Mini mealworm culture
- Thread starter lampeye
- Start date
Knobtailman
New member
Hello, I have yet to culture them, but I believe that it is the same. The only differences are that they would probably need a little more food because of their high activity level and the fact that the newly hatched larvae are going to be extremely small. The mini mealworms do really draw my reptiles attention!
Riverside Reptiles
Administrator (HMFIC)
Don't know much about the mini-mealworms. But here's some reading on regular mealworms that might make you think twice before using mealworms in general for a food source: The Pro’s and Con’s of Mealworms as a food for reptiles
I know you're the admin, so I'm not trying play know-it-all...just reporting my personal experiences. I had great luck raising leos on nothing but. I even raised some unexpected baby mitratus on nothing but tiny mealies, and got rapid growth with no sign of MBD. I suspect terrestrials, since they'll lick calcium from a dish, have an easy way around that Ca/P imbalance?
Riverside Reptiles
Administrator (HMFIC)
Just because I'm the admin doesn't mean others can't have their own opinions. But the sooner you realize that I'm always right, the easier it'll be for everyone involved! ;-)
I've raised plenty of leos on mealworms in my day as well. Just because something works doesn't make it healthy. I believe that most animals do much better with a varied diet. And I still use mealworms as a supplemental feeder to add variety. But I don't use them as a main source for any of my geckos these days. As Dr. Dan (who has one of the biggest gecko collections in Australia and is a member of these forums) says...about 10%. But certainly to each their own. I'm just passing along some food for thought (no pun intended).
ARGH! Why can't I reply?!?! 
It keeps asking for a login, even after I've logged in. Sometimes clearing my cookies does the trick, sometimes not. Is it a deliberate feature - a certain number of posts in a certain amount of time? Did I miss that in rules/FAQs?
Okay, anyway, I just wanted to avoid any forum drama - there's a certain aquarium forum I used to frequent where disagreement simply isn't allowed. I just don't go there anymore.
Yeah, that's one thing I've learned over the years - the difference between what works, and what you can get away with. Plenty of people out there keep cleaner wrasses or moorish idols that eat prepared foods, or have bala sharks for years in 55-gallon tanks...
But I find it interesting that, if that ratio is so far off, they still work so well for so many breeders.
It keeps asking for a login, even after I've logged in. Sometimes clearing my cookies does the trick, sometimes not. Is it a deliberate feature - a certain number of posts in a certain amount of time? Did I miss that in rules/FAQs?Okay, anyway, I just wanted to avoid any forum drama - there's a certain aquarium forum I used to frequent where disagreement simply isn't allowed. I just don't go there anymore.
Yeah, that's one thing I've learned over the years - the difference between what works, and what you can get away with. Plenty of people out there keep cleaner wrasses or moorish idols that eat prepared foods, or have bala sharks for years in 55-gallon tanks...
But I find it interesting that, if that ratio is so far off, they still work so well for so many breeders.
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Gecko Ranch
New member
I have lots of experience feeding crickets, mealworms, superworms, roaches and mini-mealworms (T. obscurus) to many different species of geckos. Indeed, no-one has been able to explain why some geckos like leopard geckos do extremely well on a diet of just mealworms.
For many years, due to studies like the one quoted, I fed my leos only crickets. Most other leo breeders fed exclusively mealworms. What happened was, no matter how many crickets I tried to stuff in my leos, they simply did not attain the size my fellow breeders' leopards attained. So, after doing a lot of experimentation with food items on the leo, I found that this works best:
Hatchling to subadult: Mealworms and/or small superworms as primary diet to maximize weight gain from the higher fat content in these food items. Occasional food items like wax worms and crickets are fine.
Adult: Mealworms can be used as a primary diet, however, a mixture of food items is best, and a primary diet of superworms works well. At this size the gecko is no longer needing the fat in mealworms or superworms so crickets are also a good choice for primary diet.
Superworms have a higher "meat" to chitin ratio than mealworms - I have been using those instead of mealworms for some time, even before the great "shortage" of mealworms we are now experiencing.
Of course each type of gecko has a feeding regimen that works best. For example, I work with a number of "micro-geckos" which do best on 1-2 week old crickets and, if they are big enough, small superworms and T. obscurus. These would be P. rangei, T. fasciata, P. androyensis, P. tigrinus, P. fasciata, Coleonyx and two types of Tropiocalotes
As far as supplementation, I have been using Calcium Plus by Allen Repashy for over a year and have had the best results ever in my over 25 years of working with geckos. This is an all in one supplement and eliminates the need for any extra calcium placed in the geckos' terrarium, which we have learned now is actually harmful when using a supplement that contains an adequate amount of Calcium.
If I had any advice it would be to provide variety as much as possible and do pay attention to the breeder's advice on age appropriate food items. Many times it is beneficial to stick to a higher fat food item during the rapid growth rate period of a gecko's life.
For many years, due to studies like the one quoted, I fed my leos only crickets. Most other leo breeders fed exclusively mealworms. What happened was, no matter how many crickets I tried to stuff in my leos, they simply did not attain the size my fellow breeders' leopards attained. So, after doing a lot of experimentation with food items on the leo, I found that this works best:
Hatchling to subadult: Mealworms and/or small superworms as primary diet to maximize weight gain from the higher fat content in these food items. Occasional food items like wax worms and crickets are fine.
Adult: Mealworms can be used as a primary diet, however, a mixture of food items is best, and a primary diet of superworms works well. At this size the gecko is no longer needing the fat in mealworms or superworms so crickets are also a good choice for primary diet.
Superworms have a higher "meat" to chitin ratio than mealworms - I have been using those instead of mealworms for some time, even before the great "shortage" of mealworms we are now experiencing.
Of course each type of gecko has a feeding regimen that works best. For example, I work with a number of "micro-geckos" which do best on 1-2 week old crickets and, if they are big enough, small superworms and T. obscurus. These would be P. rangei, T. fasciata, P. androyensis, P. tigrinus, P. fasciata, Coleonyx and two types of Tropiocalotes
As far as supplementation, I have been using Calcium Plus by Allen Repashy for over a year and have had the best results ever in my over 25 years of working with geckos. This is an all in one supplement and eliminates the need for any extra calcium placed in the geckos' terrarium, which we have learned now is actually harmful when using a supplement that contains an adequate amount of Calcium.
If I had any advice it would be to provide variety as much as possible and do pay attention to the breeder's advice on age appropriate food items. Many times it is beneficial to stick to a higher fat food item during the rapid growth rate period of a gecko's life.
Gecko Ranch
New member
Here's a care sheet I wrote up for T. obscurus.
Mini-mealworms are Tenebrio obscurus – small mealworms that are perfect for small geckos! Examples of these geckos are Baby Eublepharine geckos like Coleonyx (Banded geckos), Teratolepis fasciata (Viper geckos) and Palmatogecko rangei (Webfooted geckos). Even just hatched Leopard Geckos!
The secret to mini-mealworm appeal to geckos is their quick movements that attract the attention of any gecko!
Mini-mealworm care:
• Well-ventilated smooth-sided container like a plastic shoebox
• Moist potting soil (DO NOT let it dry out, the culture will not do well)
• Cricket diet (Repashy Insect Gutload works well) added about twice a week to substrate
• Feed vegetables several times weekly, sliced carrots work very well. Other vegetables are ok if they are not too moist (this will cause mold).
Mini-mealworms are Tenebrio obscurus – small mealworms that are perfect for small geckos! Examples of these geckos are Baby Eublepharine geckos like Coleonyx (Banded geckos), Teratolepis fasciata (Viper geckos) and Palmatogecko rangei (Webfooted geckos). Even just hatched Leopard Geckos!
The secret to mini-mealworm appeal to geckos is their quick movements that attract the attention of any gecko!
Mini-mealworm care:
• Well-ventilated smooth-sided container like a plastic shoebox
• Moist potting soil (DO NOT let it dry out, the culture will not do well)
• Cricket diet (Repashy Insect Gutload works well) added about twice a week to substrate
• Feed vegetables several times weekly, sliced carrots work very well. Other vegetables are ok if they are not too moist (this will cause mold).
Riverside Reptiles
Administrator (HMFIC)
Not sure why the board is giving you a hard time. Try PMing Marty (the owner)...his user name is "Marty". He's much more adept at the technical aspects of how the forums work than I am.
Gecko Ranch
New member
You are very welcome! Temps same as T. molitor.
Gecko Ranch
New member
I seemed to have escaped the brunt of the serious problems. I had switched my breeder leos over to mostly supers a couple years ago. I fed the young mostly mealworms, did not see any problems with them when the mealworms went bad. I had slightly lower production with my breeders, otherwise they seemed to be fine. Some offspring hatched out really small and did not thrive, this was in more numbers than usual. That was the extent of it.
How about you?