Preparing for the Cricket Plague

[jclee]

I am preparing for the possibly imminent cricket plague, (i.e. virus), and I'd like to settle on a nutritious alternative to feed my big eyed tree frogs and leopard geckos, just in case it becomes difficult to obtain live crickets.

My big eyes will eat anything, but my leopard geckos ignored mealworms, so I'm more concerned about their finicky-ness. I'm a little worried that, after 3 years of nothing but crickets, it's going to be really tough to switch them something else.

Mealworms -- ruled out (for now) because my leos wouldn't eat them. I might try again, but they were so disinterested the first time around that I'm not holding out much hope. (They were definitely hungry when I tried before. Still, no luck.)

Superworms -- not size appropriate for leos. (at least, the ones they sell nearby are massive. I might have more luck with online ordering for smaller sizes, I suppose.)

Roaches -- they sound like perfect feeders... but I grew up in a first-floor NYC apartment with SERIOUS roach problems. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that the only living things that I am irrationally afraid of are roaches. I cannot share my home with anything that looks like a roach. I tried to talk myself into it. I looked up each feeder species to see how "roach-ey" it actually looked. I just can't do it.

Hornworms -- not size appropriate for leos. (at least, the ones they sell nearby are massive.)

Waxworms -- too fatty.

Ok. That's everything my local reptile shop carries, so I'm about to venture back into the world of online feeders. I really just want to try a few things out, see if my geckos like anything, and know that I can order it in bulk if it becomes difficult to pick up crickets at the shop because they're becoming decimated by plague.

Before I start dropping loads of money on things my leopard geckos might not eat, I thought I'd get your own experiences with the following feeders -- pros, cons, etc. I've read up on them online, but commercial websites are a little biased toward making every feeder sound great, practical, convenient, and nutritious, so I'd like your take on:

Butterworms (I feel a little guilty about wild-caught, international insects, and aren't they pretty fatty?); Silkworms (seem expensive, and I just saw a thread saying leopard geckos don't like them?); Pheoenix worms; and hornworms (if I can buy the smaller sizes; I've read they grow very quickly and are less likely to survive when small, so I'm not sure if that would work).

Any advice, before I go spend my money to try them out?

 

[Mel&Keith]

Based on your situation, I would recommend ordering smaller sized Superworms. I don't know the ages of your Leos but Juvies on up can eat medium Supers and Adults have no problem with large ones even though they look like they'd be too big. You can keep Superworms alive for months so while you may have to pay $40-$50 for them upfront it'll end up being much less expensive than buying a few at a time from the pet store.

I totally understand how you feel about roaches. They thrive down here on the Gulf Coast and we've lived some places where they flooded in from the neighbors' houses....Eeeeek! However, if you ever decide to face your fears, Dubias are far less scary than your average house roach. They're easy to keep and they breed on their own so you can stop buying them eventually.