News

March 22 - Some happy news to share. The San Diego Zoo has been feeding Phoenix Worms to many different herps since 2006. We ship to them every Monday. On March 2, the zoo contacted us concerning some new residents in the Avian Department. San Diego Zoo is the first zoo to have successfully bred in captivity the Long-toed Lap Wing bird from Africa. We shipped extra small Phoenix Worms to try to save the 5 babies that had hatched. Apparently, the hatchlings are thriving as we have shipped 24,000 larvae just for these babies in the past 3 weeks!

Update: Orders for the baby birds continue to come in every week and now we're shipping small, medium and large size Phoenix Worms. We agree it's a good idea to enhance nutrition for the mama birds, too.

Gift cards have been sent to the following pet owners:

Jann Besok for Sage, the veiled chameleon
Stormi Guerrero for the open-mouthed bearded dragon
Manny and Barbara Doughty for Snickers, the giant day gecko
Julia Ross for Enzo, the leopard gecko
Cara Lawler, for Sir Winston Church Quill III, the hedgehog

Many thanks to all who participated by sending in their pet photos!

The Bali mynah and the Golden White-eye are birds that are listed as critically endangered bird species. Zoos in North America have obtained mated pairs of these birds and are actively breeding and raising the young since each bird is facing extinction in its native country.

Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, has been feeding Phoenix Worms to their Bali mynahs for several years. Since calcium-rich Phoenix Worms have been added to the mother birds' diet, they report that the hatch rate has greatly improved and the shell quality is much better. Natural calcium provided by the worms also benefits the hatchlings who are born with much stronger legs.

The Saint Louis Zoo is home to several pairs of Golden White-eyes who are found only on the northern Mariana Islands. Golden White-eyes are monogamous and the females lay only one or two eggs per breeding cycle. The invasive Brown Tree Snake has been introduced to the islands and is quickly descimating the species by eating the few eggs produced. Keepers at the Saint Louis Zoo credit Phoenix Worms with their breeding success and the many baby Golden White-eyes who are thriving under their care.