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When I first got my geckos several years ago I had no problems with mealworms. But in the past few months every time I go in to get some worms my nose starts running, I start sneezing, my nose & ears get extremely itchy ect. Any ideas on what I could do? I have raised wax worms & super worms before but mealworms are just so much easie to raise, and I already have a large colony of them. Now I know there are crickets, but I have always failed in raising them, and would raising crickets have the same effect? Any information you guys will be helpfull thanks.

Hello,

You might be allergic to the substrate you keep them on, not necessarily the mealworms themselves. I've found, just recently it started, that I get real allergic to bran, the stuff that they come in when you buy them in the little cups from Timberland. So now i started seperating the mealies from the bran and putting them on oats instead, and I am fine when I feed them. But i would get the runy nose and itchiness as well. So try changing them to a different substrate and see how that goes.
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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

Melissas Menagerie

hmmm... Interesting thought but I don't think thats it. They are on oatmeal, and always have been. I am thinking it is because the increased amount of dead insect matter (shed skins, feces ect) I tried to cycle through bins before but I have always gotten lazy with it. And then I notice one little baby in the old bedding, and can't throught it away feeling that there maybe more or somthin'. So the huge bin I have is composed of several years of mealworm uh... stuff. I'm thinking if I can manage to pull most of them out of the bedding into a new bin of oatmeal then it will be ok. Any ideas on mass mealworm moving?

. . . I'm 43, and didn't have allergies at all until I was sortiing some mealies, got a little dusty - and BAM - my nose plugged, eyes swelled shut, etc. Now I really have it bad with them - but i still use mealies, because they are such no fuss food items.

I do a lot of my work with the mealies, out doors - esp. sorting out large bins of mealies. I use a large metallic strainer - dump in a bunch of mealies and substrate, and start shaking - making sure the wind is in the right direction. I just keeep working it down, and put them in new substrate.

I also find that if I was my hands after feeding really well - I'm OK - but we should be doing that anyway, working with herps, right?

Take an allergy pill too - it helps.

Good luck buddy!!!!
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Monte Meyer
Powergeckos
Email

No Fru-Fru morphs in the herp room

I fed crickets when I first got into herps 10 years ago. Within 3 years I developed an allergy to crickets. I swiched most of my herps over to mealworms last year, but I think I'm starting to develope an allergy to them as well.

When I deal with crickets I wear plastic gloves and I wear a mask
in addition when transfering them out of their box or cleaning their cage. I have a friend with a mealworm allergy and she uses the gloves and mask when dealing with her mealworms. I suspect that a switch to crickets will only give you a temporary reprieve.

Keeping the feeders clean by regularly removing bodies and waste and in the case of melaworms changing out beding will help keep the allergens at a minimum.

-Alice

I have developed allergoies to mealworms AND to my leos actually. I get itchy welts if they scrath my skin with their claws even a little when handling. Thankfully leos have no dander so I can still keep them

Mealworms are a problem because the feces get airborne when you are picking them out of the substrate. I think that with mealies, the part I react to is the feces. I don't have much if any problems with fresh mealies in fresh substrate. I find what really helps is changing out the substrate and keeping the food bedding fresh and clean. Don't let the poo build up. It's probably better for the mealies, too.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
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