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"Jumbo" mealworms...worms on steroids?

Silk or wax worms are high in fat and seem to appeal to leos. I'd try them if you can get them. I wouldn't try a small pinkie until you've tried the worms though.
 
Your leo may just be shy. I know people will tell you that crickets will eat your children during the night, but try putting one cricket in there and leave it till tomorrow.
 
Actually out of all the commonly used feeder insects, Silkworms are the lowest in fat and they highest in Calcium and Protein. If you buy them as eggs and raise them they can be quite cheap. Size wise the can grow huge for your dragons or feed them off when they are smaller for you Leos.

Here is a site that sells them, I don't know anything about this site, it is just one I found quickly.

Silkworms
 
Yeah, it's totally fine to leave a couple crickets in with most reptiles. Silks are great, but highly "perishable". You can get food for them though. If you can get a couple from a local store to try and they like them, then you can order them online too, along with their food. There's also hornworms, which again, need a special food. They get quite large, but you can get small ones too.
 
Silkworms and butter worms are the best. They make a silkworm meal now and it's very easy to use. I get mine premade and all I have to do it put a slice in the container with the silkworms. That's it. My butter worms are kept in the fridge so I don't have to feed them and they can survive for months like that. But they can live on the same bran flake diet you would feed meal and superworms. I will be getting Dubia roaches in about a week and starting my own colony as well as hissing roaches. I am sick and tired of all the nasty cricket smell. Lizards are much better off eating dubia roaches, silkworms and butter worms. Silkworms can be expensive though and if you don't take care to wash your hands carefully you can kill the entire colony from the germs we carry. You still need to dust them with calcium D-3 powder a couple times a week. When I get my colony of dubia started I'm sure I'll be selling some some times. ;)
 
LBoz said:
LOL! I have the crickets and the mini-mealies...yeah, they're a bit gross, but very convenient. I used to have tons of various worm cultures growing all over the house for my fish. It's nice not to have to deal with live anymore.

You know..I just bought a new can of crickets. I didn't even think to check the expiration date. :awcrap:
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I've used the canned grasshoppers for my dragon as an occasional treat, he LOVES them!

Sweetseraph said:
There's also hornworms, which again, need a special food. They get quite large, but you can get small ones too.
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My dragon loves hornworms, once he decided they were food. For the first day or so after I gave him one, he had a nice bright blue pet. Unfortunately, they are difficult to find around here, so he generally get supers and the occasional waxworm (plus all his greens, of course).
 
Is dusting the insects really necessary? The same breeder said just to have a container with Calcium D3 powder in it and the gecko would take what she needed. I know she does too because I find little powder footprints everywhere and usually there is some on her nose.
 
pridecity said:
Is dusting the insects really necessary? The same breeder said just to have a container with Calcium D3 powder in it and the gecko would take what she needed. I know she does too because I find little powder footprints everywhere and usually there is some on her nose.
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What kind of gecko do you have?
 
i dust all the feeder insects, as well as leave out a dish of calcium powder. and yes, i have seen them go in there and lick up some calcium. i have leopard geckos.
 
I have never raised leopard geckos but putting a bowl of calcium would never fly for chameleons. If you dust your insects then you know everyone is getting some. If you put a bowl out all you know is someone walked through it.
 
Nutritionally, how do the canned foods compare to the live? Do you still have to dust the canned crickets/worms? And how long to the cans last once you open them? are they the kind of thing you use all at once or do you use a few at a time and keep it in the fridge?
Just curious. :)
 
Rosie, I don't know about the nutrition aspect, but yes, you can use a few and keep them in the fridge. I opened mine a month ago and they're still fresh in the can. However, mine go to a hedgehog, not a lizard, so nutrition may be a be a different concern.
 
LBoz said:
Rosie, I don't know about the nutrition aspect, but yes, you can use a few and keep them in the fridge. I opened mine a month ago and they're still fresh in the can. However, mine go to a hedgehog, not a lizard, so nutrition may be a be a different concern.
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Thanks Lori. guess I should fire up the 'ole google search. :D
I'm concidering a crestie. I love them. I HATE CRICKETS. At least alive ones. I know they cant hurt me...they just hit that special 'willies' button. Earwigs do that too. I'm going to put some thought into silkworms too... worms/caterpilers/etc dont 'bug' me at all! hah...i love a good pun.
 
Oh, and to get over your fear of crickets....get a job in a pet store! LOL

Crickets and grasshoppers were my worst fear, but I got over the cricket one pretty quickly. I'm still not fond of grasshoppers. :)
 
My wife is not afraid of crickets but she is for sure repulsed by them. It is a real issue with her. When I was raising chameleons, no matter how careful I may be, I had escaped crickets. After a year or so she stopped being mad at me every time she saw a cricket but even still every once in a while we move a piece of furniture that hasn't been moved for a long time, when you find a couple thousand dead crickets under there she gets a little pissy.
 
Just a note on something said earlier: If you plan on leaving crickets in the cage, provide food for the crickets. I didn't know better as a young teen and the crickets ate a large portion of my male anole. -_- Worst part was he was still alive even with a couple crickets running around inside him. *shudders*
 
bekers71, I have a leo gecko. Her breeder said they needed a UVB light, to never put her on sand, feed crickets as a treat for "hunting instinct", and that I didn't have to dust her food because she would get the calcium she needed from the little bowl. Based on some books I've read, most of this is inaccurate. I just wonder how good of a breeder she really is if she's giving out wrong information.
 
pridecity said:
bekers71, I have a leo gecko. Her breeder said they needed a UVB light, to never put her on sand, feed crickets as a treat for "hunting instinct", and that I didn't have to dust her food because she would get the calcium she needed from the little bowl. Based on some books I've read, most of this is inaccurate. I just wonder how good of a breeder she really is if she's giving out wrong information.
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I really can't be the judge of some one else I don't know. There for I can't say they are a good or bad breeder. What I do know is what I've read and researched for my self. One thing was to not keep them on sand for fear of ingesting it causing impaction and possible death. Leos, cresteds and gargoyles do not require UVB or UVA lighting. Insects should dusted with calcium and gut-loaded prior to feeding. I personally would not put a bowl of calcium in the cage because you can't be sure if they ate it or walked in it. I feel better knowing they got it, not guessing. I only offer insects to my cresteds and gargoyles once a week. They get all the nutrients they need from the CGD they eat daily. So crickets are a treat here. This is how I do things and it works very well for me. How others do it may be totally different. :)
 
I'm about 89% sure that she eats from the calcium bowl. I've seen her in it. I've also seen her trying to horse-roll in it, but she's about six inches too big to do that. She usually has some on her nose, and I don't think her nose is long enough to trip over it. I think I give up trying to feed her until I move her to the 20 gallon long. That should be today, tomorrow, or the next day depending on if I get the bedroom re-arranged.

Would you say try mealworms or crickets? I'll dust them and see if that makes a difference. Also, please excuse my ignorance, but what is CGD?
 
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