Mealworm Questions!

[Bethany]

Hi,

I've been feeding my geckos the already dead mealworms from a can, I'm assuming live ones are a lot healthier to feed my geckos? Should I switch to live mealworms? And how many live ones would I feed the two of them each day?

Also, the man in the petshop told me that mealworms should be fed as a treat. Because they have too much calcium, I read that some people feed all mealworm diets and their geckos are healthy. What is right? I know it can also be a personal preference.

Thank you!

 

[acpart]

I'm surprised they're eating the mealworms from the can since they usually prefer live food. Some people say that mealworms alone aren't that nutritious, but some people feed them as a staple with no problems (I feed my hatchlings mealworms). There is general consensus that waxworms aren't a good staple food. You just have to make sure with the mealworms that they're properly gutloaded (provided with good nutrition) and the stuff they come in from the pet store leaves something to be desired.

Aliza

 

[LeopardShade]

I too am surprised that your geckos will eat food from a can. Mine won't touch anything that doesn't move! XD
As far as I know, many successful breeders raise their geckos on a staple diet of mealworms and have had sbsolutely no problems. I wonder if the person you talked with in the petshop was mistaking mealworms for waxworms. Waxworms are high in fat and cholesterol and are good for occasional treats. Mealworms on the other hand, have proved to be a great staple food source for Leopard geckos, as long as they're properly gutloaded.
I feed, and have been feeing, mealworms as a staple for 3+ years, and have never had any problems.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

I guess when they're hungry enough, they'll eat dead mealworms. Definitely switch to live ones. You can use mealworms as a staple diet no problem. There are some well known leopard gecko breeders that have successfully raised generations of geckos on mealworms as a staple diet. I'd trust their advice over pet store employees' any day. Example: http://www.geckosetc.com/care.html

Of course it never hurts to feed your leopard geckos a variety. I currently have mealworms, superworms, and dubias roaches that I keep at home. I feed them different things every other day to switch things up. Well that and the fact that my leopard geckos can be picky, one will only eat dubias roaches now, the other won't touch dubias roaches at all, one will eat mealworms but not superworms, while the other superworms but not mealworms. So yeah, I swear they're like a human kid.

You can buy small amounts of dubias roaches and give them a try. They are high in protein and low in fat, and their exoskeleton is easier to go through than mealworm's. Not all geckos will take to dubias roaches. But if you can get yours to eat it, dubias roaches are a better staple diet than mealworms. It all depends on how picky your leopard geckos are.

 

[Bethany]

Thank you all very much!

I'll go get the live ones soon. I hope I haven't been harming them by feeding them the dead mealworms! I'll look for the dubias roaches aswell, thank you so much!!