Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have read previously that butterworms are extremely fatty and should be offered very sparingly, but i read something on the internet tonight that says that they have 2 times the calcium content than any other feeder insect. is that true? and would it be good to feed them these every once in a while?

also while on the food subject, i have successfully switched to mealworms and was wondering does anybody have a good system for keeping/breeding mealworms? and if so how many should i buy at a time, because it gets to be a hassle to buy a little container of thirty all the time and have a portion of them dead anyways.

thanks in advance for any help

I personally tend to avoid butterworms. Nutritionally, they sound very appealing, hence my original reason for trying them. I stopped feeding them when I realized that they had the ability to melt through plastic. If I remember correctly, it took them about 36 hours to melt through the blue tubs that they usually sell waxworms in. My thinking is that if they can melt through that, then what are they doing to the insides of our reptiles? I'm not saying that they will definately kill your reptile, I'm sure there's people that have fed them without problems, but personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Regarding the mealworms, I just dumped a couple hundred in a plastic container with a homemade mix of substrate, give them a few carrots or chunks of sweet potatoes everyday or every other day, and let them do the rest. Good Luck!

thanks, your advice is very helpful and with the way you put it, i agree that it makes you think about the best interest and health of your gecko. and thats how i thought about doing my mealworms i was just making sure i was on the right path. thanks again