Thoughts on mealies?

[WilliamTheLeopardGecko]

I should have listened when you guys said crickets were a hassle. So after my little guy finishes all his crickets, I'm going to switch to meal worms as a staple, maybe sometimes Ill feed crickets for variety. So before I get mealies I need to house them correctly. How do I do that? Also, am I making the right choice for my gecko? Mealies are less healthy for them but they are hopefully easier to keep and feed to Oliver, and easier to dust.
Will he see the mealies if I keep them in a bowl? I would be happy to hand feed him, just it would bew easier.
Okay so to sum up:
1. How do I house the meal worms?
2. What is the easiest way to house them?
3. Am I making the right choice for Oliver?
4.are they easier to keep than crickets?
5. Are they a good staple?
6. Will he see them in the bowl or would I have to hand feed him??
I'm sorry there are a lot of questions, but I would like to be fully informed about them before buying. If you do not know all the answers, but know some feel free to answer only those questions.(just please put the question number so I know what it's about)
Thank you in advance!

 

[athdaraxen]

1. How do I house the meal worms?
Just keep them in the bowl they come in, should be fine.

2. What is the easiest way to house them?
*points above*

3. Am I making the right choice for Oliver?
It wouldn't hurt to still throw crickets in there, always remember variety is important! I usually get like 5 crickets when I get my refill of mealies. There are also other things like hornworms and Phoenix worms!

4.are they easier to keep than crickets?
Yes. Little to no stink, no noise.

5. Are they a good staple?
Not nutritionally really but as long as you dust correctly and provide variety they can be a good staple.

6. Will he see them in the bowl or would I have to hand feed him??
I had an issue with Zuko not seeing them, your best bet is a clear bowl, so he can see them moving. Something he can clkmb into but with slick walls so they cannot crawl out!

I got a Mealworm Feeder. It's a cup you stick to the cage wall, it has holes in the bottom the meals drop out of. Zuko loves it!

I hope this helps!

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[WilliamTheLeopardGecko]

Thank you! Do you think I should switch off with weeks for variety?
How much do the mealworm feeder cost? That sounds like a great idea! I have a small slick blue bowl I use to keep waxies when I feed them. Is that fine if I don't get the feeder?

 

[athdaraxen]

Thank you! Do you think I should switch off with weeks for variety?
How much do the mealworm feeder cost? That sounds like a great idea! I have a small slick blue bowl I use to keep waxies when I feed them. Is that fine if I don't get the feeder?

I was planning on crickets at least once a week, and once I get more cash, I plan to order more interesting feeders online, like Phoenix worms! Hopefully Zuko will like them.

It was about $7-8 for the feeder. He gets so excited and tries to grab them as they fall!

While variety is good, I'd really stay away from the waxworms. The geckos can get addicted quite easily and it's very hard to make them eat anything else when they are hooked on them. I wouldn't do it more than once a month honestly. And I'd keep it to only a few worms.
Some healthier feeders are hornworms, silkworms, Phoenix worms, super worms (I'd smash the head to be safe though, they have strong jaws).

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[DrCarrotTail]

I feed mine crickets 2x-3x a month and mealworms the rest of the time. I raise about 50% of the mealies I use and put them on wheat bran with a variety of veggies for water. They seem happy and grow big! I'm attempting to get a dubia colony up and running for some extra variety but I think their container is too cold/dry for them to breed. Need to find a heating pad asap instead of the overhead heat light I currently have one them.

 

[WilliamTheLeopardGecko]

I was planning on crickets at least once a week, and once I get more cash, I plan to order more interesting feeders online, like Phoenix worms! Hopefully Zuko will like them.

It was about $7-8 for the feeder. He gets so excited and tries to grab them as they fall!

While variety is good, I'd really stay away from the waxworms. The geckos can get addicted quite easily and it's very hard to make them eat anything else when they are hooked on them. I wouldn't do it more than once a month honestly. And I'd keep it to only a few worms.
Some healthier feeders are hornworms, silkworms, Phoenix worms, super worms (I'd smash the head to be safe though, they have strong jaws).

Sent from my Samsung Captivate using Tapatalk 2.

I do know about wax worms, they're like giving candy to a baby, but I do like to feed them to him and see him love them. I will take your advice and only give it to him once a month though.
Where did you get the feeder? Petco or PetSmart? Or someplace different? I'm intrigued and I think it would be a great idea...
I heard that super worms aren't good for a juvenile, and to be honest they scare the heck out of me lol.
I will try Phoenix worms or horn worms sometimes for good variety. Maybe I could mix them up in the feeder and feed him different ones!
Oh yeah I also heard silk worms are like wax worms, is that true? But still,that is another bug that scares me... Eugh!

 

[WilliamTheLeopardGecko]

I feed mine crickets 2x-3x a month and mealworms the rest of the time. I raise about 50% of the mealies I use and put them on wheat bran with a variety of veggies for water. They seem happy and grow big! I'm attempting to get a dubia colony up and running for some extra variety but I think their container is too cold/dry for them to breed. Need to find a heating pad asap instead of the overhead heat light I currently have one them.

Would they gut load from the veggies? Do I have to get wheat bran or could I just keep them on the paper thing they come in?

 

[SC Geckos]

I feed mealworms to all of my leos as a staple with great success, but I also throw in some crickets, supers, and dubias a few time a month to make sure they get a healthy variety of feeders. IMO a varied diet of good gutloaded feeders is the best option.

 

[Johnandsarah]

The mealworms are MUCH easier to take care of. I'm trying to only feed mine mealworms the majority of the time. The adults dont care they are fine with it. The juvie is okay with it..but seems to preffer crickets and the babies will not eat the worms?? im not sure if they dont see them or what..but everytime i try to toss one in front of them they run. soo...im not sure what to do about the babies??

 

[lisa127]

I feed mostly mealworms as well. I won't deal with crickets. I do feed phoenix worms sometimes for variety. However, when I feed phoenix worms a few will pass in feces undigested.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Would they gut load from the veggies? Do I have to get wheat bran or could I just keep them on the paper thing they come in?

I don't gut load mine except keeping them on high quality foods. I usually give them fresh fruits and/or veggies every other day and feed them to my geckos the day after that. As for substrate - I think the mealies I've gotten from PetCo in the past are in wheat bran. If not, you can change the bedding they come in for oatmeal, rice crispies, cheerios, or basically anything else that's grain based. They live longer and are better for your gecko when they have something to eat.

When I'm out of large mealworms from my colonies I order some medium ones and keep those in the fridge as backup. I don't keep any veggies in with them when they're in the fridge but take them out for 24 hours a week so they can eat some moisture rich foods. They keep for 6-10 weeks like that, depending on how close to pupating they were when I received them.

 

[katie_]

My leos only get crickets when I buy them for my cresties, which is less than once a month.
The rest of the time they get supers and mealies, and the occasional hornworm and waxworm.