Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys i usualy buy my mealworms in the 100 count from petco which they get from timberline but in this batch there where quit a few differant worms. they look nothing like meal worms. they look like cashews? they have a soft body but a head that looks like a hard skin that needs to be shed or something. but they are cremy white with a soft body and crunchy head. truly the best way to describe the worms is they look like a penis ?!?! i mean its weird i know but thas what they look like any idea what they are and should i feed them or any of the worms with them to my leo ????

mat

Without seeing a pic, I think these are mealworms that are in the processing of morphing.

YES, Those are definitely in the stage of morphing from worm to beetle! I know cause i breed mealworms. If you have any other Q you can post them here. Katie
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Owner of 3 Leopard Geckos, 3 Fire Belly Toads, 3 Treefrogs,
2 Bahaman Anoles and 1 Turtle "GOT-A-LUV-UM"

Mealworms are the larve of a beatle the ones you have are in the morph stage from worm to beatle.

Are you sure they aren't the pupae stage of the mealworms...the stage between mealworm and beetle??? I got 100 mealies from Petco today also and there were a few pupae in there as well...I just threw them out since I am not breeding them.

Cleo
1:1 leos (6 eggs cooking)

never seen that before? just throw em out or can i feed em ?

you CAN feed them, but i don't think theyre very nutritious, since they can't eat to be gutloaded. i don't see how they look like a penis though.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

n/m

np

Yup, adults are coming. They must have gotten left out because they shouldn't have done that in the refrigerator. LOL!

If you want to breed them (and save a little money), you can pull those pupae out and put them in a plastic box with some corn flakes or other grain-based cereal, a little powdered milk and a carrot. They'll be beetles within a week or two and start laying eggs for you. (You'll need to leave your container of mealies out so you end up with a few more beetles though...gotta make sure you have at least one male and a few female beetles, of course.) Once you have your own batch started, you should never run out of leo food.

mealworms are morphing into beetles, thhis is their larvae stage. if you keep them out of the fridge they go through this process faster

thanks guys i will just toss em! since hey can;t eat and i don;t want beatles

mat

Actually you can feed them to em... The pupae actually do have enough nutrition in them to be edible... How else do you think they stay alive through their metamorphosis? Its because they;ve eaten enough and built up reserves in their bodies to be able to fuel this change... While they may not be gutloadable, don't rule them out as a food source

well my leos seem to despise them. There spoiled you know, so they only like the best. And well when i get those i just give them to my tegu, or my gorgeous BTS. My skink loves them, well that and every thing else he can fit in his mouth. Then he shows his apretiation by burrowing under the mulch and tipping over his k-mart water bowl.
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They sound like wax worms to me. Mistake in the order? They're fine to feed.