Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can leos eat the adult forms of the mealworms? Those darkling beetles.

Are they nutritious / has anybody had any success trying to get their animal to consume them?

Thanks

p.s. if anybody has used armstrong's company to buy mealies: is the bran/oat mixture that they come in the food source for gutloading mealies?

The adult beetles smell and taste horrible, so I don't think the leo will eat them.

I usually gutload my mealies with crushed dog food. It's more nutritious than the oats. You can also use chick mash and hog feed.

I agree, the beatles must smell or taste bad. I tried I once & none of the Leos seemed interested.

As for gut-load, I use a wheat bran & fresh carrots. I have a good friend who feeds his mealies alphalfa pellets(rabbit or guinea pig food). I might start adding this to the mealie diet as well.

It's another one of those it's up to you. As a rule of thumb with gut-loading, what ever your feeding your prey item is what your feeding your preditor.

Yes, they are edible. The thing about them, is the chitin, or what makes their bodies hard. It is almost like feeding your animals nail clippings!

I feed mine bran, and potatoes. I get it for about $0.80/lb at a natural food store

so then are they as nutritious as their larva?

heh lol i wanna try feeding one to my pet

Put one in the cage and watch they won't eat it. A friend of mine had a few mealies escape the dish and bury in the sand and they turn into beetles, they left them in the cage for a week and the geckos would not eat them for whatever reason maybe they are not good for them and instictively they know this.

As for gut loading mealies and crickets I use a mixture of oats, bran, chick mash, crushed dog and cat food, fish flakes,
dry milk and some calcium powder all mixed together is what i use. I also put in fresh vegies. You can also throw in a bone with meat on it for the mealies.

I don't think they are as nutritious as tha larva, because the leos will be chomping on chitin. Like eating fingernail clippings!
And being so hard, it could cause impaction as well. maybe not with a single bug, but feed them a handful and the poor things will be sadly constipated!

My reptilian specialist recommended that I offer them even earthworms! There is no reason to limit the feeders to what people commonly buy, but bear in mind that you don't want to feed them animals high in chitin too often.

hmm earthworms you say? arent they kinda big? or are you referring to the smaller redworms?

Listen, the beetles of any size are not the best for your leos because of the chitin. It is like feeding them nail clippings. Feed them softer worms, even molted crickets.

I have never seen a leo eat them.I have some other geckos eat them and did just fine.It was wild caught Frog Eyed Geckos.

As for dog,cat,chicken food STOP using these there are some many chemicals in there that are bad for geckos.Rember you are feeding a reptile not one of the above.
I have been breeding mealworms for 8 years and my only eat apples,carrots,roman,etc. fresh is the best.
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Jodi L Aherns
612.802.3980
www.groundgeckofreak.com