Bearded Dragons are an omnivorous species – they eat both plants and meat – and their staple food source should be a high-quality hornworm. But, you’d want healthy, clean, and well-fed hornworms that will provide your beardie with nutritious food. Here’s how to find the best hornworms for bearded dragons:
1. Clean Hornworms
The first thing you want to make sure of is that the worms are healthy. A healthy hornworm should be fat, but not obese, with bright green skin and a dark-green band running along its dorsal side. Its body should appear more or less round from above and flat from below. Their growth patterns should be even, and they should feel firm to the touch when gently squeezed.
2. Well-Fed Hornworms
Bearded dragons naturally eat hornworms in the wild, so it is essential to provide your beardie with an ideal food source by feeding them properly-fed live hornworms. Mature hornworm specimens are already starting to pupate, which means they will soon become moths. Hence, feed the hornworms until they reach their maximum size and weight before being offered to your pet.
3. Avoid Deformed Hornworms
Check if the hornworms have been injured when you buy them. If so, their bodies will have been injured and may have jagged scars. As a result, the worms’ growth patterns will be off, and they most likely won’t survive for very long.
Caring for the Hornworms
Hornworms should be kept in a warm, well-lit area where they will be left alone to eat and grow. Plastic bags make good homes for hornworms as it’s easy to remove them from their original containers and move them into the bags without spilling or damaging any worms. These bags should then be placed in a warm, well-lit spot near or away from your bearded dragon’s enclosure to prevent any stress on the animal.
Don’t Overcrowd Hornworms
Hornworms grow very quickly if they are given adequate food and space, so it is essential not to overpopulate their living quarters. If you overcrowd them, they will begin to cannibalize each other, which is very stressful on the worms.
As a result of this, cannibalized hornworms should not be fed to your beardie for health reasons.
Good Food and Water
Hornworms can drink water by dunking their head under the surface of the water in their container, so it is important to make sure they have access to clean drinking water in a shallow dish during their entire time in captivity.
Adult hornworms should be kept with only enough food and space to keep them comfortably nourished.
Choose Hornworms for Bearded Dragons from Crickets and Worms
Cricketsandworms.com is America’s top online seller of live hornworms for reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids. We ensure that our hornworms are of the highest quality. When you buy from us, you know that your bearded dragon will be getting some of the best hornworms money can buy. Order online today!
