Can Bearded Dragons Eat Wax Worms? Benefits, Risks & Tips

Waxworms, the caterpillar larvae of wax moths, live and grow in the honeycombs of beehives. Wax worms are feeder grubs for several creatures. But can bearded dragons eat wax worms? As they are fond of chewing insects all day, are wax worms safe for them?

There are various feeder insects for your pet bearded dragons. Your pet beardie’s diet is not permanent for their whole life! You have to change their feeding habits from time to time. Insects and plants are their most preferred food ever.

Wax worms are originally a kind of larva, so they are small in size. Also, it is softer than other feeder insects. But can you feed your pet with this insect? Let’s check it out.

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Can Bearded Dragons Eat Wax Worms?

Bearded dragons can undoubtedly eat wax worms, and they enjoy their taste. Although, don’t feed these white worms to your pet as a staple food. You can provide the insects as a treat or in moderation.

Wax worms contain beneficial compounds like fat, protein, moisture, etc., helping your pet differently. After all, the worm’s taste is delicious for your pet, and its size and softness attract your beardie.

How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Wax Worms?

The frequency of feeding the worms to your beardie depends on their age.

If they are baby bearded dragons, they need more protein for healthy growth. You can feed them 3 to 5 wax worms daily with other foods. You can feed them the worms mixed with crickets.
If your pet’s age is more than one year, you can give them 3 to 5 wax worms weekly or twice a week.

Notably, the insect and plant consumption ratio are the opposite for baby and adult beardie diets. As the baby beardie requires more protein-based food for overall growth, they can eat wax worms more than the adult can.

Additionally, wax worms contain 39% protein in it. Further, a baby bearded dragon’s diet should contain 70% insect or protein food and 30% plant food. On the contrary, the adult beardie needs 30% protein and 70% plants.

6 Benefits of Wax Worms for Bearded Dragons

Wax worms have a few nutritional elements, including protein, fat, moisture, calcium, phosphorus, etc. All these nutrients help your beardie to get healthy organs and promote them in different ways. However, there are some limitations that you have to maintain always.

1: Protein Aids in Overall Growth

The waxworms consist of 39% of protein. From baby beardies to juvenile beardie, the growing process is rapid. The first year after their birth is very crucial for their overall growth. They need all the vitamins and minerals which help in growth, and protein is one of them.

The protein present in wax worms aid in growing your beardie. If you provide the food in a well-maintained way, they will benefit from it. Further, you can give them superworms, hornworms, or butter worms as their insect diet.

2: Waxworm Helps Your Pet to Be Moisturized & Hydrated

Wax worms contain 6.1% of moisture. If your beardie doesn’t like to drink adequate water, the worm helps. It has a good amount of water, which assists in hydration and moisturizing. The mixed diet with other insects is very beneficial for your beardie.

3: Fat Fulfills The Body’s Need

Not much, but a certain amount of fat is also required for your bearded dragon. As wax worms contain a huge amount of fat (52%), it fulfills the body’s needs. But do remember, you must maintain moderate feeding; otherwise, it harms your pet.

4: Size is Easy to Digest

Wax worms’ average length is 2.5cm to 1 inch, which is very suitable for your beardie. As your pet needs a small-sized bite in their diet, the wax worm is very comfortable for them. It is easy to digest and helps the smooth digestive system.

5: Softness Makes it Easy to Digest

Wax worms are not only small in size, but they are also soft. Due to the softness, beardies can chew the feeder insect easily. As they don’t like hard foods, wax worms perform well for your beardie and digestion.

6: Delicious Taste Makes it Tempting

The worm’s fat level is very high, enhancing the taste. Like other animals, bearded dragons are also fond of tasty foods. So, these worms make them greedy to have it.

3 Risks of Feeding Wax Worms to Bearded Dragons

Apart from a few benefits of wax worms, it has various risks if you overfeed the insect to your pet. But moderate eating will not harm your pet. Here are some risks of feeding wax worms to bearded dragons:

1: High-Fat Causes Obesity

Half of the worm is filled with fat, and 52% fat is excessive for your pet. If you exceed the feeding limits, excessive fat causes obesity or unnecessary weight gain. So, be cautious about the amount and frequency you provide the worm to your pet.

2: Imbalance of Calcium & Phosphorus Ratio

The calcium and phosphorus ratio of the worm is 1:15. The imbalanced ratio of these two components causes several health issues. High levels of phosphorus block calcium from being absorbed into your beardies bloodstream. Also, it causes severe diseases like a metabolic bone disease.

3: Beardie Neglect Other Foods

As your beardie’s stomach is very small and needs a minimal quantity of food, wax worms create issues. When they consume the worms, they are already half-filled. Later, they become unable to eat other nutritious foods, which may cause a nutritional deficiency in your pet.

How to Feed Wax Worms to Your Bearded Dragons?

Since bearded dragons love to catch insects and gobble them in their style, you don’t have to put much effort into feeding the worm. But there are some considerable things which you should keep in mind.

Purchase from A Well-Known Shop

Whenever you plan to feed wax worms to your pet, buy them from the market. You should purchase the worm from a reputed pet-food shop and don’t feed them worms from other sources like garden worms.

As there are pesticides in the cultivation ground, they should be prohibited. So, you must buy the feeder worm from the market.

Opt for Different Ways of Serving

When you serve the worms to your pet, you have multiple options.

You can serve the feeder worm in a shallow pot. As the worms cannot jump but can climb, you should keep an eye on when your pet is eating.
Otherwise, you can keep the worms in some safe greenery. While the worms are busy eating the greens, your beardie will consume them without harassment.
The next option is to spread them into an open-clean space. They never escape from your beardie’s eyes! Your beardie will eat them in their comfort.

Feed with Some Supplemental Worms

You can choose some supplements while serving the worm. You can choose other safe and more nutritious feeder insects and mix the wax worms into them. Your pet will get more benefits from the mixture.

Conclusion

The diet of your beardie depends on their age. If they are young, you should serve more insects or protein-rich food to them. So, the answer to the question, can bearded dragons eat wax worms, depends on their age. The quantity and the frequency matter.

Apart from the wax worms, you can feed your beardie, butter worms, crickets, silkworms, hornworms, superworms, etc. You have to put some fruits and vegetables into their everyday diet.

The crucial thing is the observation of your pet. If any food doesn’t suit your beardie, keep it away from the food.