Let's talk superworms and crickets

[bman123]

I have heard that supers shouldn't be used as a staple in a leos diet. My problem is now my leo won't eat the mealies but he will eat supers and crickets no problem. I don't know if it's the small size of the mealies that turns him away or what.

So do you think that it's ok to feed only supers and crickets? I am gutloading them and dusting with calcium every other feeding. My supers and crickets are out living my mealies and it will be easier to not use the mealies.

I don't have a scale so I can't compare like how many mealies equal a super. I know supers have a better meat to shell the mealies but I wonder how many mealies equal a super. The supers are 13cents a piece and that's fine I don't mind that as he eats about 3-4 supers every 3days and 2-4 large crickets every 3-4 days.

I wonder if there is a way I should feed the supers and crickets. Like say 5 large crickets and 2-3 supers a week or more of Less of one of them. So please feel free to chime in and tell me what you think.
I do leave mealies in his bowl 24/7 about 25 mealies in the dish at a time. I swap out the uneaten mealies with fresh gut loaded ones every day so they are always gut loaded. I have however only seen him eat mealies out the bowl twice and he only ate about 4-6 of them at a time which is not much for a adult Leo. Come in and join the party guys, I'm looking forward to what you have to say and how you feed your leos.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Superworms are great for a staple food item. It's just waxworms that aren't healthy for them on a regular basis (if ever, IMO). We feed most of ours supers and crickets and we have a few that eat roaches.

 

[bman123]

I don't know why my supers and crickets are out living the mealies but if I cannot use the mealies at all that is fine. I just see everyone feeds mealies and I think supers would be better for me considering they live longer and my Leo prefers them over the mealies.

I don't know the whole ingredient or whatever you'd call it when comparing mealies to supers. Like is one better then the other? I know breeders use mealies because they are just easier as dump em in the bowl and forget about it. I only have my raptor so the extra feeding time of using the supers is not a issue.

 

[adam&nikki]

if you can feed crickets thn feed crickets just make sure to gut load and take out the uneaten ones im starting to feed with meal worms my collection is geting too big they will take them it takes time but they will take them

 

[Taquiq]

+1 if you can feed crickets do that. They are more nutritious and less fattening than Supers. Supers will make a good staple if you want supers. Luckily my Leos will eat mealworms and my collection is gradually getting bigger.

 

[acpart]

I have and know of leos who have eaten mealworms, or crickets or superworms exclusively for years and they are all doing fine. I, on the other hand, get tired of worms after awhile.

Aliza

 

[bman123]

Well if I do supers and crickets how do you suggest I go about doing? Like how many crickets to how many supers per week?
I have about 150mealworms left so I will keep them in his bowl in his tank 24/7 til either he eats them or they die off.

He just seems more interested in the supers and crickets then he is in the mealworms plus i don't think that when he eats the mealworms that he is eating enough of them.

What all do you guys gut load your feeders with? Hopefully it's something I can get locally and not order online lol. I give em oats, apple, carrots and potatoes right now but I'm looking into other things to feed them. I have see. The cricket gutload at the petstore but I don't know if that is any good or not.
The stuff from the pet store would be alot easier to use as I can just dump some in there and call it a day but i don't know if it's any good. I think it is t Rex brand dry cricket gutload.

 

[adam&nikki]

i use veggies out the fridge for my gut load and im trying this new stuff from the bearded gecko if you want him to start eating mealies just offer them he will get hungry and eat them im not sure about the trex gut load thou mabe some one here has used it

 

[bman123]

I leave the mealies in there 24/7 but I have noticed he will come out of his hide and stare at the lid on his tank then he will look at me and look back up. When he does this I show him the bowl with the mealies in it then I put his lid back on. He has looked at the mealies then looks back up.
I will then take the lid off and just drop a super in there and he will eat it, the same thing with the crickets if I drop em in he will eat them.

I pick him up and his mealie dish in the other hand I tilt it and put his face kinda in the bowl so he can see the food in there but he won't eat it. I know he will when he gets hungry enough but I don't want to feed him just mealies.

I've been looking into gut loads and most people buy the stuff from pro geckos I believe but I don't have a credit card, debit card or pay pal so I have no way to really pay for it. I wouldn't mind using their gut load as it is supposed to be the best. Maybe I will message them and see if I can pay via money order..

 

[Mel&Keith]

We use Cody's Pro Gutload for all of our feeders. There's no set number of crickets or supers you should feed your gecko per week. All geckos eat at different rates so it just depends on your gecko.

 

[bman123]

I didn't know if there is like a certain ratio of crickets to superworms to feed them. Some people I've heard say they feed only superworms some only do mealies and some do all of them lol. It's kinda hard to find a right way to feed them, well that's if there even is a right way to do it lol.

I try to feed him 2 crickets to 1 superworm but sometimes he wants more worms then crickets and vice versa.

 

[bman123]

He seems to eat about every 3 days so weekly I'd say he averages about 4-5 large crickets and 3-5 superworms. He just gets in his mood when he wants a certain thing to eat. I don't think that superworms will do him any harm but I won't let him only eat those he has to get crickets too. Plus he has the mealworms incase he wants a late night snack he can just go to his bowl but he doesn't really eat them.

I think i have 150 mealies left right now and as long as I can keep them alive I bet they will turn into beetles before he eats them all. I like the superworms they are super easy to keep alive and he likes to eat them. The crickets are a little bit of a pain as sometimes they get loose and i have to chase them around to get them back.

 

[Tony C]

Superworms and mealies are almost identical in their nutritional profile, it's just a matter of personal (and gecko) preference whether you feed either or both. I feed mostly crickets with worms as supplementary items.

 

[bman123]

Thanks Tony c for the nutritional info I needed that. How many mealies does it take to equal a super? I'm gonna use the mealies until they run out but after that I'm sticking to supers and crickets.
I'm talking to pro geckos now about ordering some of their gut load for my feeders. So I'll only have to drop a potatoe slice in there for water and I'll know I have a great gutload compared to my home brewed concoction lol.

 

[Tony C]

I just weighed a few out and got roughly 6 mealworms to equal a superworm. My scale only does full grams though, not tenths, so the number could be off a bit.

 

[bman123]

Thanks again tony c.it's hard to find solid info online especially when you do a google search. I have seen supers are ok as a staple and I've seen not to use them due to a high fat content.

 

[bman123]

Yeah I'm gonna try to do mainly crickets then superworms secondary. I figure if he won't eat the cricket but he'll eat the super then it's all good. For some reason I don't like mealworms lol. They seem to die faster then the supers and it's more work in a way to feed them. He would need to eat about 16-18 mealworms a feeding to equal 3 supers. So about 70 mealies equal a dozen supers right?

Sorry if my math is off a bit I'm kinda tired and need to crash. If my math is close tho on the mealies to a dozen supers then it's about equal on price but with alot less worms.
Once again thanks for the info Tony c you da man!!

 

[TFerguson]

People seem to get hung up on the extra fat content of mealworms and supers, but for me the most glaring thing on the chart TonyC provided, is the lower Calcium content of supers and mealies. If you're feeding mealies and supers exclusively, you better be dusting with Calcium... or you're just asking for trouble.

T Ferguson

 

[jfreels]

Also, I didn't see it mentioned....

You shouldn't leave the mealworms in there until they die or get eaten. I rotate mine out every night. A mealworm can go weeks without needing to eat or drink and by that time it will be malnourished and in turn, your gecko will be too.

 

[bman123]

I leave the mealworms in a dish in his tank for 24 hours if he doesn't eat them then I out them back in the deli cup and replace them with fresh gutloaded mealies.

I would never leave the worms in there until they died, that just stupid lol. I dust every other feeding with the supers and crickets. I want to feed just supers and crickets as the mealies aren't really appealing to him, so it seems to be that way as he's not really eating them at all.