mealworms??

[lee smith]

i was wondering if there is more than 1 type of mealworm??

the reason im asking is that i feed alot of mealworms to my Cane Toad and ive started to give 1 or 2 to my sling, but ive noticed that some of them are starting to look different to the rest. they are alot bigger and are dark and stripey.

is there much difference between these ones and the normal ones that i have??

thanks in advance

lee smith

[Larry Shone]

Are the big stripey ones what they call tigerworms or superworms?

[J M Clegg]

Im no expert on mealworms, there nasty little buggers though and will readily bite when they get that bit bigger. I got some to feed to my Chameleon and they crawled out of the feeder and ate there way into the rear of his vivarium. We had to strip it down completely to get rid of them. As I said they can bite, and to be honest I personally would'nt give them to one of my spiders. My scorpions however seem to enjoy them, They have an advantage of being able to hold the mealworm in there claws and then knock them out with their sting. I have one, which likes to carry them round like a trophy and "show" his living companions!

Most amusing!!

[Larry Shone]

I used to have a green anole and I would feed it mealworms all the time. The little lizard enjoyed them but they turn into beetles which he didnt bother with(Ts im not sure of)

[cliff]

The three types of mealworms most common as feeders in the pet trade are 1. Tenebrio Molitor, which is your regular mealworm and sold as such. 2.Tenebrio Molitor, sold as giant mealworms, these are treated with a growth hormone to retard the pupation cycle. These grow about twice as big as the regular ones and if they do pupate will most likely be sterile. Do not purchase these if you are attempting to start a colony. The third one is Zophobus Morio, sold as Superworms or King mealworms (in the US anyway) which is much larger (up to 2") and requires different care. Zophobus cannot be refrigerated and requires special attention to breed. Care must be taken when using Zophobus as a feeder, they have jaws and will use them on your animals and you. I like mealworms as an alternate food, but they have a very high fat content and it is better if you can feed crickets and or roaches also.

Hope this helps,
Cliff

[Adam Smith]

I use the "supersize" for my adult tarantulas and they snap these up as soon as get the chance though can be annoying as they borrow in seconds if not taken. ive never been bitten but I dont want to test it out, I pick them up and quickly throw them into the Ts tank. mealworms are fatty and only really be used as a treat whether be reptile or arachnid and for feeding females that are to be bred or that have been bred. Variety in ts diet is main thing but crickets are staple. Locusts are good but care that the spiny hind legs dont lacerate the spider.