# Superworms: good or bad?



## drymantini (Nov 22, 2013)

Hello all. Due to a series of unfortunate events (flies dying, others taking too long to hatch) my mantids have gone a few days without food. So I just bought small Timberline Superworms from Petco (http://www.timberlinefisheries.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1830). Are these OK to feed my mantids? I have 2 ghosts and 1 giant rainforest. I've heard horror stories about these things. Thanks.


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## GhostYeahX (Nov 22, 2013)

if it is just for few days, its fine.

superworms are hard to digest.


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## Sticky (Nov 23, 2013)

For the ghost, cut the head off. How big is the Rainforest? The shell will be too hard for the ghost to bite through so it might be a good idea to cut the worm into peices so it can eat the insides out easier.


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## Extrememantid (Nov 23, 2013)

Id try mealworms before super worms.. Not as hard of a shell


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## PlayingMantis (Nov 23, 2013)

Yeah, perhaps you could take the worms, cut off the head, squeeze out the goo, and hold the goo near the mantis' mouth? I haven't fed anything other than flies or fruit flies to my ghosts, but they do like eating honey off a toothpick, so I assume they wouldn't mind being hand-fed worm guts.


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## Small Pet Feeders (Nov 24, 2013)

You know, I'd actually try Buffalo Worms, if you can order them in. They are awesome cleanup crews, and really mine are prolific in my roach and invert bins, and they eat up all the decaying matter while also giving me a super small mealworm.

Buffalo worms are also called Lesser Mealworms (Alphitobius diaperinus). They aren't commonly used on the US market, but they've been around for a few years now. Obviously you can't get these at Petco or Petsmart, they need to be ordered, we carry them at the link below.

http://www.smallpetfeeders.com/lesser-mealworm-buffalo-worm/328-25-mixed-buffalo-worms-alphitobius-diaperinus-2oz-cup.html

I don't know about Buffalo Worms as far as nutrition goes, but Mealworms have less fat than Superworms. Before I knew that, I used to recommend exclusively superworms to all our customers, but now knowing that they have a MUCH higher fat content, I typically only recommend them for growing critters. Mealworms have a thicker shell typically, but when they are super small, it's not a big factor anyways.

Hope this helps 

-Dave


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## drymantini (Nov 24, 2013)

Thanks, guys! The fly pupae I bought and had shipped still haven't hatched. It's been about 4 days that they've been at slightly above room temperature, so I'm guessing they were all dead to begin with. I haven't fed them the superworms yet. Going to pick up mealworms now.

One of my ghosts is a sub-adult (L6?), the other is an adult (it just molted its final molt last week). The Giant Rainforest is an L5 or L6 now. Pretty big.

How about crickets? I've heard horror stories about mantids getting sick off crickets. But I'm getting them from a specialized reptile store, not a Petco or Petsmart.


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## Rick (Nov 24, 2013)

I would only use them as an occasional thing and not a staple of the diet. But if you run out of food and that is all you have it sure beats nothing.


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## drymantini (Nov 25, 2013)

Thanks for your help, mantis people.

No death yet from the crickets. Haven't fed them any of the worms yet. And obviously, pretty much immediately after I bought the mealworms and crickets, and then fed them a few crickets, the house flies started to hatch. Classic house flies.


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## Digger (Nov 25, 2013)

I've used Pet Smart meal worms for years. As PlayingMantis mentions, I make a small cut on the worm and let out some of the yummy-goo (scientific term). Touch the goo to the mantis mouth and they're off to town, munching away. I diversify my feeders, but Pet Smart crickets have always been my staple when natural food disappears in Winter. The crickets get gut loaded for a couple days (a must) and I never feed them carrots.

Regarding the mealworms - I've never seen a chewing or digestion problem. Regarding crickets - I've never once seen a health problem (from the mantids eating them). **However - I only raise Tenodera sinensis and Parasphendale affinis. Ponder (that's her in the avatar to the left), the budwing, has mandibles that could rip through a car door. So the mealworms' exoskeleton is no prob at all. And it contains chitin which, biochemically, is good for them.


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## nirotorin (Nov 26, 2013)

Those Buffalo worms sound great. I keep forgetting about them. The two times I've tried mealworms they were partially eaten, and tossed away. Haven't tried supers.


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## devetaki9 (Nov 27, 2013)

I haven't tried meal or super worms, been afraid of the digestibility of the worm shell


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## DinehCaveman (Nov 28, 2013)

I pull off or cut off the mealworm's head and feed them to my skinny newly molted ghosts to get their strength up, and get some plump into their abdomen. Ghosts shouldn't have trouble eating mealworms.


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