Are mealworms good enough as a staple?

[GeckoNub]

I know its been discussed before about mealworms not having enough nutrition as other feeders but are there any bad effects for having them solely as food for a gecko.

My problem is 2 of my geckos wont eat crickets or roaches anymore. They seem more than happy to eat mealies from a dish and Peppa always finishes what i give her.

But they just seem to get so fat from just worms. I know people tend to like them rolly polly but im just thinking of long term health issuses for an overweight gecko.

I wish they would eat the roaches/crickets but its been a few weeks now and they show no interest in them at all. Infact they would rather prat around and fuss to be picked up rather than eat.

Im wondering if i should cave in and let them have their mealie dish or just wait long enough for them to be hungry enough to eat the healthier food.

Also if i do get the mealies again how do people keep them from changing into pupa so fast? I dont like the idea of keeping them in my fridge and when i tried it once they were dying. I keep all my bugs in my shed which is attached to the house and can get pretty warm because of the heat mat for the roaches.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[robin]

i varied diet is the best however leos can live just fine on a staple diet of mealies and/or supers.

 

[NRG]

The same thing has happened to me. Mine have gone off roaches now and used to love them. They wont eat mealworms as they don't move enough but they will eat supers. Very annoying as I spend more on these fussy eaters than i do on myself. LOL

 

[Designer Geckos]

I agree with Robin, but if you properly gutload your mealies they will work fine as a daily staple. Ron Tremper, Garrick, and I believe Steve S use mealies almost exclusively, and look at their animals! Must be OK, hmmm?
Just be sure they are well gutloaded.

 

[GeckoNub]

I tried supers once and they didnt take to them. Daisy ate a few but the others wouldnt.

How is best to gutload mealies so theyre healthy enough? When ive had them before ive had them in oats and given them pieces of carrot but the ones that i bred were never as big as the ones i bought from the breeder on ebay.

Just wondering if theres anything more i can do. Also should i put calcium on them all the time? They have a calcium dish in their cage but ive had to be careful of dusting all the time as they had pockets under their arms and i had to cut down on it and theyre gone now.

I know people say they will eat till they had enough and have calcium when they need it, but left to her own devices Peppa will just pig out on worms like a kiddie with chocolate cake hehe