Is this true?

[gogeckos]

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...s/41492-feeding-mealworms-leopard-geckos.html

My leopard gecko is fed only on mealworms (he won't eat anything else, anyways) and is perfectly healthy.

 

[dlefik2008]

Well, I'll chime in. 100% of all my geckos have been fed on basically my own homegrown mealworms since day 1. In my food dishes, I keep carrot bits and a good layer of wheat bran for the worms to gut load on while they sit there waiting to be eaten. I also keep a bowl of calcium at all times for the geckos to eat, which they do all the time.

I have a few geckos that are about almost 2 years old and they are extremely healthy and no issues at all. I find that once my hatchlings start eating worms for the first time, they sprout like weeds and develop very well.

I really wanted to read that whole article about the pros and cons, but I was a little short on time. I could tell though it was a scientific explanation of why you shouldn't feed mealies as a main diet. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm an expert on what to feed your geckos, but based on actual experience, my geckos have thrived and are extremely healthy on mealies with ocassional wax worms as a treat.

I have yet to ever experience impaction due to mealies. I've even had some of my 1 week old hatchlings destroy mealworms that were almost a quarter of the hatchlings size or even bigger. I always try to give them the smaller if possible with hatchlings, but like I said, I've seen some bigger ones slip in there with no issue at all.

I guess unless a huge crowd of people show solid proof in pictures of mealies impacting them, I don't worry. It always seems the stuff I find like that are just long page upon page articles of percentages of this and that, and theories and etc.

I like my homegrown mealies, and I suppose unless my collection of geckos all die of mealworm impaction, I will stand firm in what I feed them, since I know exactly what is going into them. I like the total control of my own stuff, makes me feel better.

hope this wasn't just long hot wind. i guess this debate could go on forever, but if what you're doing works for you and your geckos are happy, then you might as well stick to it.

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

I agree with the above. The only time I ever hear about impaction from meal worms is because that leo was also housed in incorrect temperatures that were too low and it couldnt digest them. As for the whole being unhealthy and low in protein part lets look at one thing that I believe the person who posted that article did not think about.

Feeders Availilbe at Petco/Petsmart (which is what most owners will go to for food, especially kids parents).
-Waxworms
-Crickets
-Supers
-Mealworms
Now of those waxworms are to high in fat and should only be used as a treat. Which leaves crickets, supers ,and mealworms. Those are all about the same nutrtion wise with supers being slightly better but more expensive. Now with all those options I know its a little confusing but from what is availbe a combination of crickets and mealies is fine for a leopard gecko.