Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,
At around what weight is it safe to feed superworms to my leos. They all weigh between 25 and 30 grms. Is this a sufficient weight to begin feeding them supers?
Thanks in advance,

Jason

i'm not positive, but i have heard that superworms get growth hormones so they dont morph into moths, so they are very bad for reptiles and only good for fishing. i may be wrong though. if i am, someone please correct me.
Thanks
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Matt
Owner of:
1.0.0 Brown (Bahaman) Anole
0.1.0 Green Anole
0.2.0 leopard geckos (tempature sexed)

Superworms are perfectly fine to feed to reptiles and make a great staple for leos.

For the first poster, your leos could probably take small mealworms, i'm not sure about the larger ones. You should be able to tell though just by judging the size of the super to the size of the leos head....
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Josh
My Email

Waxworms are the ones that grow into moths. Mealworms and superworms are both beetles.
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Lovin' would be easy if your colors were like my dreams...

the truth is these mealworms ARE feed hormones, but only hormones that their bodies naturally produce. it is not harmful to geckos, all it does is stop the mealworm from pupating, so it keeps growing. i doubt people would feed them to $10k macaws if they were harmful.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

if you have AIM, IM me at chichandoCONrosa (i changed my SN)

How are your leos doing from snakebroker?
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2 male leos: Winky HY & Lenny TangCT & 4 Female Leos: Sunshine Super tang, Serenity Tremper HY Jungle Albino, Skittle Hypo-Golden, and Banana Patternless.

they are doing good. the female doesnt wabble any more, and both have always eaten good. the male wabbles, but having that bent leg, who could blame him. im trading him in for another gecko. thanks for asking.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

if you have AIM, IM me at chichandoCONrosa (i changed my SN)

No one knows for certain what effect increased levels of the growth hormone in King Mealworms would have on reptiles fed them as a steady diet. In birds and mammals, hormonal effects are different than in reptiles and reactions to them vary. While the King Mealworms MAY have the hormone in them originally, it would take higher levels to KEEP them at those stages as their body Naturally tried to metamorph.

Most superworms are regular mealworms (Tenebrio) that have been given growth hormones to slow down pupation, causing them to grow very big. I heard that it was originally developed as an insecticde that is used arond horse stables and grain bins. The mealworms will eventually pupate, but they will be sterile as adult beetles, thus ending the life cycle. King mealworms are usually Zoophoba (spelling?) worms that are an entirely different species. They naturally grow very big, and contain no growth hormones. Superworms were developed mainly for fishing, and some suppliers advise against using them for feeders. Why chance it?
King mealworms are o.k. to feed, but they are a lot higher in fat content. I will probably just stick with regular mealworms. It can be very confusing when ordering mealworms, so make sure and double check. Good luck.
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1.0 leopard gecko- adult
1.0 bubblegum snow corn snake- adult
0.1 creamsicle corn snake- adult

Actually you have it backwards. Superworms are Zoophobas and King Mealworms are the hormone induced mealworms. Like iluvblackfrancis said, the hormones are naturally produced so it isnt an unnatural hormone, so they are still safe to feed. Zoophobas grow that big naturally and arent injected with anything, and are completely healthy to feed...
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Josh
My Email

I have heard of people (mainly in pet stores) refering to Zoophobas as being both Superworms and King mealworms. I hope I didnt confuse anybody (I know it cunfuses me...LOL!). It might be better to buy them from a supplier using the scientific name. As far as feeding hormone treated mealworms to herps go, what is the advantage? Why not be on the safe side and feed regular mealworms?
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1.0 leopard gecko- adult
1.0 bubblegum snow corn snake- adult
0.1 creamsicle corn snake- adult