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The idea is precisely what I said it was – an urban legend. If you heard that, you might wonder, “ Can superworms kill my beloved pet?”
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Can Superworms Bite Through a Gecko’s Stomach?Īn urban legend says that superworms can bite through the lizard’s stomach and chew their way out to freedom. However, you can sort of neutralize all of these potential dangers – read about my experience with superworms a bit below. Also, superworms have extra-hard heads with large jaws and a defensive spike that can cause pain and, in rarer cases, damage to your leos or lead to impaction.
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Superworms have pretty thick and hard exoskeletons that can be hard to digest.A full-size superworm can be too large for a leopard gecko.Superworms are high in fat, so they’re not the best everyday food if you make superworms a staple, your leos may end up with too much weight or fatty liver disease.And for the proper use, you have to learn their downsides as feeders: the high-fat content, the large size, hard shells (exoskeletons), and strong nibbling jaws. Supwerworms are not dangerous to feed to your leos if you do it properly. Is It Dangerous to Feed Superworms to Leopard Geckos? Besides the poor calcium-to-phosphorus ratio characteristic for nearly all feeder insects, there are some specific issues with superworms. However, superworms are far from perfect.
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Superworms are great food for leos – in fact, they can be one of the regular items in your gecko’s diet. They are fairly rich in protein (17-34%) but also high in fats (35 – 43.6%).Īs for essential nutrients, researchers have found that superworms contain relatively high amounts of all essential amino acids except methionine, vitamins, and minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper. The superworms fair pretty well when it comes to the nutrient content. Here’s pretty much everything you need to know! How Nutritious Are Superworms? What about feeding superworms to leopard geckos? Recently, superworms have been studied as an alternative source of protein for cattle and humans, as well as agents of waste processing – it has been discovered that they can digest and live off plastic waste such as polystyrene (and yes, they can bite through thin plastic boxes that they’re usually bought in!). They produce large, cylindrical, brown-orange larvae we know as superworms, king worms, or morio worms.įor decades, superworms have been bred in captivity to use as a quality live food source for reptiles, birds, fish, and other animals. These beetles are native to Central and South America. Superworms are not real worms but larvae of a darkling beetle, Zoophobas morio.
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