Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I havent really been able to find any live mealworms around here that are not HUGE...so I decided to buy a can of the zoo med worms...Asia will eat just about anything...And she sure does like those things...I only really use meals and waxs as treats and crickets as her main diet....but is it ok that I use the canned worms??? she doesnt seem to care really.

If she'll actually eat them, which is unlikely, they should be okay. I say unlikely because things that move get their attention most.

Buying live mealworms is the best bet. The best place to buy them, that I have found, is www.grubco.com/. They're fast, excellent quality, and very inexpensive! They're the best & the cheapest that I've been able to find. Besides, buying mealworms from a specialty breeder is a better route anyday than buying from a pet store, in my experience.

~~Dusty
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

As long as its the zoo meds worms in a can it should be good. But if it was just a dead cricket that was in your cricket container then dont feed it to your leo because of the bacteria.
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Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!! Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!

Yea, Its the worms in a can....she eats them very good actually...she doesnt really seem to mind they are dead....I was just making sure nurtrion wise they were ok for her....Because as far as taking them...she takes them great...she will eat anything you put in her cage LOL...but no i dont give her dead crickets from my container.

From my own experiences and in my own opinion, I STRONGLY advise NOT using the canned food. My reasons are:

1. You cannot gutload the food.

2. They are very boring for your leo.

3. They loose many of the vital nutrients after they have died, I do not have proof but I have been told by many people.

4. Unless you freeze them, one can should only be kept for 3-4 days (I have had them mould that fast). When I first started them, I e-mailed the distributor about them going moldy so fast. Their response was, “would you eat a can of tuna if it had been in the fridge that long?” (I swear to God).

5. They are very expensive, well at least I paid $10 a can.

6. Youre one little baby leo (adorable by the way) will never eat them before they go bad.

7. When I froze them they always became freezer burned.

8. I started to keep them on hand in case I ran out of live food, I became lazy and used them as a staple diet.

9. My leo became so used to them he stopped eating live food.

10. My leo, EXTREMELY slowly, stopped eating.

11. One and a half years after starting to use canned crickets, and even with me occasionally dusting them, my leo died of MBD (not 100% sure, but that was the vets opinion). It was horrible. He was sick for months, I cried non-stop (I’m not a crier). Watching him in so much pain was agony. Watching him die an extremely painful death (seizures) right in front of me, while all I could do was cry like a baby, was the worst experience I have EVER gone through. There are other factors that attributed to his death, but I think using the canned food is what started it.

12. I’ll let you know more reasons why not to use them when I remember them. Yes there are more reasons I’m against them.

It's your own choice, this is just my personal experience. I believe feeding the canned crickets was my biggest mistake, if there was anything I could have done different with Rex, that would be it. I would recommend using sand before I would recommend using canned food.

Oh wow I need to go to bed, all this is making me bawl. Sorry for the sad story, I just thought you should know how terrible my experience with them was.

Lisa
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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Pacman Frog (Phatty)
1.0 Lovebird (Tony Montana)
1.0 Elkhound (Otto)
0.1 Malamute (Paris)
5.0 Bettas

I remember you posting about that a while back. Weren't there quite a few people who agreed with you, sharing their experiences with it and all? I wonder why no one's posted them again?

It really would be better to get LIVE food. Stays Fresh, and it's WAY more cost-effective.

~~Dusty
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I'm not sure I was in that post, I wish I had read it. Anyways, it's good to know others agree.

Lisa
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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Pacman Frog (Phatty)
1.0 Lovebird (Tony Montana)
1.0 Elkhound (Otto)
0.1 Malamute (Paris)
5.0 Bettas

Are you sure?? I remember this very same story - including the whole thing about getting lazy and feeding the canostuff all the time.. hm

~~Dusty
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Oh yes that must have been me. Rex was probably still alive, so I would have been a zombie. I was a mess spending a few hours a day treating him, coming here for support, and worrying about him. Plus all of my other pets (including my boyfriend), plus college (I am in 7 courses), plus work, I almost lost my mind . But I'm ok now, schools done on Wednessday, YAY!!!, and much to my supprise my new babies are very easy to care for. I was worried the first night, but now the seem to all get along and eat like pigs.

Dusty, I know you have had baby leos (mine are about 2-3 weeks I think), can you give me any pointers? It just seems to easy right now. Here is a picture of them, they are so much fun.

Lisa

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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Pacman Frog (Phatty)
1.0 Lovebird (Tony Montana)
1.0 Elkhound (Otto)
0.1 Malamute (Paris)
5.0 Bettas

lol Honestly, I wouldn't be the best person to ask on pointers for hatchlings, although there is information about them on our caresheet at www.thegeckobarn.com/.

Crystal's the one who cares for the hatchlings, and she's out of town. I don't have quite enough time to devote to them, what with student teaching and my daughter. I love my leos, but all of mine are juvies and up.

~~Dusty
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

They do add nutrients and things to the canned crickets...so I doubt they are much less nutritious... Also I'd think they should be dusted everytime they're fed...and they should be a lot easier to dust than live because they're so moist. That's what I think anyway...I don't see it as being a problem especially if they're just being used when live crickets aren't available. Also...I really don't mean to be mean or make you feel bad or anything...but the source of food shouldn't really cause MBD...any insects fed alone don't have enough calcium. Leos should always be supplemented with a calcium dish and dust (or just dust if its t-rex sandfire ICB dust).
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Christina

Leopard Gecko Morph Descriptions

2.3 leos
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-1.0 tremper albino (Spitfire)
-1.0 tangerine rainwater albino (Bronx)

-ignorance is not to be punished when one is trying to gain knowledge...what scares me is the vast number of people who, when given the information to gain knowledge, choose to ignore it.

Hey all, Well, I read all the replies....TY btw for answering my questions about this matter...Just to clear some stuff up...I'm only useing the "mealworms" in a can to give her something different besides crickets only in her diet...I still feed her live crickets because to be honest... I think she enjoys chasing them down LOL.....I always dust all food including the canned before giving it to her....and I only give her maybe 3 a day or so just to kind of go w/ the crickets....This is really only because im having a hard time finding a bait shop around here w/ smaller mealies...and I dont want to order 500 or 1000 online....because well I've just got Asia to feed LOL.

Hey Mom2autumnnreign, using them just to give her some variety is fine, but (don't take my word for it as I haven't research) I would almost just stick to using the crickets until you can find some live mealies... They do love chasing the live crickets, it was so sad when Rex became so lazy he wouldn't anymore... What supplement do you use, if it is not designed for everyday use just be careful about over supplementing... I would also be careful when going to a bait shop for insects. I read somewhere that they often put something on them, I think to clean them. I will show you the article if I find it... Mealworms will last a few weeks if kept refrigerated, and often the price of 500 online is the same price as 100 in a pet store. If you are in the US check out the Flucker website, they have a cool set up with only 250 mealworms (I wanted to do it but I am in Canada).

Talk to you later,
Lisa
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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Pacman Frog (Phatty)
1.0 Lovebird (Tony Montana)
1.0 Elkhound (Otto)
0.1 Malamute (Paris)
5.0 Bettas

Once you open a can of canned crickets do you really think that after it has been open for three days that there are really as many nutrients as live crickets... If they add nutrients I'd bet on them adding a few preservatives as well... Someone should do a study… The calcium powder that I was using had a very high phosphorous to calcium ratio, so I didn't use it every time, usually every second time... The dead ones are much easier to use that’s why I started using them... It’s not a problem if they are only being used once every couple of weeks, it's the fact that, being human it is very easy to become lazy... Don't worry your not being mean or making me feel bad... The source of MBD is caused by a lack of calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D3 (or a UV light)... So if the food is lacking these things, through not supplementing properly, yes it is the cause of MBD... However, the reason Rex passed is because he slowed his eating habits, probably because eating out of a can is not as healthy as you think. After slowing his eating habits he was not able to get the proper amount of needed vitamins and nutrients… I know that food given to leopard geckos in captivity should be supplemented… When I was younger I was not informed that a calcium dish should be provided, but I guarantee I did dust his food.

I never meant that his MBD was caused by the food itself, in my case it was caused because he would not eat live food after becoming accustomed to the "easy catch" dead food.

Like I said this is just my opinion, it may not be 100% accurate, but I have spoke to many professionals about this issue, and I have read articles relating to MBD. I just wanted to warn people so that the same thing does not happen to them. It was a horrible experience and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Lisa
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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Pacman Frog (Phatty)
1.0 Lovebird (Tony Montana)
1.0 Elkhound (Otto)
0.1 Malamute (Paris)
5.0 Bettas