just wondering if its safe to leave the beetles in, i know my leo can eat them, she chooses not to, but would they be able to harm her, or spread bacteria etc, if i leave them in, they help keep the tank clean inbetween cleans such as eating mealworm sheds or eating a few cricket leg scraps or eating the traces of poo left on the reptile carpet, are they safe to keep them in between cleans and treat them as a mini hoover and clean them out when i clean my gecko out or move them straight away?
mealworm beetles
- Thread starter the haunt
- Start date
LEOPARD1
New member
The things that those beetles do that you find helpful could be bad for the Leo. If your to lazy to clean the enclosure why buy the Gecko?
Also, unless you want to breed mealworms(correctly in a separate breeding tub) I would get those nasty things out now. Your stressing and putting your Gecko in a bad position. Those beetles pinch.
You are also wasting money. Keep mealworms in a refrigerator. They go dormant and the process to beetle is significantly elongated. Take the mealworms out of their container which should be half filled with oats and bran twice a week for 24 hours that way your not giving the Gecko zero nutrients. During the 24 hour period outside the fridge dice up a potatoes and put it in their container so they are hydrated.
Also, unless you want to breed mealworms(correctly in a separate breeding tub) I would get those nasty things out now. Your stressing and putting your Gecko in a bad position. Those beetles pinch.
You are also wasting money. Keep mealworms in a refrigerator. They go dormant and the process to beetle is significantly elongated. Take the mealworms out of their container which should be half filled with oats and bran twice a week for 24 hours that way your not giving the Gecko zero nutrients. During the 24 hour period outside the fridge dice up a potatoes and put it in their container so they are hydrated.
thats incredibly rude, i clean my leo every week and a half the meal worms can change over night, thats all i asked if they hurt my leo if they wanted to, i suggest you get a attitude check before talking to anyone else.
god some people insult without knowing the facts before asking
i clean the poo and urates out whenever i see them but change the carpet and clean all the hides every week and a half
god some people insult without knowing the facts before asking
i clean the poo and urates out whenever i see them but change the carpet and clean all the hides every week and a half
LEOPARD1
New member
My apologies. I am very straight forward. No offense meant.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Hi the haunt ~
Stopping by to welcome you aboard. Do hope that you stick around.
I have only used mealworms once when I was rearing a leo hatchling. However, if you wish, I can share alternate recommendations from a leo breeder who suggests keeping mealworms at room temperature. Those recommendations suggest a varied diet for them (not wheat bran or oats), basically the same bedding you could use for other insects.
Stopping by to welcome you aboard. Do hope that you stick around.
I have only used mealworms once when I was rearing a leo hatchling. However, if you wish, I can share alternate recommendations from a leo breeder who suggests keeping mealworms at room temperature. Those recommendations suggest a varied diet for them (not wheat bran or oats), basically the same bedding you could use for other insects.
Hi
I don't see why not to leave the beetles in there (if he'll eat them, my Daff will if he's hungry). But, as you say yours isn't eating them, not sure. I handle mealworm beetles as I breed them (haven't bought mealworm for well over 1 year, and have enough to give to friends, they give me oats, I give them mealworms), I've not been bitten, pinched, or anything else by them. As long as the have sufficient food and water they won't fly, and they don't climb well.
It's your choice. Pick one up and see what it does to your hand (in case you or I have mutant ones).
I don't see why not to leave the beetles in there (if he'll eat them, my Daff will if he's hungry). But, as you say yours isn't eating them, not sure. I handle mealworm beetles as I breed them (haven't bought mealworm for well over 1 year, and have enough to give to friends, they give me oats, I give them mealworms), I've not been bitten, pinched, or anything else by them. As long as the have sufficient food and water they won't fly, and they don't climb well.
It's your choice. Pick one up and see what it does to your hand (in case you or I have mutant ones).
LEOPARD1
New member
Hi the haunt ~
Stopping by to welcome you aboard. Do hope that you stick around.
I have only used mealworms once when I was rearing a leo hatchling. However, if you wish, I can share alternate recommendations from a leo breeder who suggests keeping mealworms at room temperature. Those recommendations suggest a varied diet for them (not wheat bran or oats), basically the same bedding you could use for other insects.
I have two seperate containers one with the mealworms in oat/bran that they live in and refrigerate in and a seperate one that is actually filled with Insect Chow for the 24/48 hour period before feeding outside the cold tundra;-) I was giving some basic advice AND its always fun to learn on your own not take opinions from enthusiasts on a Forum, Including me.
Bran/Oats for food? Might as well bury them in Lettuce.
I will be right there to apologize the haunt and be thorough and polite regarding my post.
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LEOPARD1
New member
You never know? One day the Leo might snatch them up like waxworms.
LEOPARD1
New member
Its one thing to have springtails but I wont leave a Beetle, Roach, Cricket unattended with my Leos.
LEOPARD1
New member
AGAIN I APOLOGIZE.
Im home now, so not stressed.
My concerns were:
a) the beetles eating the feces of the Leopard Gecko (I know you say the Leo wont eat them) but its very common for a Leopard Gecko in a instant eat a formely undesirable prey item. Precaution.
b) I tend to get stressed on deadlines and skim through posts at work. I didnt catch that you and the Beetles share cleaning duty. Sorry.
I will completely stand by this:
You are also wasting money. Keep mealworms in a refrigerator. They go dormant and the process to beetle is significantly elongated. Take the mealworms out of their container which should be half filled with oats and bran twice a week (or more) for 24-48 hours and put them in another container full of Insect chow that way your not giving the Gecko zero nutrients. During the 24/48 hour period outside the fridge dice up potatoes and put it in their container so they are hydrated. (This was edited due to abundance of time to be thorough)
LEOPARD1
New member
The point wasnt that the little pinch was going to kill the Leo it was this....
a)Insects running around will cause stress to the Gecko
b) The Gecko might go off feed. They will be acustomed to having insects running everywhere.
hmarie186
New member
I agree with certain points in this post, so here's my two cents.
I wouldn't leave them in with my boys, simply because when anything touches a foot or tail in their cage, they seem to get upset, turn around, move away or just leave their hide altogether. I think it does stress them being touched by things while trying to rest.
I would also be afraid of them maybe one day being ingested after eating some poo and whatnot.
Oats and wheat bran have terrible calcium : phosphorus levels.
I also do not have luck putting mine in the fridge because, while they may go dormant, when they pupate and then turn into beetles they are always very deformed and don't breed (they die shortly after hatching).
I wouldn't leave them in with my boys, simply because when anything touches a foot or tail in their cage, they seem to get upset, turn around, move away or just leave their hide altogether. I think it does stress them being touched by things while trying to rest.
I would also be afraid of them maybe one day being ingested after eating some poo and whatnot.
Oats and wheat bran have terrible calcium : phosphorus levels.
I also do not have luck putting mine in the fridge because, while they may go dormant, when they pupate and then turn into beetles they are always very deformed and don't breed (they die shortly after hatching).
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
These are the reasons I would remove the beetles from the vivarium:
#99---Superworm & Mealworm Tips......acpart (October 2014)
"1. Keep the superworms and the mealworms at normal room temperatures. The refrigerator is too cool for them.
2. I keep both my mealworms and superworms in ground up grain bedding. I buy my ground up stuff from a USA supplier. In Europe you could do one of the following:
3. I feed superworms by dropping 1 at a time in front of the gecko. For a very reluctant gecko, I hold the gecko and gently poke the superworm at the mouth until it bites the worm. I have a gecko that rarely eats in the winter and a few years ago he was losing a lot of weight. I used a hypodermic needle to poke the superworm, got some of the guts on the end of the needle and poked it (gently) into the gecko's mouth. He didn't get much, but it did some good and he eventually started eating again. He's about to go into his annual winter fast, but he weighs 90 grams right now."
- Any loose uneaten insect or worm has the potential for irritating your gecko and nibbling on its toes.
- The beetle's exoskeleton may contain even more chitin that mealworms do in proportion to its size.
- Chitin is extremely hard to digest and can lead to impaction.
- It's important for all feeders to have a nutritious diet prior to being fed to a gecko. That food does not last long inside many insects.
- Insects and worms should be fed 24/7 in order to "transport" food to your gecko.
- As Heather mentions wheat bran and oats have extremely poor calcium to phosphorus ratios and are definitely not recommended as either mealworm food or bedding. For details see my post #98 following the Basic Leo Guidelines
#99---Superworm & Mealworm Tips......acpart (October 2014)
"1. Keep the superworms and the mealworms at normal room temperatures. The refrigerator is too cool for them.
2. I keep both my mealworms and superworms in ground up grain bedding. I buy my ground up stuff from a USA supplier. In Europe you could do one of the following:
- get a variety of grain and cereal and put it in the blender (they can eat whole grains but it will be much easier for you to get them out of the bedding if the grain is ground up)
- OR buy some chicken feed
3. I feed superworms by dropping 1 at a time in front of the gecko. For a very reluctant gecko, I hold the gecko and gently poke the superworm at the mouth until it bites the worm. I have a gecko that rarely eats in the winter and a few years ago he was losing a lot of weight. I used a hypodermic needle to poke the superworm, got some of the guts on the end of the needle and poked it (gently) into the gecko's mouth. He didn't get much, but it did some good and he eventually started eating again. He's about to go into his annual winter fast, but he weighs 90 grams right now."
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