when did u .....

[snakeman92]

When did u guys start feeding your dragon meal worms because crickets r hard to get here sometimes and i was wondering if i come start findind hil some now (i think he is about 6 or 7 in. long with the tail ) hope that helps
thanks

[eyespy]

I'd wait until he is at least 12 inches. Mealworms have the hardest exoskeleton of any food source so there's the greatest risk of impaction.

If you can find nightcrawlers or earthworms, try those as an alternative food source. They have a lot more protein than crickets so you don't need to feed very much.

[fr0glet]

It's true that mealworms have the hardest exoskeleton, but if you have plenty of them then you can pick those that are lightest in color and they will have softer shells. Also if you keep your mealies at room temp. they will pupate, their pupae are softer and have a higher water content than the larvae and beardies love them.

Also, mealworms have less chitin than crickets do, so there's very little increased risk of impaction from feeding mealworms. Impaction is more a function of particulate substrate than diet.

My young beardie loooooooooooooooves mealworms and is doing great on them.