Phoenix worms in molded food

[donprec]

Hello everyone! I have a weird question. I was down to a couple of phoenix worms left and decided to experiment on trying to grow them. I put them in a container with mashed peas and carrots. I actually forgot about them over the weekend, checked on them today and they doubled in size but the veggies they were underneath were all molded. Are they going to be safe for my beardie to eat?

 

[PatsyB]

Funny you should ask this. I just read something about how to "grow" your phoenix worms. The article said to use a soft fruit or vegetable or a piece of whole wheat bread covered with baby food. I thought it was a great idea!

Just remember to feed the worms food that is acceptable for your bearded dragon.

 

[donprec]

Yes, that was probably the article I read. I tried the babyfood/bread but it was such a messy chore fishing all the worms out (I had many more then) and a lot of babyfood being dumped. So I tried just about a tablespoon of these mashed veggies. The worms went from 1/2-3/4in to over an inch this weekend and a lot plumper...perfect size to feed my beardie but now I'm afraid they might have mold on them or inside them that might make my beardie sick!

 

[PatsyB]

I would think if there was mold on the food then there is a chance the worms ate it, probably not good to feed the beardie. But now you know for next time that they can be gut loaded. Just change the food out before it molds.

 

[donprec]

Ok, I won't give them to her. Thanks!

 

[stumpylump86]

Are Phoenix worms also known as calci worms? And Supers known as Morios? Sorry to hijack the post! I'm in England and I dont know if we have completely different worms, or if they're the same just with a different name? A bit like the whole car trunk over there is a car boot here!

 

[PatsyB]

Are Phoenix worms also known as calci worms? And Supers known as Morios? Sorry to hijack the post! I'm in England and I dont know if we have completely different worms, or if they're the same just with a different name? A bit like the whole car trunk over there is a car boot here!

It's okay. Yes, Phoenix worms are the same as Calci Worms. Now think about how great it would be to get those little tiny suckers bigger! I don't like to use them because they are so small and sometimes they just passed right through their system. I never thought about gut loading them. Morio worms are Supers. Supers LOVE to eat whatever salad that you feed your dragon.

 

[stumpylump86]

Great, thanks! Kim is a bit funny with crickets, sometimes she'll eat them, other times she just looks at them with utter disgust! I can't cope with locusts, they are far too bouncy so was going to try the supers but just haven't found any but now I know what they are! Thanks! Will persist with the crickets too as I have to get them for the tarantulas x

 

[stumpylump86]

Supers went down a treat! Think they may be her new favourite

 

[donprec]

This is the phoenix worms. They were mediums, half the size a few days ago. Some were so small my girl wasn't interested in them and I fed them to my goldfish!

But hornworms are my girl's favorite. She can spot them from across the room and goes nuts. I got this one in a cup of 12, they were less than 2 inches. 5 days later and they were well over 4 inches. She ate this one and still wanted more!

 

[PatsyB]

Dexter LOVES horn worms too. Those are the only food that gets her excited. She actually eats her salad when it's attached to a hornworm. If you keep them away from the heat light they won't grow so fast.

 

[donprec]

That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of them attaching to the salad too! Ok, I have another cup of hornworms coming in a few days. I'll keep them in the basement where it's a little cooler.

 

[Waffles]

I live Phoenix worms compared to crickets. But my guy seems to have gotten bored of them. Taking a break but we'll go back soon

 

[PatsyB]

That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of them attaching to the salad too! Ok, I have another cup of hornworms coming in a few days. I'll keep them in the basement where it's a little cooler.

Hornworms are the best because they are like velcro and stick to the salad. Last time I ordered hornworms I also ordered a couple cups of eggs. This way I didn't have to order every other week. While the worms were growing fast and being eaten off, the eggs were just hatching and slowly growing so by the time Dexter and Luci ate off the two cups of worms their were 2 cups waiting. My frogs also love them! I have a little guy that is prone to prolapse so I like to feed him the little worms when I have them.

Make sure your basement isn't too cold though. I usually just put them on a shelf away from the warmth of the tank lights.

 

[donprec]

I was wondering about the eggs, if they were successful...sounds like it worked out great for you. I'm going to try that with my next order! Great ideas Patsy, thank you!

 

[PatsyB]

I was wondering about the eggs, if they were successful...sounds like it worked out great for you. I'm going to try that with my next order! Great ideas Patsy, thank you!

I've raised my own hornworms from pupae to moth to egg in the past but haven't had much luck now that it's cold out. I was skeptical about getting the eggs in the mail but it was pretty cool. They sent me the big container they can climb and eat in and the eggs came in a little cup. The only thing I needed to provide was the food.

 

[PatsyB]

OMG! The experiment I read about bulking up the phoenix worms said that they use a small cricket keeper to put the food in and the worms. They fail to mention how the worms STAY in the cricket keeper! I used it to sift the dirt off the worms then put the worms in the container and they all started climbing to the top to escape! Luckily I have a ton of extra containers that the hornworms come in so I put them in there with a piece of fresh apricot. We'll see what happens.

 

[donprec]

LOL sorry...I got a laugh at your expense! When I did the babyfood/bread, I didn't saturate the bread as much as I think I was supposed to. The top half of the bread was soaked but the bottom half wasn't quite so much. They gathered underneath the bottom of the bread and stayed put there...fortunately for me. But I gave up on that experiment, it just seemed to be too much work. I bought a cup of large reptiworms and I've thrown some of Precious's older vegetables in with them but I can't tell if they're eating it, don't think so.
Good luck, I'm curious to see how it works out for you!

 

[PatsyB]

I forgot to take photos of the before. Today the container looks like a big soupy mess. I'm going to clean it out tomorrow and put some baby food in it. Some of the worms do look bigger.

 

[donprec]

I think it's funny how excited we can get over watching these worms grow, lol.

Oh Patsy, btw...the hornworms sticking to the salad was such a great idea! Precious is usually pretty good about eating her salad but I have noticed lately that if it's just collard greens, she'll eat all of what I give her. But if it's a mixture of other stuff...like dandelion and mustard greens, grated carrot and squash added to collards...she tends to just pick at it and not eat as much (so much for trying to give her variety lol). So I've been putting the hornworms on it and it works! I'm hoping this will convince her that a mixed salad isn't so bad.