Most commercially raised feeder insects such as crickets, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, roaches, fruit flies and hornworms have very little use for calcium in their bodies. Before we dive into what the pitfalls of calcium supplementation are, let’s dive into a short, concise science lesson. There are three ways to deliver calcium to your pet reptiles – Dusting, Gut-loading, and by feeding insects that are naturally sufficient. We will also address misinformation about the calcium content of common feeder insects to help save the health and lives of many pet reptiles across our hobby. This blog post is designed to be a thorough explanation of calcium, it’s importance to reptile health, and how it needs to be delivered to be effective.

We will set the record straight here in this article.

At best, it’s a misunderstanding and at worst it’s deception – both of which will damage the health of many pet reptiles. Many of these websites publish accurate calcium mg/kg values, but claim them to be significant.

We’ve been disappointed to find several websites that claim the contrary. The answer to that question is unequivocally NO! Hornworms cannot possibly deliver satisfactory calcium levels to your reptile, even if you feed hornworms EXCLUSIVELY. It’s important to note here, at the beginning of this post, that we’ve been asked if hornworms are a viable option to deliver calcium to your reptiles. But even our patented product line can’t deliver the proper amount of calcium (Ca) that most captive reptiles need to avoid painfully debilitating nutritional deficiencies. Vita-Bugs are the perfect solution for all reptile dietary needs that are reflected in the bugs reptiles would naturally eat in the wild. Our commitment to natural, high quality nutrition is proven by our nutritionally superior, patented product line called Vita-Bugs. We place a strong focus on nutrition and science providing fresh food that matches what an animal would eat in the wild. Timberline is a live food producer for pet stores, zoos, breeders and hobbyists. What are the best methods to deliver Calcium to your reptiles? Proper calcium is critical to the health of your pet reptile’s bones – especially rapidly growing reptiles – but it’s not as simple to supplement as you might think.

Download horn worms for bearded dragons