeding them to my Leo's


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## jojothefirst (Nov 13, 2009)

Not read other replays but I have fed the flies, not the maggots, a few times to my chameleons. They love them. They can be gut loaded with honey.


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