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| Hey! So I have a leopard gecko that I feed both crickets and mealworms. I gut-load the crickets, but I usually just keep the mealworms in the refrigerator. I am thinking about gut-loading them so they will have a better nutritional value. Any advice? What should I keep them in and do they need a substrate? Any help is appreciated!
-------------------------------------- 1.0 Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)- Zeus My first reptile! "In the end, we will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught. Conservation through education."--- Baba Dioum
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 11/16/2009 6:26:00 AM
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| Mealworms don't eat in the fridge, so they need to be at room temp to be gut-loaded. The bedding they are sold in is wheat middlings, and they will eat it. I always remove them from the wheat and replace it with a mix of Flukers cricket food, cornmeal, and oats to add to their nutritional value. You could also just mix these items into their wheat bedding. For water, I use Flukers gel water and veggie pieces. Hope that helps!
1 albino reverse stripe leopard gecko Yoshi 1 silver miniature poodle Midnight
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Starting Member
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Last Login: Today @ 12:07:20 PM
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| Ok. I don't get my mealies in a substrate. But I do have cricket food made by T-rex. For crickets, I usually just put the food in a water bottle cap or something. What should I put it in for the mealies? And are bananas and veggies good enough for the mealies? Can I keep them in something like a cool whip bowl or tupperware container? Thanks!
-------------------------------------- 1.0 Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)- Zeus My first reptile! "In the end, we will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught. Conservation through education."--- Baba Dioum
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 11/16/2009 6:26:00 AM
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The mealworms need to have bedding, and cricket food will be an excellent type. They will eat their bedding. You can use a cool whip tub or something to put them in. The mealworms need about 1 inch of bedding, more if you have hundreds of them. If the cricket food is expensive, add other food items to the bedding instead of just cricket food. Bananas and veggies are excellent sources of water and vitamins.
1 albino reverse stripe leopard gecko Yoshi 1 silver miniature poodle Midnight
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Starting Member
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Last Login: Today @ 12:07:20 PM
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| Ok, great. Just one more thing. will the mealworms be able to climb up on the fruit and eat it? Or should I take the a little section off of the banana and cut the skin off? Also, what else would be good to use as a bedding? Can I just place the fruit and veggies on top of the bedding? And, should I poke little holes in the coll whip container? I only get 50 at a time, so will the container I got Zeus in work for keeping them?
-------------------------------------- 1.0 Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)- Zeus My first reptile! "In the end, we will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught. Conservation through education."--- Baba Dioum
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 11/16/2009 6:26:00 AM
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| Yes, the mealworms can climb on top of the fruit, although they seem to go at it from the bottom first. I always partially bury the food in the bedding, but it will be fine on top. You can use cornmeal and oats mixed together. Both are cheap and last a long time. For added nutrition it would be good to add some cricket food to the mix. I forgot to say that I sometimes mix in a little fish food flakes. The container you got Zeus in will work very well for fifty mealworms. If you are going to put a lid on the container then be sure to poke air holes in the lid.
1 albino reverse stripe leopard gecko Yoshi 1 silver miniature poodle Midnight
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Starting Member
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Last Login: Today @ 12:07:20 PM
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Ok, great! Thank you for all of the help! I really appreciate it!
--------------------------------------1.0 Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)- Zeus My first reptile! "In the end, we will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught. Conservation through education."--- Baba Dioum
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/16/2009 6:26:00 AM
Posts: 138,
Visits: 176
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No problem!
1 albino reverse stripe leopard gecko Yoshi 1 silver miniature poodle Midnight
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