Crickets Vs. Mealworms

[Tanga]

I don't use either mealworms or crickets as a staple. The main staple of my gecko's diet is superworms gutloaded with Cody's pro gecko gutload (it's the best...you will notice a dramatic increase in your geckos weight with this gutload).
On occasion I do have to switch to crickets as feeders, but I hate crickets, the mortality rate is too high on them and they smell like nobodies business.

 

[Tanga]

What if your leo doesnt show any interest in their food?

Change up their diet, try a different feeder than what you're using and see if they react better to it. Say you're using mealworms - try and use crickets to see if they eat those. As we all know, geckos can be really picky eaters.

 

[Molicka Molko]

I Vote For MealWorms..
But I Do Feed Leos,MealWorms & Roaches(dubia)..
No More Crickets..!!

Cheers..!!

 

[theWERM]

I have bred both crickets and mealworms. I have to say that mealworms do not smell, they are extremely easy to breed, it hardly cost anything to breed, and you can breed super, giant, or just plain mealworms. Mealworms only take a max of about 30 mins a month to take care of and cycle in/out.

 

[catfishrod69]

to prove that keeping mealworms is best, and easiest....a few years back i had ordered 500 mealworms from worm mans worm farm.com i got them to feed to my lizard...anyways i had them in a plastic tub, with only dry uncooked oats for beeding and food, never gave anyhting else......my lizard died, and the mealworms were packed away under boxes of stuff and forgotten....about 1-1 1/2 years later, i happen to be cleaning, and came across the mealworm tub, and immedietly knew what it was, figuring they were dead, i opened it, and there was hundreds running everywhere...the adults were eating larvae and giving birth to more....so they survived for almost 2 years with nothing at all......kinda makes them the easiest to take care of.....and crickets stink bad, and are always dieing and rotting, and annoying.....

 

[gecko4245]

Definately crickets! Even tho they stink the are healthier which is important and good exersize for the geckos. Mealworms are fatty and hard to digest. Mealworms cause lots of problems like impaction and regurgitating.

 

[Russ S]

Mealworms cause lots of problems like impaction and regurgitating.

Where exactly are you getting this information?

 

[gecko4245]

Where exactly are you getting this information?

I have seen it happen over and over again. It only happened after feeding mealworms. They will poop them half digested. I took them to the vet to get checked and everything was normal. Their temps are 80 to 97 so it's not that. The vet said the hard shell can be hard to digest and most of the geckos she sees come in with the same problem. She said they do best with crickets, pheonix worms and silkworms. Many people just look for convenience, cheap instead of what is healthier for their geckos. My sister just learned the hard way after her gecko passed away from obesity. He was fed mostly mealworms and a few superworms. You can't put a price on health.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

mealworms have a hard shell? I think the problem was probably the amount of mealworms and supers at each feeding that was fed to the gecko.

 

[gecko4245]

mealworms have a hard shell? I think the problem was probably the amount of mealworms and supers at each feeding that was fed to the gecko.

She called it chitin, I called it shell, lol
A steady diet of mealworms (I refer here to the small mealworm, Tenebrio molitor) is not recommended for any reptile or amphibian. These beetle larvae lack essential nutrients, the calcium: phosphorus ratio is not ideal and the exoskeleton is high in chitin. Mealworms also have quite strong jaws, and may injure debilitated or small reptiles and amphibians.

I think my sister fed him 10-12 worms 3 times a week as an adult.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

thats the point of gutloading and dusting with calcium.

 

[gecko4245]

mealworms have a hard shell? I think the problem was probably the amount of mealworms and supers at each feeding that was fed to the gecko.

Sounds like a familiar issue in these posts doesn't it?

The outer skin of all mealworms contains a strengthening product called chitin, which is virtually indigestible. When fed in small quantities this substance merely passes through the digestive tract and is excreted without any problem. However, if an excessive quantity is eaten the chitin will form a mass in the stomach and will be regurgitated along with the rest of the meal at best or possibly pass through the intestine and form a blockage leading to a potentially fatal gut impaction.

 

[gecko4245]

thats the point of gutloading and dusting with calcium.

I was refering to the chitin.

 

[gecko4245]

thats the point of gutloading and dusting with calcium.

I just happened to run into a photo which was a good example of the problems I have seen with mealworms. Look at the Rant and Rave section and the thread starts with I am so mad!

 

[4mb3r]

LOL funny.. Mealworms dont eat? They do eat..

Anywho, I put both mealworms and crickets. But I feed mine mostly mealies, and sometimes give crickets as treats or to try and help boost them into eating again if there going on a hunger strike. Mealies are SOOO much easier to deal with, they last so much longer, and are very east to breed