Any other young Bearded Dragon protein sources?

[Sebastian27]

I got my beardie a few months ago. I've been feeding him meal worms as a protein source because the pet store worker said that they were a good daily diet. However, I just read that meal worms can make a bearded dragon fat and unhealthy. I know that I need to find another protein source but I would like to find one that can last for long amounts of time. Does anyone know of something that would work?


Also, how should I help my beardie if he is unhealthy because of the meal worms?

 

[Sebastian27]

Forgot to add:
I have also been regularly feeding him bok-choy.
When somebody's holding him, he bloats up like a balloon.

 

[Sebastian27]

thank you so much! I'm going to order some dubia roaches right now. I am also thankful for your input on kale. I just ran out of bok choy but have a fridge full of kale. My beardie seems fine after getting off of the meal worms. However, this morning I realized that the top of his head had turned a grayish color. It could possibly be him shedding but I'm not sure.

 

[Melanie White]

thank you so much! I'm going to order some dubia roaches right now. I am also thankful for your input on kale. I just ran out of bok choy but have a fridge full of kale. My beardie seems fine after getting off of the meal worms. However, this morning I realized that the top of his head had turned a grayish color. It could possibly be him shedding but I'm not sure.

Varied is key... beardies can and will become picky eaters, so be warned lol I switch it up between collard greens, Romain lettuce, kale.. you'll want to add a little bit of veggies too, you'll just have to find out thru trial and error what he likes! I feed mine mostly Dubia roaches and Superworms.. Hornedworms as an extra special treat! Good luck!!

 

[TheSauce]

I too was originally feeding my bearded dragon mealworms when I first got him about 3 months ago. My family has ban crickets in this house lol. Pet shop recommended mealworms as well but after doing some research I found that they are not very nutritious. So after some research I decided to start using exclusively dubia roaches. I conveniently call them Dubai Beatles to my family because the word roach has such a stigma of course. They are the most nutritious food you can buy for them, Stupid easy to take care of, will not infest your home, have virtually no smell, produce virtually no sound, and are very easy to gut load. I use rainbowmealworms.Com to order them because they're shipping is stupid fast. But dubiaroaches.Com sell the cheapest roaches on the internet if price is a factor.

 

[Melanie White]

I too was originally feeding my bearded dragon mealworms when I first got him about 3 months ago. My family has ban crickets in this house lol. Pet shop recommended mealworms as well but after doing some research I found that they are not very nutritious. So after some research I decided to start using exclusively dubia roaches. I conveniently call them Dubai Beatles to my family because the word roach has such a stigma of course. They are the most nutritious food you can buy for them, Stupid easy to take care of, will not infest your home, have virtually no smell, produce virtually no sound, and are very easy to gut load. I use rainbowmealworms.Com to order them because they're shipping is stupid fast. But dubiaroaches.Com sell the cheapest roaches on the internet if price is a factor.

I have 2 Beardies and a Chameleon, so they all eat Dubai Beetles ..good thinking btw!.. I did the same and decided to fully go with those and once in a while place an order of Superworms bcuz my babies LOVE those, they have more "fat" in them than shell, so they are much better than meal worms which are mostly outer shell! But, like any worm, they are like candy, so definitely only feed as Treats! I, too, use to order from Rainbowmealworms.com, but having 3 reptiles that eat Dubia's.. they can get expensive! So I now breed my own! Not sure that I would've done that with only 1 Beardie, but it's definitely do-able! (YouTube has tons of videos on the subject) I make a joke when I tell people that I breed roaches (you can imagine everyone's reaction) that I have to feed my food.... for my replies! Lol You're on the right track, buying online it much cheaper than any pet store, they make a killing off of those!

 

[Bostonfinest]

thank you so much! I'm going to order some dubia roaches right now. I am also thankful for your input on kale. I just ran out of bok choy but have a fridge full of kale. My beardie seems fine after getting off of the meal worms. However, this morning I realized that the top of his head had turned a grayish color. It could possibly be him shedding but I'm not sure.

Variety is key, I feed mine a mixture of collard greens, turnip green, mustard greens, dandelion greens, bell peppers, peas occasionally carrots, butternut squash, cilantro and basil as far as salad is concern.... when it come to bugs Dubia Roaches, BSFL, Crickets sometime as well as Super Worms occasionally and Hornworms occasionally

 

[Sebastian27]

thanks to everyone for all the replies! your advice has really helped. He enjoyed the dubai beetles but soon after, I got him started on canned crickets which he absolutely LOVES.

on the subject of meal worms,
I just saw this video which, in minute 5.00 they talk about how mealworms are excellent and that they've "raised a few bearded dragons only on mealworms". Not sure what to think.

 

[N W]

Thanks for sharing that! I am new to this, but I have already seen some of what he talks about in the reptile community, so now I will try to investigate further.

 

[Silver dragons]

thanks to everyone for all the replies! your advice has really helped. He enjoyed the dubai beetles but soon after, I got him started on canned crickets which he absolutely LOVES.

on the subject of meal worms,
I just saw this video which, in minute 5.00 they talk about how mealworms are excellent and that they've "raised a few bearded dragons only on mealworms". Not sure what to think.

The problem with mealworms isn't that they will "climb out of the bearded dragon stomach" it's that they can cause impaction, collapsed vent, and malnourishment. I'm not saying these things will happen every single time, just part of the time. You can feed your bearded dragon mealworms just not their entire diet.