Super worm question?

[Kaoticfury]

Hey - My question is how safe are super worms? my gecko is past the juevie stage, and he loves meal worms as well as crickets and waxies. i wanted to try something new, so i looked at super worms when i was at the pet store. They are huge! so, that being said, is it safe for a leo to eat those? do you have to cut them in half? or should i do giant mealworms first until he is a little bigger? How big should your leo be before you feed them superworms? Can they choke on them?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Depends on how big your leopard geckos are. My 3 months olds are still on mealworms, but my 6+ month olds are all on superworms and dubia roaches. I haven't seen one choke on them, but I've seen one that got bit by a superworm once near the eye. So what I do is to simply pinch their heads before dropping them in, and haven't had any issues since I started doing that. I have a couple prolific hunters that I don't need to worry about, they sorta go for the worms' heads so they do a good job already.

 

[Kaoticfury]

Awesome! ya, my leo is a very aggressive eater, so i dont think i need to worry about pinching the heads. i would say he is about 9 months old now, so from what you have told me, i dont believe he will have any issues. what do you usually put in the superworm container for their food?

Thanks for the fast response BTW!

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Oats and wheat bran as their primary bedding/food, and put slices of carrots for moisture as well as food. And you leave them in room temperature, not in the refrigerator. They will stay alive for quite a long time and won't pupate as long as there are other worms around.

 

[ElapidSVT]

i start offering superworms during the 2nd week after hatching

 

[Landen]

my hatchlings start out on med size supers. I've had hatchlings as small as 5-7 grams take a full grown super. If they can fit it in their mouth, they'll eat it.

 

[Kaoticfury]

So do they come with oats and wheat bran in their container? or do i need to buy a specific kind? i think i heard somewhere you can just go and buy quaker oats and stuff, but im not sure.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

You'll want to buy some, as if you buy bulk, chances are you'll need to change their bedding a few times before you run out again. And yes any oats or wheat bran will do fine.

 

[Kaoticfury]

alright, sounds good. so one of those quaker oat round containers at like target will do the job just fine?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Yup, check out the caresheet for more detailed info.

 

[Kaoticfury]

Thanks a bunch to everyone for your help!

 

[OnlineGeckos]

And FYI not all geckos will take on superworms, just as not all geckos will take on dubia roaches. If you want to play it safe, buy a small quantity first to make sure your leopard geckos will eat them before buying bulk. I have one picky eater that will not touch superworms, but he would eat dubia roaches. And vice versa I have one that will eat superworms but seem afraid of roaches.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Any kind of fruit or veggie is good to feed supers. Put them in an open container they cannot escape from to keep from having mold issues. They do best kept above 78*