Ease of care: Easy to mildly challenging.

Type of housing: You will need a large deep tupperware or deep rubbermaid container. Put a few air holes in the lid, or if it's deep enough, just leave the lid off. A well ventilated cricket container will smell less.

Type of substrate: None. A bare container will be much easier to clean. I used to recommend bran or some kind of substrate that could be eaten by the crickets, but that will only get soiled and stinky, which will harbor bacteria. That is not good for our beardies. The cleaner the better.

Temperature: Room temperature is suitable, however crickets are pretty hardy and can survive if housed outside as long as the temperature stays above 40 - 45 degrees. A warmer temperature (80 to 85 degrees) is needed for rapid development of young crickets.

Feeding: Put two shallow dishes in the bottom of the container. Cut out a sponge just big enough to fill one of the dishes. Add water to the sponge and keep it wet all the time. No water will result in dead crickets. Fill the other dish cricket feed. There are many different recipes out there for cricket food and many cricket companies sell their own special blend. I use corn or rice that has been ground into a powder form and I add powdered calcium to it. The crickets can live off of this for a long time. And you can usually buy the corn or rice at a feed store. If you decide to use fresh veggies, remember to change them every day or every other day as mold and dampness will kill the crickets and the bacteria from the quick rotting veggies can harm your beardies.

Longevity: If properly cared for, small crickets will thrive and live for several months. Older crickets will survive several weeks to a month or so.

Ease of care: Easy as pie.

Type of housing: Can use a plastic tupperware container or small glass container. Make sure what ever you use has smooth sides as superworms are excellent climbers. Also, the container must provide ventilation. If your container is tall enough you can leave the lid off completely. Or you can use a screened lid.

Type of substrate: It is important to provide about 3 - 4 inches of nutritious substrate for the superworms to burrow in and eat. I keep my superworms on a simple substrate of wheat bran. Grain cereal mixes, wheat germ, rolled oats, and oat bran are all suitable substrates for supers. You will have to change the substrate once or twice a month to keep the supers clean, and odor free. Excess moisture can cause mold and premature death.

Temperature: Do not put supers in the refrigerator as it will kill them. Supers thrive when kept at room temperature, up to 85 degrees.

Feeding: Besides eating the substrate, supers require a source of moisture. I offer my supers fruits and veggies, like potato, apple, or mango slices. Simply place the slices on the top of the substrate and replace them when they dry up in a day or two. Ultimately, a superworm is less likely to try to eat his cousin if he is given food. Hungry superworms will turn cannibal and you can lose a lot of supers this way.

Longevity: Supers should last anywhere from a month to several months if kept in a clean, mold-free, nutritious environment.

Notes: Superworms have less chitin than mealworm, but they have large, hard shelled heads that are not easily digested by beardies. Feeding too many of these large worms at one time can result in impaction. I do not recomment feeding supers to young beardies.

Ease of care: So easy a caveman could do it.

Type of housing: Small shoe-sized, plastic tupperware containers work the best. Make sure what ever you use has smooth sides as mealworms are excellent climbers. Also, the container must provide ventilation. If your container is tall enough you can leave the lid off completely. Or you can use a screened lid. If storing in the refrigerator, it is best to use a plastic lid and make a few small holes for ventilation. Mealworms prefer dark places and should not be stored next to a light source.

Type of substrate: It is important to provide about 3 inches of nutritious substrate for the mealworms to burrow in and eat. I keep my mealworms on a simple substrate of wheat bran. Grain cereal mixes, wheat germ, rolled oats, and oat bran are all suitable substrates. You will have to change the substrate once a month to keep them clean, and odor free. Excess moisture can cause mold and premature death.

Temperature: You can keep mealworms in the fridge for several months (be sure to provide ventilation holes in the storage container). When kept cooler they will not grow quickly and will be quite lethargic. Otherwise, your mealworms can be kept at room temperature up to 80 degrees. If you decide to keep your meal worms in the fridge, you should bring them out to warm up to room temp. for feeding at least once a week. Just place some sliced fruit and veggies on top of their substrate and as soon as they warm up they will start eating. Then remove the food and place them back in the fridge for another week or so.

Feeding: If you decide to keep your mealworms in the fridge, you should bring them out to warm up to room temperature for feeding at least once a week. Just place some sliced fruit and veggies on top of their substrate and as soon as they warm up they will start eating. A few hours later just remove the uneaten food and place them back in the fridge for another week or so.

Longevity: Mealworms will live for several months in your refrigerator. They are hearty little guys that require very little care and time.

Notes: Mealworms contain a lot of chitin, or hard shell. This material is hard to digest. Feeding too many mealworms at one time can result in impaction.

Ease of care: Very easy.

Type of housing: If the wax worms came in a plastic container with ventilation, there is no need to change this.

Type of substrate: Usually the substrate that the worms are shipped in is suitable. They will not eat the substrate like mealworms and supers do.

Temperature: 50 - 60 degrees and even as cool as the warm area of your refrigerator (40 degrees). If kept cold wax worms will remain dormant until you feed them to your beardie. But if they get too cold they will die. If kept at room temperature they will become more active and die faster.

Feeding: None required.

Longevity: When proper cared for wax worms will last several weeks. Frail or dead wax worms will turn entirely brownish-black and must be removed from the container. Small hard cocoons will sometimes appear. If you don't plan to breed the wax worms, just discard the cocoons.

Notes: Wax worms have a soft exoskeleton making them very nutritious, easily digested, a great source of protein, moisture, and beardies love them! I recommend wax worms over mealworms and superworms.