GeckoFanboy
Member
Just curious what the consensus around here is on Giant Mealworms and hormones. I had been feeding my new gecko an assortment of bugs, and one of the bugs he really liked was the Giant Mealworms. For whatever reason, he has decided he no longer likes Superworms. He ate Phoenix worms for awhile also, and might eat a couple, but he will not make a meal out of them. I've noticed he doesn't like "little" food. He loves crickets, dubia roaches, and hornworms, but he also liked the Giant Mealworms. I threw them out when someone told me they were treated with hormones. So I bought my gecko some regular mealworms, but they are so tiny. I don't think he likes them as much.
Anyway, I ordered some more bugs today and asked the bug people if they treated their Giant Mealworms with hormones, and they told me they don't. Then someone else told me that's not true...that there is indeed a chemical used to inhibit the pupating process, often known as "juvenile hormone" (Methoprene). Here's a video on it:
Some folks say that bugs treated with this cause bad sheds/molts in arachnids and reptiles. Anybody have more info on this?
Anyway, I ordered some more bugs today and asked the bug people if they treated their Giant Mealworms with hormones, and they told me they don't. Then someone else told me that's not true...that there is indeed a chemical used to inhibit the pupating process, often known as "juvenile hormone" (Methoprene). Here's a video on it:
Some folks say that bugs treated with this cause bad sheds/molts in arachnids and reptiles. Anybody have more info on this?