MEAL WORM QUESTION

[Anakan2]

The local pet store sells giant, regular and mini meal worms. Are they just in different stages of development? I want to breed meal worms and wonder if I can put the various sizes in the same breeding box? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!

Jenny

 

[STUTFL]

Giant mealworms are treated with a growth hormone to keep them from turning into beetles. They're apparently good for bait. :laugh:
Small and (usually) mini mealworms are just younger than large/medium/regular mealworms.

 

[Tony C]

Giant mealworms are treated with a growth hormone to keep them from turning into beetles. They're apparently good for bait. :laugh:
Small and (usually) mini mealworms are just younger than large/medium/regular mealworms.

:main_thumbsup: The mini mealworms may be young mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), or they may be another species, Tenebrio obscurus, which stay tiny, so you will want to verify which they are before you buy.

 

[Anakan2]

thank you for your answers. I called the local smart pet store and they said that there giant meal worms are not treated with anything. Obviously, they do not know what the deal is with giant meal worms. That is fine. I bought a container of 500 'regular' meal worms and will use those. Now I am worried that the giants will harm my geckos. Especially the ones that are mating! Will the giant meal worms interfere with successful breeding since it is a hormone that they are treated with?
Jenny

 

[STUTFL]

Maybe the pet store is just calling large-sized mealworms "giants"?
Well, it's an *insect* hormone ... I personally don't use them (if I need something bigger I just go with superworms), but I wouldn't worry about your leos if they're not eating giants exclusively.

Anyone else here have opinions on giants?

 

[Tony C]

Maybe the pet store is just calling large-sized mealworms "giants"?
Well, it's an *insect* hormone ... I personally don't use them (if I need something bigger I just go with superworms), but I wouldn't worry about your leos if they're not eating giants exclusively.

Anyone else here have opinions on giants?

I'm not aware of any research on giant mealworms, but they do make me a bit nervous. Hormones are fairly non-specific, for example phytoestrogens in soy products effect the human body the same was as our own estrogen, and hormones from birth control pills excreted in human urine have been shown to survive the sewage treatment process and have severe negative effects on amphibians. I have to wonder if the increase in average size of leopard geckos over the last decade or so has any correlation with the use of hormone-treated mealworms.