Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay heres my opinion i noticed their was a lot of talk on the forum latly so im gonna start a new thread at the top just so everyone gets a chance to read the info i have found.

1. i personally do not feed crickets i am a mostly mealworm person but i do agree it is good for them to have a varied diet, however many top breeders, such as Ron tremper, feed ONLY mealworms and have been doing it for a long time so obviously it isn't a problem if you feed just mealworms.

2. about a year ago a local herp vet spoke at a herp society meeting about this issue and he claimed that 1 out of every 50 crickets contains pinworms, THEREFORE if you order 1000 crickets 20 of them are going to contain pinworms. Now most geckos can live with them and not have it cause problems but down the road say when another parasite is thrown in it could have a devistating affects (this is why if you do feed crickets i would recommend cautionary treatments with panacure)

3. the old myth about mealworms eating themselves out of geckos is extremely unlikely. I asked my vet and he claimed as long as the gecko was kept in a right environment with correct temp gradient it shouldn't ever happen and if they gecko is sick and you must treat with an antibiotic then you must use a probiotic as well to keep up gut flora, if you do this then their shouldn't be a problem as well.

So overall im sticking with mealworms and i thought i would share my opinion. Another plus mealworms are very easy to breed and even if you can't they are usually alot cheaper than crickets (at least from my cricket povider they are). Thanks and have a great evening.

Jason

np
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chickabowwow

3.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 3 eggs a' cookin'

So then it IS ok to feed just mealworms? Man there is so much contrary information, out there. It makes my head hurt
I read in a book that it wasn't good to only feed reptiles mealworms because they have too much chitin (not exactually sure what that is). Then other people say that they have feed only mealworms for years and their gecko is great. So what is the definitive answer? I really want to do right by my baby but it sure is getting tough to figure all this stuff out.

My question is, what do you do if they won't eat mealies? I've got 2 leos right now that won't eat them. One has eaten them before, but currently prefers crix. The other is new, so I don't know if she's had them before. But both let them sit in their dishes forever. Should I just load up the dishes with them, along w/ some gutload so they're "ready" & leave them there until they eat them?
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0.3.0 leos, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
0.0.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton & Olivia Newton John
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

If you want to get them to eat mealworms you can simply stop offering the crickets at least until they become used to the mealworms. Chances are your geckos have had mealworms before because very few breeders have the patience to deal with crickets in such large quantities for a staple diet. There is more chitin (hard exoskeleton) on mealworms but leopard geckos will have no probably digesting it. The only real difference is that crickets have a higher calcium content. This can be fixed in mealworms with good gutloading and a calcium supplemant. I'm pretty sure that the oldest recorded leo in captivity was fed a staple diet of mealworms but I heard that a while ago so if anythinghas changed let me know. I have to keep crickets for some other animals I keep and I hate them, they smell, they're noisy, and they escape and live all over my house. Sorry for the long post.

You're going to run into contradicting information on everything regarding herps, but go for the most credible source instead of believing everybody. The guy at the petstore might tell you that mealworms are deadly and can chew their way out of your leo's stomach. Doesn't mean it's true. (In fact, it's not.)

The original post cited Ron Tremper and his feeding method. I think Tremper would know what he's doing. He's one of the guys who STARTED the whole leopard gecko thing. If you haven't run into his name yet, you will eventually.
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chickabowwow

3.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 3 eggs a' cookin'

I'm glad that I can feed just mealworms and that leos will be fine. When I get mine, I plan to start them on a mealworm diet right away. I will get some crix every now and then, just to help them keep up their hunting skills and enrichment. Plus, it'll be fun to watch
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1 Mali Uromastyx named Ra

There are several types of pinworms, and the most common one that is found in crickets and mealworms is of the insect variety and pose no health risks for your geckos, although they do need to get treated. Pinworms are very common and found literally everywhere... in dirt, from flies, and many human children have had a case once in their lives. Pinworms are the least serious of all of the reptile parasites, are next to impossible to avoid, and are easily taken care of with Panacur.
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com