Leopard Gecko: Should I be cutting the heads off of meal worms?

[Chaoskii]

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I finally got to buy some meal worms and I plan to start feeding them to my leo more often now, but I want to know, is it true I have to cut the heads of them off? I have heard about 3/4 people say no and the other 1/4 say yes, and I have heard convincing arguments on both sides, I just want to know as a definite answer, is this required?

[Elizabeth Freer]

I finally got to buy some meal worms and I plan to start feeding them to my leo more often now, but I want to know, is it true I have to cut the heads of them off? I have heard about 3/4 people say no and the other 1/4 say yes, and I have heard convincing arguments on both sides, I just want to know as a definite answer, is this required?

Not necessary for mealies. Be sure they are not too big for him.

Be sure to feed a varied diet.

[Chaoskii]

They're just meal worms not super worms so I will leave them alive. And Any thing else besides meal worms and crickets then, seeing as how I'm broadening the horizon here?

[Elizabeth Freer]

They're just meal worms not super worms so I will leave them alive. And Any thing else besides meal worms and crickets then, seeing as how I'm broadening the horizon here?

Zena (Very Picky Eater thread) has just had great success feeding silkworms to her leo! (Mulberry Farms)

[alron]

I feed crickets and mealworms as a staple and give mine a tomato hornworm once a week.

On occasion I feed silkworms, butterworms, wax worms and superworms. We cant get roaches here in Canada or I would feed those as well.

I never worry about mealworms, but I do squash the superworms mouths before feeding as I suspect they could inflict a nasty bite to the Leos mouth If you just disable there mouths they will still move around and attract the leo

The oldest of my two boys is 8 months. I got him when he was about a month old. On the diet I have described, he is now 10" in length and weighs 100gr The younger one is catching up quickly.

[Hilde]

There's no need at all to crush their heads or cut them off. That story is a myth.

If you feed an insect or worm of appropriate size to a healthy leo (or whatever), it's not going to chew it's way out. This is a myth, it shows up every so often on every forum. Feed the proper sized mealworms, zophobas and other bugs and wormy things to a healthy herp, you won't have to worry about finding it has chewed it's way out.

I've kept leopards for over 20 years, all the adults get fed mealworms and superworms along with other insects, and never once have I cut or crushed a head, or removed barbs and mandibles. I've also never had a worm bite a gecko nor chew its way out of the gecko. There should be no problems feeding the appropriate sized worms to a healthy gecko, not a sick or weak one.

Wild geckos eat larvae (worms) and insects all the time, who goes around chopping or crushing the heads for them before meals?

[Chaoskii]

Thanks all! I was able to feed Micah the meal worms no problem, just found a little dish and put a few in, he was quick to figure out what was in the dish and ate all of them.

[SORROW89]

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Mealworms are too small to cause any damage. One thing you do want to be careful with is the worm food. You should toss out the bran about every 2 weeks and avoid laying fruits right on it. My friend's gecko died from some type of fungus or mold from the worm food.