How can I make sure that I don't end up with beetles crawling around my house?

Can you feed mealworms to a gecko without having to deal with beetles/pupa?

  • No, you have to deal with beetles/pupa no matter what

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, you can keep mealworms without ending up with beetles/pupa

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

KellenJCole

New Member
Messages
2
Location
Redwood City, California
Hello Forum,

I am 13 and I am looking to purchase a leopard gecko to keep as a pet at some point. The thing standing in the way of me getting a reptile right now is that my mom seems to be very against having live bugs crawling around the house or even just in a refrigerator somewhere. If I were to get a leopard gecko, I would definitely feed it mealworms because they are the least disgusting bug out of roaches, crickets, and mealworms to my mom. The problem is, mealworms quickly turn into pupa/beetles. If my mom found beetles in our house she would scream so loud birds on the other side of the planet would get scared and fly away. So how could I feed my gecko mealworms without ending up with beetles? The only way I could imagine doing this is to buy around 50 at a time to feed to him/her during the week so all the mealworms would be gone before having a chance to turn to pupa/beetles. I know that you can put mealworms in a fridge to slow down their bodies which would cost them to not mutate so fast. The problem with that is that I would not be able to feed the mealworms to make them nutricious because they don't eat fast when their bodies are slowed down. Also would it be dumb to get a mini fridge to hold live food in?

TLDR: How can I keep mealworms as food without them turning to pupa/beetles.
TLDR: Should I get a mini fridge to keep live food in so my mother doesn't have mealworms living next to her food.
TLDR: It will be very hard to convince my mother to allow me to get a leopard gecko without a guarantee she wouldn't have to deal with its food or anything.
TLDR: If I kept mealworms in the fridge would they be able to get the food needed to be nutritious to my gecko?

Please help and take this seriously as I am very set on getting myself a pet reptile! Thanks :)
 

Eavlynn

New Member
Messages
37
Location
US
I keep my mealworms in shallow drawers with an inch of bedding. Even the beetles are confined to the drawers. They're so clumsy that they couldn't get out if they wanted to. Whenever I check on them to replenish their fresh veggies, I usually end up flipping a bunch of them over to get them back on their feet. So no worries about beetles in the house!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
With just one gecko, I see no reason to let them turn into beetles. Beetles can and do get out. They have wings. They don't use them often, but I do find beetles around my house. They usually stay in their bins where the food is, but not always. Luckily no one here cares and I have a mighty bug hunter cat.

You could do a few things.
1) You could keep them in a fridge (regular or mini, whichever you prefer). If you do this, I recommend taking out the number of worms you want to feed in one feeding and allow them to come to room temp and let them eat some carrots or whatever you prefer for 24 hours before feeding. You will not get any pupae this way and your gecko would get optimal nutrition. I think it's worth saying that mealworms in a sealed container somewhere in your fridge is not going to affect your food. But I know people can be really uncomfortable with bugs. It wouldn't be stupid to get a mini fridge if it really bothers your mom that much. But there is logically 0 risk from having mealworms in your fridge. Heck, I've eaten mealworms and never had a problem.

2) You could keep them at room temp. As long as your bin is tall enough so worms can't get out, you will probably be fine. You probably will get pupae this way because 1 gecko may not eat worms fast enough. You can kill the pupae before they turn into beetles.
 

appronny

New Member
Messages
7
Location
Hinwil
Use the species zoophobas morio its a big mealworm that wont pupate if you kepp it with the other larves thogether


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
 

kayleyt

New Member
Messages
14
Location
Fullerton
I also use morio worms & i have never had the problem of them pupating. I've kept them up to a month in normal temperatures and i haven't seen them pupating. I definitely suggest it. The only problem with Morio worms is that they can bite your gecko.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Visit our friends

Top