superworms question
- Thread starter Jeremy l
- Start date
Justin Carl
Avid Member
Superworms(Zophobas morio) are excellent feeders.
They are very easily gutloaded, and are used as a staple at my house.
They are a much better choice then a mealworm.
They are very easily gutloaded, and are used as a staple at my house.
They are a much better choice then a mealworm.
luckykarma
New Member
what do you use to gut load them?
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Anything and everything!
They'll eat it all.
Same gut load I offer the crickets and roaches works great!
-Brad
They'll eat it all.
Same gut load I offer the crickets and roaches works great!
-Brad
luckykarma
New Member
Still confused on gut loading. They come in that meal. Do you separate some and put them in a container with gut load? Or do you replace all the meal with a gut load or do you mix?
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
luckykarma
New Member
I'm no expert so I can only reply what I observe. They munch on these guys so they're definitely dead by the time the swallow.
I hate these worms and worry about them biting the chams as they bite me all the time. Everyone I talked to said the same thing I see when they eat them.
I hate these worms and worry about them biting the chams as they bite me all the time. Everyone I talked to said the same thing I see when they eat them.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I keep my superworms in a tub of oats (dry oatmeal) to which I add vegetable peelings (sweet potato, squash, carrots) and greens (romaine, collards, kale)
Be sure to change out the vegetable matter fairly often so you don't get mold.
Throw away the stuff they come in.
-Brad
AndrewH
New Member
They are not that ferocious, they squirm alot.
If you have an older juvenile / adult he will scarf em down. Just dont be feeding them to babies, They will probably puke them back up anyways.
luckykarma
New Member
Thanks Brad! I'll go get some oatmeal. I understand changing the peelings. How long do you leave the oatmeal before changing it?
luckykarma
New Member
Andrew. Mellers? Get him at the show? I'm right next door to you in Santa Monica.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Indefinitely, unless it gets really wet and I'm afraid it's going to mold.
It has a pretty long shelf life.
-Brad
Tygerr
Avid Member
Firstly, the meal that the superworms arrive in is not a nutritious gutload. You should be feeding them much better quality food than that before feeding them off to your chams. I get rid of the 'packing' meal completely.
Then as for separating them for gutloading, that generally depends on what you are using to gutload them with.
For superworms, as Brad already mentioned, I'm generally gutloading the worms all the time, because I am only using veggies and greens in addition to their bedding mix. So there is no need to separate any worms for gutloading.
But if you are using a more expensive commercial gutload mix (or even a homemade one that has expensive ingredients) - like what I would use for my crickets and roaches - then it is probably more economical to separate out the ones that are about to be fed about a day or two before and feed them the gutload, whilst keeping the rest of the population fed on a cheaper (but nevertheless healthy) source of nutrition (Some keepers call that the 'last supper'
).If you are only keeping small batches of feeders (not massive breeding populations) though, or you find that you can afford to feed them gutload quality nutrients all the time, then feel free to do so. They will be 'ready-gutloaded' at all times, just like the superworms.
Tygerr
Avid Member
Just a precaution: Superworms are great feeders, and can even be used as staple feeders, but like any feeder, it is not wise to switch to them exclusively. They contain double the calories per gram that crickets do, and 67% of those calories come from fat. A cham fed exclusively on superworms is probably more prone to fat/obesity related problems than chams that get more crickets/grasshoppers/silkworms (far leaner sources of protein).
luckykarma
New Member
Thanks for all the great info. My Panther whom I've been nursing back to health for months will only eat Supers now which has me worried for the reasons you mentioned.
I only keep 25-50 supers at a time. I have gutload from crickets.com which has a short lifespan of a couple months according to the owner. Would I say mix 50/50 oatmeal with this gutload? Is it still a good idea to add the veggies mentioned?
Or would last supper be the best say all gutload and veggies?
Will whole grain oatmeal work? I have a bag of it that I don't use. Or does it have to be milled oatmeal?
I only keep 25-50 supers at a time. I have gutload from crickets.com which has a short lifespan of a couple months according to the owner. Would I say mix 50/50 oatmeal with this gutload? Is it still a good idea to add the veggies mentioned?
Or would last supper be the best say all gutload and veggies?
Will whole grain oatmeal work? I have a bag of it that I don't use. Or does it have to be milled oatmeal?
Last edited:
wendysjungle
New Member
Just a heads-up on an experience I had today. I stopped at Petco to pick up parrot food, and asked if they had any superworms (they carry them off and on). The girl said yes and brought me a container, which I saw was labeled "Super Meal Worms." I told her this was wrong, I wanted superworms, and she initially tried to tell me they were the same thing (!!!), and finally consulted her computer and found out they were not. When I finally got the correct worms, they were in the same size and same color container exactly, but labeled "Superworms" instead of "Super Meal Worms." Gotta watch those Petco guys!
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
And just for clarification...
Super or King Mealworms are hormone grown mealworms (bad)
Superworms are zophoba morio worms (good)
-Brad
Super or King Mealworms are hormone grown mealworms (bad)
Superworms are zophoba morio worms (good)
-Brad
