Mealworms

[leopard]

Mealworms, once the staple for keeping insect-eating lizards, have unjustifiably gotten a bad rap in recent years. Unfortunately, many myths are still circulating in the reptile hobbyiest community about mealworms, including that there chitinous exoskeleton cannot be digested and therefore can lead to impation, and that ingested mealworms will eat there way out of a reptile's stomach. a little common sence will readily dispel these myths. Consider that the exoskeleton of all insects is made of the same chitin found in mealworms, and that thousands of lizard species in the world owe there very existence to the daily consumption of these chitinous insects. In fact, many insect eating lizards ( no study has been done to confirm this true for all) produce an enzyme called chitinase that breaks down chitin. Continue later..............

 

[leopard]

As for the mealworm eating through the stomach myth, it's comparable to seeing a vulture eating a dead animal on the side of the road and concluding that the vulture killied the animal. The usual scenario is that the lizard died of other causes and mealworms, needing a sorce of protien and moisture to survive, take the opportunity to feat upon the fresh cadaver. As it turns out, one of the easiest points of access into a gecko will be through the soft abdominal wall. The primary causes of regurgitation in leopard geckos are overheating, keeping the gecko to cool, and disease

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Your information is false. I have personally seen impaction due to mealworms (most likely secondary to poor husbandry as most cases of impaction are). But still something to be aware of. And what you're also leaving out (the really important part of the issue...the reason that mealworms have an increasingly bad reputation) is that mealworms are a very poor source of nutrition. Low in protein, low in calcium, and high in fat. They are used by many breeders simply because they are cheap and easy to keep. They are fine to use as part of varied diet. But as a primary food item, they suck.

Please stop regurgitating information that you have no real hands on experience with. You're not doing anyone any good and it's not accepted in these forums.

Anyone considering using mealworms as a primary food source needs to read this article: The Pro?s and Con?s of Mealworms as a food for reptiles

 

[leopard]

please I am sure their is a perfect explanation for a leopard geckos death. But, do not think it is mealworms when it may be something else. The only reason your leopard gecko could have died is if you way over fed him. What I wrote is a copy of the words top leopard gecko breeder.
Note. he feeds around 75,000 leopard geckos a year on mealworms and has never had a problem

 

[leopard]

And a recent study showed that l"eopard geckos" produce "Chitinase" to digest insects.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I have seen hundreds of cases of impaction in the many years that I worked in veterinary medicine. Many of them were impacted by mealworms. Of course, as I've stated above, most cases of impaction are secondary due to poor husbandry and could be avoided. But again, you're stuck on the impaction issue which is only a small part of why someone shouldn't use mealworms as a primary source of food. The bottom line is that they are simply a poor source of nutrition. Period. There's no denying the scientific data behind that. Of course, you can still raise an animal on less than a quality diet. But that doesn't make it healthy or right to do so. You can raise a child on McDonalds food, but that doesn't mean that it's good for them. Feed your gecko what you want to. But considering your VERY limited experience working with geckos, I suggest you read more and type less. I will not allow you to disrupt these forums by posting inaccurate and/or regurgitated material.

 

[leopard]

How do you KNOW the leopard geckos died of impaction on the mealworms part? Say a leopard gecko died and you cut him open and saw that he had mealworms in his gut. How do you know he did not die of something else? But, had eaten the mnealworms before he died.

Note. If you want I can ask a question from Ron Tremper on his website.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

When one does a necropsy on an animal, it's not hard to determine an impaction issue. Thanks, but I don't need you to ask Ron anything for me. If I feel the desire to consult with him, I will do so myself.