Mealworms as complete diet?

[Snailientologist]

Does anyone know of an animal that can live in a ten gallon vertical vivarium while eating only mealworms? It doesn't exactly need to be mealworms, just not crickets or roaches. Most sources say that mealworms are too fatty, but I just wanted to know if there were any exceptions.Alternatively, is there anything that could only eat earthworms or fruit flies?

 

[viper69]

Does anyone know of an animal that can live in a ten gallon vertical vivarium while eating only mealworms? It doesn't exactly need to be mealworms, just not crickets or roaches. Most sources say that mealworms are too fatty, but I just wanted to know if there were any exceptions.Alternatively, is there anything that could only eat earthworms or fruit flies?

There’s a wide variety of dart frogs that eat flies

 

[emartinm28]

Nightcrawlers are actually the most nutritious food i recommend for things like frogs. Most aren’t small enough for a 10 gallon though. Dart frogs usually eat only fruit flies, for a 10 gallon vertical the only suitable genus is Ranitomeya which are super tiny but even they love more space. Other options are Mourning geckos which can even eat crested gecko diet, but be aware if you have more than one mourning gecko they will lay eggs through parthenogenesis. Those are the only real options, most vertebrates need more than 10 gallons unlike Ts

 

[Tarantuland]

Not vertical, but Pacman frogs can be in a 10 gal and eat hornworms and nightcrawlers

 

[Snailientologist]

Nightcrawlers are actually the most nutritious food i recommend for things like frogs. Most aren’t small enough for a 10 gallon though. Dart frogs usually eat only fruit flies, for a 10 gallon vertical the only suitable genus is Ranitomeya which are super tiny but even they love more space. Other options are Mourning geckos which can even eat crested gecko diet, but be aware if you have more than one mourning gecko they will lay eggs through parthenogenesis. Those are the only real options, most vertebrates need more than 10 gallons unlike Ts

Interesting. Could nightcrawlers work as a diet for reed frogs? A few sources said one or two reed frogs could live with 10 gallons of space. Do you think they would feel too crowded?

 

[Tarantuland]

I think night crawlers would be too big for reed frogs although you could probably cut them up

 

[emartinm28]

Interesting. Could nightcrawlers work as a diet for reed frogs? A few sources said one or two reed frogs could live with 10 gallons of space. Do you think they would feel too crowded?

I think they probably would, frogs are different from spiders in that they actually want to move around and explore a relatively large space whereas spiders usually make a den and stay pretty close to it, therefore frogs need a much larger space compared to their body size. 1 reed frog would probably be ok in a 10 gallon vertical but 2 is not advised, though for any arboreal frog it’s best to start at 20 gallons vertical and move up from there. Nightcrawlers can be cut up but reed frogs are also quite skittish and might not respond to tong feeding. Also keep in mind their lifespan is short compared to most frogs

edit: also keep in mind that you still need to dust the nightcrawlers regularly with calcium+d3 and a multivitamin supplement. Also, i always advise against feeding mealworms to frogs, they swallow them whole and i’ve had mealworms come out the other end having not been digested at all.

 

[Snailientologist]

A few sources said that they had social behavior. Would keeping one alone upset them? Regardless, it seems like it might just be a good idea to get rid of the 10 gallon or put an invertebrate in it.

 

[emartinm28]

A few sources said that they had social behavior. Would keeping one alone upset them? Regardless, it seems like it might just be a good idea to get rid of the 10 gallon or put an invertebrate in it.

I’m not entirely sure as I’ve never kept any species of reed frog, but dart frogs seem to do better in pairs or trios, so its possible.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

it seems like it might just be a good idea to get rid of the 10 gallon

Great idea. Getting an animal simply because one has an empty enclosure isn't the right reason to keep a captive animal, in my humble but experience-guided opinion.

 

[Snailientologist]

Getting an animal simply because one has an empty enclosure isn't the right reason to keep a captive animal

I agree. If I do end up using it for an invertebrate it will be because I've done research and have a genuine love for the animal.