Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a fairly young individual who has fed exclusively on crickets from birth. I acquired it from a local pet store who holds a great knowledge of reptiles. I have read a lot that it is ok to use meal worms as a staple diet for Leopard Geckos but when I brought it up with the little lady in the store she told me absolutely not. She said maybe an adult could handle it but the exo skeleton will cause all sorts of problems in my little 2-4” long young Gecko is this true? For a picture you can visit my research sit linked below. The individuals picture is at the top right corner of the page. Thanks in advance for the help. So long as it is safe I would like to feed the individual meal worms as they are more readily available to me and easier to deal with. Thanks again
My reptile collection and research

hello, Some of the oldest recored or longest lived leos never ate anything other than mealworms. I feed a variety but ive fed plenty of lil leos meal worms with no problem
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geckorex
3.21 leopard geckos
2.1.1 crested geckos
2.1 bearded dragons
?.?.2 western hognose
0.2 brooksi
0.0?2 grey tree frogs
1.?.1 green anole
2 golden tree frogs
1.2 non-broken cats
0.0? northern 5 lined skink

I feed my babies and adults mealworms exclusively. I have never had a problem, and my geckos have thrived. I too have heard the exoskelaton impaction story, and while it may have some merit, I have yet to see it happen or hear of it from other breeders who feed mealies. My advice is moderation. Don't go crazy when feeding your hatchlings mealworms. Also if you are concerned, feed them the freshly shed mealies that are soft.

Tony

I was actually told by an emergency vet that you're not really supposed to feed mealworms to baby leos because they contain chitin, which is difficult to digest, and that can eventually cause impactions. However, I feed my leo mealworms, and don't have any problems at all.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy ( 1.0.0 El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (3.1.0 crazy kitties), Rosebud (0.1.0 cockerspaniel), and Kayko (0.0.1 leopard gecko)

I've never had any problems with mealworms, just feed in moderation and make sure they're pooping regularly.The only difference I noticed is that my leo's poop smelled stinkier when fed mealworms more so than crickets.

All insects contain chitin, it is the material that makes up their exoskelaton. Mealworms just posess more chitin than do crickets. There are also the stories about mealies eating thier way out of a leos abdomen, but once again this is something that happens like one in a million.

Tony