Super Worm Beetles question?

[ReptiGeek]

I have in between 25-50 superworm beetles (I have no clue what these beetles are called) and I was wondering if they could be fed to my reptiles? I was picking out the ones that died this morning and I noticed my bearded dragon was smack up against her glass trying to get at them. I was all like "Dude, they're dead though." But she wasn't having any of that and kept scratching away at the glass trying to get at them. So I decided to twirl one of the dead ones in front of her and see if she'd go for it. Sure enough she chowed the thing down. I didn't feed her anymore because I was concerned they may not be very nutritious. So what do you guys say? If they're freshly dead could I feed them to my beardy since she apparently gobbles anything up? And what about the live ones since I have an excess amount of beetles and don't need them all for laying eggs, can I feed those to the chams?

 

[carol5208]

yes my chams eat them and they have not gotten ill from them. I do not know their nutritional value though.

 

[ReptileLove18]

they are called zophobas beetles i dont know their nutritional value either, i looked on sandras blog for feeders and they didnt have their own category, they were in the same one with the super worms so we may be able to assume they have about the same nutrional value as super worms. i also looked on this site that has a breakdown of nutrional value of various insects and they just had zophobas all together not beetles and super worms seperately, so they are probably about the same nutritionally! the site is worth a look at so ill post the link http://chamownersweb.net/insects/nutritional_values.htm

 

[Jon114]

I'd just limit them to treats for behavioral purposes. The beetles don't eat much and have lots of chitin, especially superworm beetles, so I doubt they'd be nutritious.

If you you've ever crushed one and smelled it, it's TERRIBLE. Reptiles don't seem to mind, though.

 

[ReptiGeek]

yes my chams eat them and they have not gotten ill from them. I do not know their nutritional value though.

Thanks for the input! Much obliged.

they are called zophobas beetles i dont know their nutritional value either, i looked on sandras blog for feeders and they didnt have their own category, they were in the same one with the super worms so we may be able to assume they have about the same nutrional value as super worms. i also looked on this site that has a breakdown of nutrional value of various insects and they just had zophobas all together not beetles and super worms seperately, so they are probably about the same nutritionally! the site is worth a look at so ill post the link http://chamownersweb.net/insects/nutritional_values.htm

Perfect! Thank you RL. I should have thought of checking out Sandra's blog first.

I'd just limit them to treats for behavioral purposes. The beetles don't eat much and have lots of chitin, especially superworm beetles, so I doubt they'd be nutritious.

If you you've ever crushed one and smelled it, it's TERRIBLE. Reptiles don't seem to mind, though.

I'll take your word for it Ya my beardy gobbles them up so maybe I'll just stick to her.

 

[patrickfraser]

I feed the fully hardened beetles occasionally. You definitely know when one gets nabbed. CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. I was also thinking that a little "roughage" in a chams diet might be beneficial. Definitely not a staple, but the newly hatched beetles are soft and I feel are pretty good for the chams anytime. I give the deformed beetles when they are still super soft. It actually takes a few days to fully harden up and turn from white to black. The orangey-red ones after hatching are still soft too.

 

[tony19]

I would say there ok to feed. I have about 150 meal worm beetles and working on the supers got a few in pupa. Got about 350 more to go. I don't really breed them for my lizards more for fishing but if i have deformed ones or just feel like feeding them i give them to my Cham or my friends basilisk no use wasting em

 

[YoShii]

whats the difference between the super worms and meal worms?

 

[ReptileLove18]

superworms are larger, have more fat, are more easily gutloaded, more active, stay in the larva stage for longer.

meal worms are smaller, have a little less fat but still quite a lot compared to other feeders, harder to gutload, less active so they may not be as interesting to your chameleons, have more chitin which makes them harder to digest.

neither are good for staple feeders because of the high fat content and both are be hard to digest because they are high chitin. they are good for treats

this is what i understand of the differences between them!!

 

[Jon114]

superworms are larger, have more fat, are more easily gutloaded, more active, stay in the larva stage for longer.

meal worms are smaller, have a little less fat but still quite a lot compared to other feeders, harder to gutload, less active so they may not be as interesting to your chameleons, have more chitin which makes them harder to digest.

neither are good for staple feeders because of the high fat content and both are be hard to digest because they are high chitin. they are good for treats

this is what i understand of the differences between them!!

Mealworms are hard to gutload? In my experience it's the other way around! My superworms are actually rather picky eaters when it comes to veggies/fruit. My mealworms on the otherhand eat ANYTHING. Maybe that's because I have a small amount of superworms and over 10,000 mealworms?

 

[YoShii]

Super worms would be better to feed them? My cham eats the meal worms everyday so I was wondering which would be better? I also have crickets that I feed him everyday which is a more common staple food but he likes the worms better. should I decrease the amount worms in feeding him(which is only like 1 or 2 a day)

 

[tony19]

Super worms would be better to feed them? My cham eats the meal worms everyday so I was wondering which would be better? I also have crickets that I feed him everyday which is a more common staple food but he likes the worms better. should I decrease the amount worms in feeding him(which is only like 1 or 2 a day)

I would say that super worms would be better because you can gutload them better. And there bigger. They also have more fat and chitin in them witch make them worse. But I still think super worms are better because you can put more good stuff in em. And I would say feed the meal worms as a treat like 2-3 times a week or less caus there so full of fat and lots or chitin

 

[ReptileLove18]

Mealworms are hard to gutload? In my experience it's the other way around! My superworms are actually rather picky eaters when it comes to veggies/fruit. My mealworms on the otherhand eat ANYTHING. Maybe that's because I have a small amount of superworms and over 10,000 mealworms?

according to sandrachameleons blog and other sources supers are easier to gutload. it may be because of the numbers you have! could be anything it could depend on what you are gutloading them with as well.

Super worms would be better to feed them? My cham eats the meal worms everyday so I was wondering which would be better? I also have crickets that I feed him everyday which is a more common staple food but he likes the worms better. should I decrease the amount worms in feeding him(which is only like 1 or 2 a day)

in my opinion, super worms are better. they do contain more fat, but less chitin and they can be gutloaded better so you can get more nutrition into them. however since both meal worms and super worms are so fatty and hard to digest they should only be used as treats, a couple a week. i would definitely cut down on the meal worms you are feeding him. crickets are a good staple food, so are roaches. there are more nutritious worms you could feed him more often also! sandras blog has great ideas for feeders and says how much they can make up of a chams diet and be healthy, heres the link for it https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

 

[tony19]

according to sandrachameleons blog and other sources supers are easier to gutload. it may be because of the numbers you have! could be anything it could depend on what you are gutloading them with as well.


in my opinion, super worms are better. they do contain more fat, but less chitin and they can be gutloaded better so you can get more nutrition into them. however since both meal worms and super worms are so fatty and hard to digest they should only be used as treats, a couple a week. i would definitely cut down on the meal worms you are feeding him. crickets are a good staple food, so are roaches. there are more nutritious worms you could feed him more often also! sandras blog has great ideas for feeders and says how much they can make up of a chams diet and be healthy, heres the link for it https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

Ya i agree supers are easier to gutload. The only problem is that there both not got for your Cham as a staple. There good as a treat like reptilelove18 said. But mealies are smaller with less fat then supers. I prosonaly don't think there's much of a difference and I feed both as a treat. Hope all this good info helps some good stuff has been said on this forum. And I love Sandra chameleons blogs there so full of good info