Hatchling diet?

[Questionably_Elven]

So, I have a baby bearded dragon that I am not entirely sure how old he is. Currently eating 30-50 calcium dusted pinhead crickets, 1 waxworm, and some salad (various squashes, low phosphorus greens, and some berry) each day. I ordered phoenix worms in the mail and am waiting for them to arrive. I have several questions.
Is 1-2 waxworms a day okay, since he's growing? He LOVES them.
Can phoenix worms be a staple bug?
Do I need to continue supplementing calcium if phoenix worms are his staple?
How many phoenix worms do I give daily? The attached photos are for size.

 

[PatsyB]

Wax worms are like candy so they should only be fed once a week. Phoenix worms are a good but they are very expensive to use as a staple. Crickets are fine to use for a growing baby as well as dubia roaches.

 

[Questionably_Elven]

I keep seeing people saying how expensive they are, but phoenix worms are about 4 cents a piece, which is about the same price I am paying for crickets and are a lot less than dubias?

 

[PatsyB]

I think it's fine then for a baby if you can get them so cheap. Just remember that phoenix worms don't get bigger but your baby does. So your beardie may have to eat more and more to fill up as it gets older. As your beardie gets older you should offer a variety of bugs and you should always offer greens at every age. Mine eat crickets, super worms, hornworms and silk worms.

 

[Questionably_Elven]

Wow, they just arrived today and I didn't realize how small they are. The seller said they were the larger size, so I was really surprised to see they are about pinhead cricket size! Anyway, I'm giving him half these and half crickets for now, and he LOVES them. Of course, with lots of veggies! I've stopped feeding wax worms and will only give 1 a week from now on. I have a source for horn worms and superworms once he gets bigger but I can't find any small enough for him now. Think they would eat cultivated snails??

 

[PatsyB]

Not sure about snails, if there is a shell it might be too hard for them to digest. You could get hornworm eggs and hatch them yourself but buy a very small amount because they grow fast.

 

[Questionably_Elven]

Oh, I didn't even think about that. Lol, this will be an interesting endeavor. when my husband saw horn worms at the pet store he wanted to buy them all and free them- he said they were too attractive to be food.