Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, do any other fellow anole lovers feed mealworms to there anoles. I have read that the shell is hard so its harder for the little guys to digest it and also some think that mealworms could eat its way out of the anoles stomach after he/she has eaten it is any of this true? Normally i feed my 2 anoles solely on crickets which i gut load with things like oranges,grated carrot and a high protein formula which i purchased. I rarely dust the crix in calcium as too many get away when i try to pull of the back legs. But when i get some waxworms i'll dust them as they are slow. I just want to know if it is safe to feed mealworms and if yes how do i go about gut loading them? What else can i offer my anoles as food because they must get bored eating crix, i know i would.Thanks peeps and Well done to the guys/gals who made the new forum layout, i like it.Gilbery007

The best worms you could possible give your Anole at this point in time, would have to be silkworms. They grow fast, and they get big. So this proves difficult for many. I typically order either silkworm eggs or pinhead silkworms, and feed until I cannot feed them anymore, then they simply go to my larger reptiles.

Many people feed mealworms to their Anoles. Mealworms are probably the second most abundant feeder next to crickets, so that tells you why. Mealworms do indeed have high chitin levels. This makes they quite difficult to digest. Two ways around this include only feeding freshly molted mealworms. Another would be crushing the head, then making a small incision along the length of the worm.

The other worms on the market, waxworms & butterworms, are in a similar boat. Butterworms get too large, but when small are a very protein rich and calcium rich feeder. They have more calcium than most any other feeder, but are kinda fatty. Waxworms, though not as high in calcium, are ironically a very healthy feeder. But they're too fatty. If they weren't fatty, they'd be great feeders. But alas.

When I've ever fed mealworms, I would take about 2 or 3 out of the refrigerator about 40 minutes prior to feeding and place them into a plastic container with a simply base medium. It consisted of granola that had been processed into an almost power consistency. I mixed in dandelion green flakes, put in some small carrot and apple slices. Once or twice a week I would mix in calcium carbonate and herptivite powder into the powderized granola. The worms would crawl through it all and become dusted quite well. A lot of people don't cool their worms at all, so this type of medium was provided with the veggies omitted (can't allow molding) in the worm's enclosure. Dry alfalfa and bran cereals should also be added if you keep them in a warm colony.
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~ALanolis
| Peta | A.C.G.

You can feed mealworms to your anoles. It is true though, that they have a non-digestable chitin exoskeleton which is not so great for them. I do not believe the idea that a mealworm can eat it's way out of an other wise healthy anole. i guess it might be possible if the anole was extremely sick and cold, but otherwise I just do not see it happening.

Make sure to feed only the correct size mealworm and only as an occasional food source. Some anoles won't eat them, some will.

You can catch wild insects from a pesticide free area to feed your anoles. you can try silk worms, wax worms, cockcroaches, grasshoppers, etc...

I think gutloaded crickets makes a good base diet, though. Don't give your anoles too much credit... I'm not sure they feel emotions like bordem all that much..

Dave