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Feeding Superworms Good Or Bad?

M

magick-bears

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We gave my daughter a Bearded Dragon this past Christmas. He quickly outgrew eating giant mealworms so we upped him to superworms. As an experiment I started to feed one or 2 supers to our Leos once a week. I was fascinated to see that some of them would attack the supers as soon as they were offered and others refused to go anywhere near them.

When the shortage on mealworms started I started to feed those that would eat the superworms exclusively. When doing this I saw a marked improvement in weight and growth. Now my question is has anyone done a long term study on the health benefits and/or complications on feeding Leos superworms exclusively over the long term? Unfortunately I can't feed them crickets during this mealworm shortage as I'm allergic to them. So if superworms are bad for them then I am going to have to give up my Leos, some of which I have had from babies and they are now over 5 years old.

Jeff C.
 
Hi Jeff. Fedding them superworms is not bad for your leos but you have to make sure that they aren't eating to many, because they usually end regurgitating. so you want to make sure that they don't eat to many at once and you will be fine.
 
I dont feel superworm or mealworm are a good primairy meal for any lizard. Crickets or roaches are alot better choice...but superworms and mealworms are a great treat for your lizards here and there.
 
I agree that supers are fine for leos. I do prefer the smaller ones, tho, as 3" is a little large for most leos. Also you need to make sure the leos are crunching the head well. They have been known to be the snack that bites back lol. I dont recall hearing of anyone using them exclusively, or as a staple, but I don't know why not. As a general rule, feeding only one item exclusively I frown upon. Variety really is best. You can further mix things up during this shortage with a couple waxworms, silkworms, roaches, etc. maybe even a pink.... I also have some that take supers quite gustily, and some who turn away from them.
 
I just recently got a leopard gecko from someone who did not want him any more. Not sure of his age, but he is big, 8"+. He is not the best hunter and seems to have a hard time with crickets. Meal worms & superworms he has no problem with. He seems to love the superworms and jump right on them. He kind of looks at the meal worms for a while, and crickets not a lot of interest & even less success on catching them. I could break the legs on the crickets to slow them down, but meal worms and super worms are easier to keep.

I've been into reptiles for over 20 years, and always bought into the whole meal worms are "evil" thing. You know the stories everyone has heard about meal worms eating it's way out of the lizzard.

Nutritionally, I also remember hearing they were not as nutritious as crickets. Something about a lot of protein, but not anything else?

I'd like to hear more comments on the subject.

I think I will try crickets sometime, but keep the superworms as a staple unless I see them undigested in his poop or he regurgitates them.
 
Super worms are good now and then, sized according to the lizard being fed.

Variety is important, mix it up with a healthy diet of all insects. :)
 
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