Mealworms make for an excellent feeder insect for gecko lizards, though should only be fed occasionally. Aim to feed 2 mealworms for every inch in length that the gecko has grown since last consuming.
Mealworms can be purchased either at pet stores or online. When selecting one to purchase, make sure the container has holes for drainage.
Contents
Feeding
Even though many reptile owners prefer live mealworms for their reptile’s diet, dried mealworms have long been eaten by leopard geckos as part of a balanced diet. Dried mealworms offer long shelf lives and greater convenience, but do not contain as much nutrition than their living counterparts.
Before feeding them to your gecko, be sure to gutload the mealworms by mixing in some Mealworm Chow, available at most pet stores or fishing bait shops. This provides them with essential vitamins and minerals.
Make sure that your mealworms are stored in an appropriately large container that allows for their growth, and add a few small air holes in the lid for airflow to prevent them from suffocating. Furthermore, adding vegetables such as squash will help your mealworms remain fat and healthy before being put in your refrigerator.
Storage
Leopard geckos enjoy hunting live prey, including crickets, roaches, waxworms, superworms, and CalciWorms (the sexier cousin of mealworm). However, keeping these insects around your home can be cumbersome due to their noisy chirping and tendency to nest in furniture cracks – making them unsuitable for bedrooms that feature habitats with sleeping quarters. Furthermore, their limited shelf life necessitates frequent trips to your pet store in order to stock up.
Dried mealworms make an excellent alternative. With their long shelf life of over two years, dried mealworms offer an ideal option for those who do not wish to deal with live feeder insects, fridge storage issues or frequent trips to pet stores. But be mindful that dried mealworms do not provide as many micro-nutrients as live prey – making a mixture of both necessary to ensure an ideal diet for geckos! It’s essential that mealworms contain vegetables, leafy greens and fruit for proper gut loading for optimal health – which means offering variety both ways!
Health
Cresties are opportunistic feeders in nature, eating any insects they come across including crickets, roaches, moths and mealworms. If kept as pets then you can offer live or frozen/thawed mealworms as part of their diet.
Fresh meals tend to be healthier for geckos than dried meals, due to dried mealworms not having as many essential vitamins and nutrients that live ones do, not to mention being devoid of water that aids hydration in live mealworms.
If you prefer using dried mealworms as your reptile food source, it’s advisable to gut load them with foods like oats and carrots before offering them to your reptile as this will increase their nutritional value and help prevent metabolic bone disease. Furthermore, you might want to consider supplementing their diet with dried bugs such as hoppers and waxworms for variety and added nutrients.
Breeding
Mealworms shed (or molt) multiple times throughout their lives, and feeding your leopard gecko with fresh-molted and soft mealworms makes digestion much simpler for him/her.
Mealworm breeding requires using either a large plastic container such as an empty ice cream or Tupperware box or glass aquarium with plenty of airflow holes in its lid – mealworms can suffocate easily in too hot an environment! – or an incubator. Whatever container you select, be sure there are enough vent holes so air can circulate, as mealworms may suffocate in too hot environments.
Mealworms will breed, pupate, and then turn into beetles within weeks or months, creating a healthy colony. To maintain its health, maintain regular maintenance by sorting and moving mealworms, beetles, pupae, etc. into their appropriate containers – perhaps using an organized spreadsheet system or labeling system so you are aware of each stage. You must also regularly clean out bedding to eliminate mold or debris accumulation.
