Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First, I never feed anything unsafe to any of my creatures, that's why I'm checking with the forum first. We have a juvenile Leo with an awesome appetite. Loves crickets and mealworms. I was wondering if anyone has ever offered their Leos Antlion larvae (doodle bugs). My little girl, who is the owner of Echo the Gecko, caught a bunch of them this morning and asked if she could feed a few to her. I told her I'd check with ya'll and let her know. BTW, there is no danger of chemical contamination, etc. I don't intend to substitute them for her regular diet, just an occassional treat.

Thanks for any info!

Echo the Gecko's Grannie

I guess I don't know what bug you're referring to. Does it have any more common names? Is it a rolly-polly or potato bug? Those cute little grey bugs that look like armadillos from above, that roll into a ball when threatened?
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I would say that the adult stage would be ok but the larvae i would't coz them jaws look evil.I bet they would be painful if you got bitten.plus if the antlion manages to bite the in-side of the leo mouth it could turn into an abscess or something.

For them that may not know what antlions are.
http://organicgardensite.com/?p=12

Doodle bugs or Antlion Larvae are the little dudes that live in the bottom of the small dimple like holes that you see in loose dirt everywhere. They trap & eat small ants that fall into the hole and can't get out. They do look evil in pictures, but they don't actually bite with the "grabbers" that stick out in front. They are very non-aggressive and must not be able to grab anything larger than a small ant because I've handled them since I was a little kid and have never been bitten. Kinda feel guilty thinking about feeding them to Echo, but here in Texas they are very abundant and would be an easy treat for her.

Thanks.

I would refrain from feeding them to your leo because there is still a chance of parasites having them as a temporary host waiting to get into something larger like your leopard gecko.

Very good point! We'll stick to crickets & meal worms.

Thanks!
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0.1 Leopard Gecko (Echo)
0.1 Mediterranean House Gecko (Tallulah)
1.1 Cats (Sunny the Bunny & Cosmo)
2.0 Dogs (Gunnar & Ridge)
2.1 Horses (Lakota, Reggie & Tash)
1.0 Betta (Moe)
5 Hybrid Goldfish

Just interested what are they hybrid with.

Just interested hybrid with what(goldfish X ?????????).

2 Lion Heads
1 Oranda
1 Bubble Eye
1 Fancy Tail
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0.1 Leopard Gecko (Echo)
0.1 Mediterranean House Gecko (Tallulah)
1.1 Cats (Sunny the Bunny & Cosmo)
2.0 Dogs (Gunnar & Ridge)
2.1 Horses (Lakota, Reggie & Tash)
1.0 Betta (Moe)
5 Fancy Goldfish

Just not on my game today!

1 Calico Fan Tail, not Fancy tail...

Holy Cow...
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0.1 Leopard Gecko (Echo)
0.1 Mediterranean House Gecko (Tallulah)
1.1 Cats (Sunny the Bunny & Cosmo)
2.0 Dogs (Gunnar & Ridge)
2.1 Horses (Lakota, Reggie & Tash)
1.0 Betta (Moe)
5 Fancy Goldfish