# Your Never going to guess what i found, Wild Mealworms!



## Frilled13 (Mar 4, 2008)

yup, wild mealworms! Found em in a rotting log, 6 of em, caught em and put them in a mini mealwormery.


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## darkdan99 (Dec 28, 2006)

Although not technically meal worms  there are tonnes about if you look for them. They make a great suppliement to the diet of any insectavore. Remember to crush the heads though.


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## Frilled13 (Mar 4, 2008)

Not technically mealworms!?
How?


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## LFBP-NEIL (Apr 23, 2005)

They are probably "wire" worms or some other native beetle larvae so technically not "meal" worms as they are the larvae of a different type of beetle. thats what he meant.


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## -matty-b- (Dec 13, 2007)

dont spoil there thunder lol


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## pollywog (Oct 6, 2005)

They could be mealworms, they may have escaped from a neighbours bird table or been discarded by a fisherman


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## Frilled13 (Mar 4, 2008)

odd, they were identical to mealworms albeit a bit skinny.


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## Harrison (Feb 29, 2008)

Many species look almost exactly the same. Yes, they could be actual mealworms which have made a run for it but it's probably more likely they aren't. But as long as you're crushing heads then they may make a nice treat to spice things up a bit... might taste better! I don't suggest you find out yourself...


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

why crushing heads? do they bite?


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

sharpstrain said:


> why crushing heads? do they bite?


Unnecessary in my opinion. Do they get the heads crushed in the wild first too?


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## Dan (Jan 11, 2006)

sharpstrain said:


> why crushing heads? do they bite?


Because of stupid "urban herper legends"


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Frilled13 said:


> yup, wild mealworms! Found em in a rotting log, 6 of em, caught em and put them in a mini mealwormery.


 
get yourself a good insect ID book :lol2::lol2::lol2:


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## kaimarion (Dec 31, 2007)

reticulatus said:


> Because of stupid "urban herper legends"


Yep, you've got that one spot on...

Also while on the topic of mealworms , my wee BD has just past a **** load of undigested ones and its not looking nice :censor:.But so they don't go to waste I'am feeding them to some house spiders I caught.


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## Frilled13 (Mar 4, 2008)

yes they bite, not a legend, once i put a live one in, my frilled bit it, it whipped around and bit his eye and he wouldnt tough mealworms for ages.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Crownan said:


> Unnecessary in my opinion. Do they get the heads crushed in the wild first too?


That's a stupid argument. The wild and captivity are two completely different things. You can't compare them.


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## animal addict (Jun 1, 2008)

so are you supposed to crush the heads or not? I feed mini meal worms occassionally to my baby shud I be crushing their heads too?


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

animal addict said:


> so are you supposed to crush the heads or not? I feed mini meal worms occassionally to my baby shud I be crushing their heads too?


I dont see why not... takes 3 seconds lol. Not worth the risk, imo.. I've heard stories of them eating through plastic, and one of them bit my fish which ended in him dying


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## alnessman (Mar 8, 2008)

i have never crushed their heads and my reps are all fine.


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## Dan (Jan 11, 2006)

I wouldn't bother to be honest. 

The legend is that they eat their way out of the animal if not done. However, this is utter rubbish so i wouldn't worry about it


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## animal addict (Jun 1, 2008)

ok thank you - started to worry a little then lol


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

reticulatus said:


> I wouldn't bother to be honest.
> 
> The legend is that they eat their way out of the animal if not done. However, this is utter rubbish so i wouldn't worry about it


aye, that's rubbish, the stomach acid would kill them, no?

I feed my geckos mealworms on tweezers, so i just smoosh their heads with them... i suppose of you're feeding loads then its no worry.

What id be worried about is the mealworms biting the reps on the outside. Like my wittle fooshie.


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## feedersinc (Jun 4, 2008)

I thought the myth was that superworms could chew through the stomach not the mealworm. either way its a myth, i have asked for proof and no one has yet shown me some!


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## Frilled13 (Mar 4, 2008)

no proof true, but smaller mealworms have a comparitivley thicker shell, i dont take the risk and mealworms bite on the outside too!


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## rakpeterson (Oct 10, 2007)

what i have heard is that heads should be crushed if the mealworms are left in and not contained, apparently they can nibble away at the flesh of the lizard.


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## rakpeterson (Oct 10, 2007)

..googled it up and i think im thinking of crickets which will apparently bite. all i could find on the net is people worried about it eating its way out which is not true.


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

I must have fed tens of thousands of mealworms without crushed heads over the years and never seen them bite anything. Most beetle larvae are vegitarian. Definate urban myth. Crickets eat anything though but if you watch a leo eat one you'll notice it's incapacitated long before it reaches the stomach! It's putting too many crickets in a cage with nothing for them to eat that's the problem imo.


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