The petco around here sells waxworms, superworms, and mealworms along with crickets. I'd rather stay away from mealies and waxies, so can I add superworms to my leos diet for variety? I know nothing about them, so can you guys link some good caresheets to me? Also, about when do they turn into beetles? Can you tell when they're about to?
Super worms are fine to add to your leo's diet as long as the worms are appropriately sized. They are very easy to care for. I highly recommend the super worm bedding at http://www.cricketfood.com You put the super worms in the bedding, put a few pieces of egg crates on top of the bedding, put carrots or lettuce on top of the egg crates for moisture and voila! Super worms need to be seperated to breed. You can seperate them in 35 mm film canisters, baby food jars, tackle boxes, pretty much anything to breed them. http://www.cricketfood.com/superworms.php has a good care sheet.
Yeppers. They don't turn into beetles until the above stage has been completed. If you never want them to turn into beetles, don't ever separate them . Also you need to provide good sources of moisture. The bedding (from my experience) isn't enough - they need moisture too. If they do not have moisture, they will cannibalize eachother. I personally use chunky cat food from a can (one can lasts me a week, that's about $0.30/week), and this promotes growth pretty quick, though. In your case since you want them a bit smaller for your leos, you might want to use a fruit (apple, orange) for moisture instead of cat food. Less protein = less rapid growth.
How long will super slive for without pupating? I am still a bit nervy about giving supers to my leo, she is 8.5" long but I still dont think she could take them (them being about 2"-3" long)? There is nowhere online I can order smaller sizes in the UK
If you keep them with other supers, never. They need to be taken out of the colony and all on their own before a worm will pupate. So as long as you keep a bunch in the container at all times, you'll always have worms. If she's 8.5", she can probably take down supers okay. The worms can be a little longer than the length of her head, so it's probably about right. See if you can get a small amount to start with and give it a try.
Ok thanks By the how long will they live I meant if they never pupate will they live forever?? lol I know it sounds stupid but I really dont know, I would think they'd eventually die??
Eventually, sure. But I've had some live for at least 6 months, if not a year. And they were poorly kept that entire time, too. My leo at the time wouldn't touch them, so I decided to see how long they'd live if I just let them sit unattended. They never died on their own, so I still don't know.
Supers will eventually pupate on their own given enough time (several months) and certain conditions. If they have a small space to curl up in, like on top of an egg flat, they will eventually decide to do so. Generally they need the stress of a tight space, no food etc to know it's time but they can do it when kept together, just not as many and not as often.
I got the supers, and they're really active. That's a good thing, right? Anyway, I fed my leo two supers and she took them fine. Thank god they won't turn into beetles soon. How many would be alright to give my leo? I was think ing maybe one super along with her crickets.
That's one of the advantages with supers is that they are more active than mealies, definitely a good thing. Just feed her as many as she will eat. You can feed her all supers or mix it up, either way works just fine. If you decide that you want to breed your own then just separate them out with no food or water when they reach 2.5-3 inches in length. This stimulates them into pupating and you'll have your own supply of just the right size in no time. But otherwise you're in no immediate danger of them pupating. The ones I wasn't trying to pupate took at least 4 months at their adult size to finally do it on their own and that was just a very small amount that did it.
One more question... Can superworms bite? The pet store employee said they could, and I've read it somewhere before, but I wasn't sure if it was true.
Re: RE: Superworm questions! That's why tweezers were invented They can and do bite, but it's not too bad really, just a little pinch. But I hate them, they are wiggly and bite, so I use my trusty tweezers!!!
RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! THEY CAN BITE!!?! Oh my god! I'm sooo glad I have tweezers! I would never hear the end of it if I tell my friends I got bit by a worm. :roll: Thanks for all the info guys!
RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! I've never been bitten by a super in the year or so I've been using them. And I've tried to get a couple to bite me to see what it was like. The only thing I've felt is just their little legs trying to get a grip so they can get away. But other people talk about it, so maybe I'll just lucky. Maybe the worms realize it'd be a bad idea to bite me
RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! I've seen them try bite me but my skin seems to be too tough to get a good grip although there powerful grip often feels like a bite, however they can and I have seen them bite my leo! they can easily grab onto your leo's soft belly so I hand feed them now, it was funny watching her trying to get at the super that was attatched onto her stomach though! Nearly did a forward role lol!
RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! I'm sure they'll be able to bite ME! I have thin skin after all. I'm not gonna risk it. Can superworms eat celery? We don't have any potatoes or carrots right now, so I put in a small piece of celery.
RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! Celery would be great, as it's pretty much just water. Not to drag this WAY off topic, but something your signature just clicked with me. What's the point of having a dream if you're not going to chase it? And what's the point of living if you don't have any dreams? Everyone should have at least 1 dream that they're chasing. Gives you a reason to get up in the morning, to do the things you do. A reason for working hard every day and making yourself a better person. They're nothing like rainbows. Rainbows are just light refracting in water vapor. Dreams are what seperate us from animals.
RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! Hehe, sorry about that. I'll get rid of it. Can supers be a staple for a leo? They're just SO much easier to care for than crickets.
Re: RE: Re: RE: Superworm questions! Properly gutloaded supers make a great staple and are thought to be better than mealies.
