Which is better superworms or mealworms

If you have mealworm or superworm beetles, these can also be offered to your pet as a convenient way to add variety to their diet. Do note, however, that superworm beetles emit an unpleasant-smelling pheromone when in danger, and this can make them unpalatable to some reptiles.

Most reptiles seem to highly enjoy mealworm beetles. Superworms and mealworms have very similar care requirements. If you simply want to feed them off in the near future, you can keep them in this tub short-term. Mealworms can be kept in the top shelf of your refrigerator door, but cold temperatures will kill superworms. If you plan to keep either long-term, you will need a more permanent form of housing.

The worms can be housed in a plastic tub or kritter keeper. If using a plastic tub, make sure to poke plenty of holes in the lid for ventilation.

Fill the bottom of the container with a few inches of edible substrate such as oat bran or uncooked oatmeal, and add some pieces of nutritious vegetables as a source of water and extra vitamins. Add a small lid or paper plate with food for gutloading. One difference between superworms and mealworms in terms of care is their lifespan: Mealworms generally last about weeks when they are kept properly. Nutritional Value: Superworms Approximate: Protein Mealworms lack essential nutrition, the calcium: phosphorus ratio is not ideal and the exoskeleton is hard and high in chitin.

Due to this they are hard to digest by a reptile that are not kept at an optimum basking temperate. Gut Loading: All feeders need to be gut loaded before offering to your reptile. Both larvae live right in a container of their food source: bran, cornmeal, rolled oats, breakfast flakes, or chick starter mash. Superworms are voracious eaters and will devour what ever you give them to eat.

They are mostly active at night so throw in veggies, fruit, or even bones with marrow. Mealworms are very inactive in comparison to supers and it is hard to gut load them. The problem is the more you feed them the faster they will pupate. Life Expectancy: Superworms can stay in the larvae stage for up to a year, they only turn into pupae if separated from all other larvae. Stage Time affected by temperature, humidity and food Egg days Larva 10 weeks.

Visible in days Pupae days Beetle live from 3 to 15 years Number of eggs produced to Mealworms will pupate within 12 to 50 days if not refrigerated, they do not have to be separated from the other larvae. Stage Time affected by temperature, humidity and food Egg 10 to 12 days Larva 12 to 54 days Pupae 20 days Beetle 60 to 90 days Number of eggs produced 80 to Breeding Superworms: Superworm beetles: The beetles must be kept on the same food source as the larvae and fed daily otherwise they will eat the eggs.

In addition feed them fruit, veggies and greens - no potatoes! A female lay between and eggs in her lifetime. Put egg containers inside the tub to give the beetles hiding areas and to make transferring to a different tub easy, transferring needs to be done every 2 to 3 weeks to give the eggs time to hatch.

You should see the larvae within 7 to 10 days. Superworms also have a stronger jaw for biting, and a head spike they can use to ward off predators which can give your pet a nasty surprise.

Most reptiles can learn quickly to take them by the head to avoid getting stung, or, before you put the superworms in their enclosure, you can use tweezers to give the worm a little squeeze on the head to knock them out. All in all, a mealworm will give about the same sustenance a superworm will give, with little difference. However, if your reptile is a little older and wiser, superworms can give a bit more benefit without worrying about getting bit or stung by the superworm.

Giant mealworms are a regular mealworm tenebrio molitor that has been treated with a hormone to delay pupation which allows them to grow to a larger size. Because Giants are regular mealworms this also allows them to be stored in the refrigerator and treated in the same way as large mealworms. They will sometimes pupate into beetles but due to being treated with the growth inhibitor hormone they are sterile.

Giants grow significantly plumper and slightly longer than regular mealworms making them a great choice for larger reptiles and as a bait option for pan fish.