mealies not eating

[syds]

Ok so my little guy is a devouring machine. he eats and poops like a champ...

The issue comes here...Iv been trying to cultivate a mealie colony which is going quite well... however..... in the actual worm container about half the worms are being stubborn and dont really want to eat their moisture provider (e.g. a carrot or potato slice.) so as a result I get medium sized worms that are too lazy to wiggle or move so mister picky jerk (off) wont eat them...

any suggestion on how to activate this worms so they wiggle like a brazilian hip dancer?

Thank you!

hope your slithery friend enjoys his/her feed!

 

[acpart]

I don't know that there's any relation between whether or not the mealies are eating (I don't think there's a really good way to tell) and how much they move. The ones getting ready to turn into aliens always move less so the smaller ones will move more. I don't know if you have only carrot and veggies or also gutload. Mine seem to do fine on a combination of gutload and vegetable parings I toss in there from cooking.

Aliza

 

[cassicat4]

I think this is also why some people opt to feed superworms, as they're the ones that DO move a lot, whereas the mealworms are generally slower.

 

[Kylerbassman]

I love using supers. My Leo's never get sick of them. They are too easy to keep. They are also great nutritionally. I hate dealing with mealies.

 

[Indigo]

I love supers too! Some of my reptiles won't eat them though, so it's mealies for them. I have one who will only eat crickets. Thank goodness it's only one.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

If your mealworms are about to pupate they cannot move as their limbs and muscles are reforming themselves under the skin before the big change.

If they are not about to pupate, are you keeping them in the fridge? If so, take them out the night before you plan to feed and give them a carrot or some other yummy gutload so they are nutritious and active when then go into your leos cage.

If neither of these apply then I'm stumped. Sometimes I get a par of feeding tongs and grab their tail ends. This ticks them off and makes them wiggle a lot and the geckos that don't think I'm the devil reincarnate are willing to grab them from the tongs right in front of me