Advice on wild pill bugs

[sigrif]

Hi all! I have a new 3 month old Rankins Dragon that I got from a breeder.
Unfortunately I found out he has only been fed mealworms and veggies, which is what he is currently eating (better than nothing?). I've tried to feed crickets but he's not interested, and other staple feeders in a small enough size (between the eyes) are very hard to come by or expensive.

My reptile-specialist vet has recommended that I could go dig for wild pill bugs(isopods/rollie pollies) and not worry too much about parasites. I'm aware that it's not usually recommended to get insects from the wild due to the various risks, but since it's my vet recommending it, it might be different. Can I follow her advice?

 

[Sadie]

Hi all! I have a new 3 month old Rankins Dragon that I got from a breeder.
Unfortunately I found out he has only been fed mealworms and veggies, which is what he is currently eating (better than nothing?). I've tried to feed crickets but he's not interested, and other staple feeders in a small enough size (between the eyes) are very hard to come by or expensive.

My reptile-specialist vet has recommended that I could go dig for wild pill bugs(isopods/rollie pollies) and not worry too much about parasites. I'm aware that it's not usually recommended to get insects from the wild due to the various risks, but since it's my vet recommending it, it might be different. Can I follow her advice?

I would not you dont know where they have been and air on the safe side and not feed --- staple feeders what have you tried so far ? Meal worms DO NOT feed any more babies stomachs cannot digest them the exoskeleton is too harsh on the stomachs--- good staple feeders besides crickets are BSFL great for babies -- silk worms -- dubia roaches-- I can post websites for those feeders --- its better to get them on line and in quantities since winter is here -- dubais are the easiest to keep and more nutritious than crickets anyway --

 

[sigrif]

I would not you dont know where they have been and air on the safe side and not feed --- staple feeders what have you tried so far ? Meal worms DO NOT feed any more babies stomachs cannot digest them the exoskeleton is too harsh on the stomachs--- good staple feeders besides crickets are BSFL great for babies -- silk worms -- dubia roaches-- I can post websites for those feeders --- its better to get them on line and in quantities since winter is here -- dubais are the easiest to keep and more nutritious than crickets anyway --

Thank you. I have only tried crickets so far since it's the only thing I've been able to find in an acceptable size. I'm not in the US so I don't know if those website you have will work. I've only found BSFLs in XL which I think is maybe too big. Dubia roaches I have found online in small sizes but are quite expensive, but I suppose I might have to bite the bullet and order them. Live silkworms are nowhere to be found here

 

[Sadie]

Thank you. I have only tried crickets so far since it's the only thing I've been able to find in an acceptable size. I'm not in the US so I don't know if those website you have will work. I've only found BSFLs in XL which I think is maybe too big. Dubia roaches I have found online in small sizes but are quite expensive, but I suppose I might have to bite the bullet and order them. Live silkworms are nowhere to be found here

Where are you?

 

[sigrif]

Where are you?

Denmark

 

[Sadie]

Denmark

Ok the only thing I can tell you is do a Google search for live insects for bearded dragons - see what you come up with - you may haft to start a colony of dubias but that will take a year to get that going- the bsfl can be fed as large they are soft and he's 3 months I am thinking he should be able to eat them

 

[sci]

i agree, dont ever use wild insects because they could bring parasites and some insects you might misidentify that could cause more harm than good for your beardie.

since there are reptile breeders in your community, there will always be feeder breeders aswell! buying a colony of dubia wouldnt be too expensive and maintaining a sustainable colony will give you sustainable food for your beardie.

dubias can be easily kept in tubs, you could also try your hand in breeding meal worms / super worms which is pretty easy to do