# Maggots!



## ginge :) (Jul 7, 2008)

Hi, was just wondering if anyone has ever fed their beardie on maggots.. the plain coloured ones you'd get from a fishing tackle shop.

Plus, they are cheap and keep for a long time. :whistling2:

Cheers, *Tom.*​


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

maggots are alot more dangerous to feed then mealworms due to the fact that they feed on carrion, there are many many more parasites in carrion then in veg


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## Bexzini (Oct 21, 2010)

If you feed your beardie maggots you will open a door to so many parasitic problems and you will have to make several vet trips. They really are full of parasites which are difficult to shift when they occur naturally in the beardie let alone if you add maggots to the equation. Bear in mind beardies have parasites anyway, but maggots would give the beardie a massive increase in them. I don't believe that maggots have any nutritional value to beardies either. I would stick to crickets, locusts, morio worms, calci worms, and the odd waxworm, including the veg. All of which (except the veg of course) can be purchased from livefoods.co.uk and will provide your beardie with the perfect diet


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Just because maggots eat rotting meat, it doesn't mean that they are hosts to loads of parasites! If that was the case, why don't fish and, indeed, fishermen get infected all the time. Also, what about the medical uses of maggots for removing rotten flesh around wounds?

I'm not saying they are safe to use, as I don't know for sure, but they are fine to feed to fish, so why not reptiles?


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## Bexzini (Oct 21, 2010)

Jeffers3 said:


> Just because maggots eat rotting meat, it doesn't mean that they are hosts to loads of parasites! If that was the case, why don't fish and, indeed, fishermen get infected all the time. Also, what about the medical uses of maggots for removing rotten flesh around wounds?
> 
> I'm not saying they are safe to use, as I don't know for sure, but they are fine to feed to fish, so why not reptiles?


I read on beardeddragon.org ages ago that they are host to a variety of internal parasites. I will try and find the page although it was a while back now. The individual said that because they ate rotting flesh etc, the beardie would obviously be inducing this as well, but I see what you're saying about the fish! This is an odd one. I will research and get back to you with that one


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## ginge :) (Jul 7, 2008)

Cheers for the replies.. glad to have started a debate :whistling2:.

I was just curious, hadn't ever seen anyone speak of them on here, wanted to know people's views on them.

To be honest I thought they would have been okay, especially from a fishing shop, because they're not actually ever subjected to rotten meat to feed on.

Cheers,* Tom.*​


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

Bexzini said:


> I read on beardeddragon.org ages ago that they are host to a variety of internal parasites. I will try and find the page although it was a while back now. The individual said that because they ate rotting flesh etc, the beardie would obviously be inducing this as well, but I see what you're saying about the fish! This is an odd one. I will research and get back to you with that one


Id imagine this refers more to those taken from a carcass rather than those mass bred for the fishing side of things


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## jimnamman (Apr 28, 2011)

i read that they also eat normal garden worms as well. also heard that my OHs dad used to feed our beardie insects from the garden, (which we did not approve of) but it did happen. alas it had no side effects, this was happening a few years ago. and beardie is now 5 years of age and in perfect health. so i would say yes they can. maybe they wont like them. if i was thinking about it i would do the same i would start a thread here while discussing it with OH and prob give it a try.


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## jeweled lady (Aug 25, 2009)

I have fed my hatchling Lacertids maggots which are safely bred from the fishing tackle shop. Go for the uncoloured ones. They are fine to feed in moderation, or even the flys when they hatch.


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

There was a thread about this some time ago. I think the general consensus was that maggots were safe enough and even reasonably nutritious. I'll see if I can find it, as I read up on it and joined in the discussion before.


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## Bexzini (Oct 21, 2010)

Jeffers3 said:


> There was a thread about this some time ago. I think the general consensus was that maggots were safe enough and even reasonably nutritious. I'll see if I can find it, as I read up on it and joined in the discussion before.


That would be excellent, I couldnt find that thread from beardeddragon.org but some more conclusive information would be great


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

This was the thread:

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/lizards/675288-feeding-leos-maggots.html

As you can see, it was for leopard geckos, but it should be broadly the same for beardies.

I should add that I don't give mine maggots.


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## Bexzini (Oct 21, 2010)

Jeffers3 said:


> This was the thread:
> 
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/lizards/675288-feeding-leos-maggots.html
> 
> ...


Jetski haha he lives down the road from me!


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

Jeffers3 said:


> Just because maggots eat rotting meat, it doesn't mean that they are hosts to loads of parasites!.


True, Bare in mind that bait shop maggot are rased on chicken and fish carcass that was rased for Human consumption, So when alive thay would have been trated for parasites, Plus Reptiles aren't Humans, Reptile have enzymes that will brake down s:censor:t that would f:censor:k us up.


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## davemoths (Nov 19, 2008)

Maggots are fed on rotting flesh so will run the risk of carrying bacteria that are possibly capable of causing illness. Even fishing shop ones had to eat carrion to get up to the size they are sold at, just because they are not in it when you buy them doesnt mean they never were.

Nutrition wise they are pretty good, in fact there is little difference between the majority of feeder insects and any differences usually relate to fat content.

The biggest problem with maggots is that they have a very tough outer skin designed to protect them in a hostile environment, ie. a rotting carcass. This is resistant to digestive enzymes and unless it is torn during feeding the animals often find them difficult to digest. To ensure this its a good idea to stick a pin in them prior to feeding, the maggots that is, not the lizard 

Personally I would stick to Locusts, Crickets and the like.

Hope this helps.

Dave


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

I do stick to the usual species, but I am intrigued about maggots. 

The bit about maggots and bacteria is interesting. Maggots secrete anti-bacterial agents that theoretically make them at least safer, if not completely safe. I think we should bear in mind that any groups of animals that have evolved to eat insects will probably cope with bacterial loads better than us.

I don't know about the resistance of maggot skins to digestion, but if my beardie has anything to do with it, they will definitely not be intact by the time he swallows them. He regularly eats morios, which must be more difficult to digest - and I never see undigested bits coming out of the other end.


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## davemoths (Nov 19, 2008)

However antibacterial they are, anything that has been rolling around in rotting flesh runs an extra risk. Whether this is significant is a different issue!

The outher skin of all insects is indigestable and if you seperate a faecal sample out from your dragon thenyou will find all the pieces of the insects exoskeleton in there with all the good stuff digested out of it. Maggots seem worse somehow as they are a sort of flexible bag which seems to remain intact rather than break.

I used to have a Beardie which, given the oppertunity, would wolf down a plate of Morio one after another only to throw the whole lot up after an hour or so completely whole. I could see the same happening with maggots.

I am not really for or against them, just airing a few comments. 



Dave


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## ginge :) (Jul 7, 2008)

Good to get some feedback, I've decided against using them. I spoke to a bloke in my local reptile shop, he said that maggots can actually stay alive in the stomach and burrow their way out. Not ideal.

Cheers. *Tom.*​


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## Bexzini (Oct 21, 2010)

ginge :) said:


> Good to get some feedback, I've decided against using them. I spoke to a bloke in my local reptile shop, he said that maggots can actually stay alive in the stomach and burrow their way out. Not ideal.
> 
> Cheers. *Tom.*​


I was thinking just the same when the previous individual mentioned their hard outer shell! However, I have heard that mealworms can do the same?


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## ginge :) (Jul 7, 2008)

> Originally Posted by *Bexzini*
> _However, I have heard that mealworms can do the same?_


Yeah I suppose you're right. Just like a big maggot lol.

Cheers. *Tom.*​


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## jimnamman (Apr 28, 2011)

yeah all wax worms meal morms and maggots do the very same if not chewed up properly.


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