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I have heard that you should chop mealie's heads off. Should I do this with waxworms too?
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Not waxworms. You only do that when it's an amphibian eating a super/mealie. Supers are very active and maybe that's why they can sometimes chew through the stomach of amphibians.
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mississippiensisman (1/29/2009)
I have heard that you should chop mealie's heads off. Should I do this with waxworms too? Needing to chop the heads off is a myth - mealies/supers etc are killed by water, let alone stomach acid - and killed very quickly, they will not eat through your herps stomach. This myth is a result of herps dying for other causes, then mealies, supers, crickets etc oppurtunistically eating the carcass (starting with the softest parts - stomach and eyes) and the owners then see a dead animal with worms crawling out of the eyes/stomach etc - and assumed that they had eaten their way out, when in reality, they ate their way in.
-Mim, Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT). ______________________________________________ 1.1 Bearded Dragons, 2.2 Leopard Geckos, 1.0 Mali Uromastyx, 0.0.2 Flying Geckos, 0.0.1 Crested Gecko, 1.3 Green Anoles, 2.2 Cornsnakes, 1.0 Rosy Boa, 1.0 Bairds Ratsnake, 0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake, 0.1 Red eye tree frog. 0.1 Bullmastiff. 1.1 DSH cats
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Yeah, but if that's the case, then where did the supers come from?
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What do you mean where did the supers come from?
-Mim, Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT).______________________________________________ 1.1 Bearded Dragons, 2.2 Leopard Geckos, 1.0 Mali Uromastyx, 0.0.2 Flying Geckos, 0.0.1 Crested Gecko, 1.3 Green Anoles, 2.2 Cornsnakes, 1.0 Rosy Boa, 1.0 Bairds Ratsnake, 0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake, 0.1 Red eye tree frog. 0.1 Bullmastiff. 1.1 DSH cats
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| So an amphibian eats a few supers and then the next day the amphibian is dead with a hole in its stomach and there's a superworm crawling around, and you mean to tell me it ate its way IN, not OUT? Superworms eating out of the stomach isn't just a myth. It's rare, but definitely not a myth. Amphibians are the only ones that it happens to because of their semipermeable skin and the fact how they swallow food whole. Reptiles, it's impossible.
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| I've never personally fed supers to amphibians, so i've never seen it. However, i've tested supers by dropping them in water - they die pretty quickly - even when they are whole. Therefore i suspect that even if eaten whole, the stomach acid would kill them in a short amount of time...it has nothing to do with the skin, and everything to do with the stomach acid. Most insects cannot survive for more than a moment or so in PH levels of less than 4, let alone the common stomach acid PH of 1.5-2.5. Usually in these cases the worms that are found eating the animal are worms that were left in the terriarium uneaten, and they came to eat the deceased animal. I've never heard of a proven case of a superworm eating out of the stomach of a reptile or an amphibian. I'm not going to go so far as to say that its impossible with amphibians, just since i havent seen it - but i find it highly unlikely, due to the fact that the amphibians have stomach acid as well as reptiles.
-Mim, Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT). ______________________________________________ 1.1 Bearded Dragons, 2.2 Leopard Geckos, 1.0 Mali Uromastyx, 0.0.2 Flying Geckos, 0.0.1 Crested Gecko, 1.3 Green Anoles, 2.2 Cornsnakes, 1.0 Rosy Boa, 1.0 Bairds Ratsnake, 0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake, 0.1 Red eye tree frog. 0.1 Bullmastiff. 1.1 DSH cats
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| I will agree that it is possible for mealworms to chew through stomachs. Ive seen it happen to a few Cane toads.
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Sethrocksandherpsdotoo (2/2/2009)
So an amphibian eats a few supers and then the next day the amphibian is dead with a hole in its stomach and there's a superworm crawling around, and you mean to tell me it ate its way IN, not OUT?Superworms eating out of the stomach isn't just a myth. It's rare, but definitely not a myth. Amphibians are the only ones that it happens to because of their semipermeable skin and the fact how they swallow food whole. Reptiles, it's impossible. I hated this kid im so glad he left.
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