Mealworms are no good!!!

[Craigwyatt]

I decided to post this in hopes of people seeing it that have no idea about mealworms. I'm always reading "I feed my chameleon crickets, mealworms ect." I try to correct people as often I as I can and I see plenty of others doing the same. So I think it's important that more people are aware.
I'm not a scientist so I can't go into to much detail. But I believe the worst thing about them in there hard to digest exoskeleton. They can cause impaction which can lead to death.
A really good substitute is superworms.
If there are others more knowledgeable about this topic please chime in. I think this is worth talking about.

 

[ChamDE86]

I've always been under the impression that they are only bad if fed frequently. I'm no expert by any means, but if mealworms are offered as a treat every once in a while or mixed in with a good variety of other soft bodied feeders, then the risk of impaction should be fairly low?

 

[nick barta]

I would agree that in moderation mealworms are acceptable. One of the issues is a baby chameleon will become impacted faster as the digestive system is smaller, and most new keepers feed them. I am culturing a softer bodied, small mealworm for baby chameleons, I just haven't advertised it yet. Baby super worms are also a good soft-bodied small feeder too.

CHEERS!

Nick

 

[Craigwyatt]

Your prob right if fed every once in a while mixed in with other feeders likely there will be no problems. But I've been heard over and over and over again that they are the worst feeder on the market available. With so many other feeders available I personal won't take the risk. And with them also being one of the cheapest feeders I could imagine people people that don't know any better buy them a 1000 at a time and fill there chameleons up with them.
To Nick id like to hear more about your softer body mealworms.

 

[ChamDE86]

I would agree that in moderation mealworms are acceptable. One of the issues is a baby chameleon will become impacted faster as the digestive system is smaller, and most new keepers feed them. I am culturing a softer bodied, small mealworm for baby chameleons, I just haven't advertised it yet. Baby super worms are also a good soft-bodied small feeder too.

CHEERS!

Nick

You are on the money with that statement, Nick. Almost every time a new member fills out the help form on here, crickets and mealworms are listed as the main feeders. My guess is most pet stores are typically limited and usually carry crickets and mealworms. Are you still offering baby superworms? I believe I purchased 500 from you about a year ago, and still have a good amount of them left. I've been slowly feeding them to keep them from growing too quickly.

Your prob right if fed every once in a while mixed in with other feeders likely there will be no problems. But I've been heard over and over and over again that they are the worst feeder on the market available. With so many other feeders available I personal won't take the risk. And with them also being one of the cheapest feeders I could imagine people people that don't know any better buy them a 1000 at a time and fill there chameleons up with them.
To Nick id like to hear more about your softer body mealworms.

I agree that most new keepers will not dish out the funds to buy via internet. It's just more convenient to go to the local pet store. Unfortunately, most pet stores are limited and only carry crickets and mealworms. My guy is pretty spoiled. He gets crickets, phoenix worms, superworms, silkworms, hornworms, and has a huge tub of dubia roaches (which he doesn't touch )

 

[Craigwyatt]

You know you just pointed out something so obvious that I never thought of. Pet shops carry crickets and mealworms. This has to be the main reason why people are feeding them to there chameleons. And I'm sure if you ask any petshop they will tell you they are safe. Petshops are normally the worst place to get information on any reptile let alone a chameleon. Most of them that carry chameleons always house them in glass cages. That should be the first red flag that they don't know there own butt from a hole in the ground.
If more people would get more comfortable buying there feeders online the health of there animals would go way up. Most online feeder places charge a fraction of what a petshop charges. Ill use an example if you go to the petshop and buy 500 crickets it's gonna cost around $65. But if you go to an online source you can get 1000 for $13 plus shipping ($35ish). And the same places that carry crickets normally carry many other great feeders that pet shops don't carry.
I started this thread to help make awareness. If this helps just a few people I've done the job I set out to do.

 

[nick barta]

Your prob right if fed every once in a while mixed in with other feeders likely there will be no problems. But I've been heard over and over and over again that they are the worst feeder on the market available. With so many other feeders available I personal won't take the risk. And with them also being one of the cheapest feeders I could imagine people people that don't know any better buy them a 1000 at a time and fill there chameleons up with them.
To Nick id like to hear more about your softer body mealworms.

Email me at [email protected], and i will send you a care sheet.

CHEERS!