superworms dangerous to reptiles

[blackcadillac70]

i had bought some superworms for my tokay gecko and got them home to try them and they were oily 1st time iv'e ever tryed them so that was a turnoff.put them up went to p-etco for some waxworms and was telling the lady bout how i didn't care for superworms and she said they could eat through the stomach of a reptile.anyone ever heard this or is she a fruitloop.

 

[OldHag]

She's a fruitloop.

If your gecko, or anyother animal you feed superworms to, are healthy they will be fine. The superworm will be killed in the eating or shortly thereafter from the stomach acids. That is a HUGE myth.
IF your animal is sick, unable to defend themselves or dead.... the superworm will eat them, yes but not from the inside out.

 

[kupo969]

Honestly, I don't know. Different herp keepers have different opinions on this topic. Myself, I would pinch their head and let them wiggle so the herp can acknowledge it.

 

[ZooRex]

This is such an old rumor!

Basically its always "pinch superworms heads or they'll eat their way out" and thats it. I've never actually heard any official evidence of this happening. On the contrary I've heard strong opionions refuting such:

Superworms are usually if not always crunched to some degree by the lizards mouth, they are then taken to the stomach where there is no air, but a good quantity stomach acid. Really what are the odds of a worm surviving long enough to do any damage?

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Considering that many reptiles and amphibians regularly eat things much more tenacious than nippy beetle larvae - several frogs species, for example, eat a diet very rich in ants, bees, and wasps, all of which are armed and hardy - I would have to call "crock" on that. These animals are built to eat things that can bite and sting, to swallow live invertebrates (and heck, live vertebrates too in some cases). I've never heard a single vet or really any reputable source of information verify the superworm myth; it seems some kind of internet urban legend probably generated by a superworm causing injury to an animal that was already very ill/compromised.

 

[PhilK]

A load of rubbish.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

That's right up there with "snakes will bite their own tails and roll after you like a hula-hoop."

ie, no.

 

[Will Hunting]

That's right up there with "snakes will bite their own tails and roll after you like a hula-hoop."

ie, no.

That's not funny, my brother died that way.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Biting his tail and rolling after people like a hula hoop?

 

[Will Hunting]

Biting his tail and rolling after people like a hula hoop?

I've heard of stranger.

(complete thread de-rail. Kind of sorry =p)

 

[Asgard]

nothing more than a myth..

 

[ShellsandScales]

You know I have heard that a lot, and have advised people with more fragile herps to be cautious with superworms. Not really sure how that whole thing got started but I'm sure that advice has been going around since before the internet was here. I have also been told that they use superworms to clean out cadavers. Again not sure how true that is, but seems like that would be a likely source of the myth. Anyone call the mythbusters yet?????

They use East Bay Vivarium for advice and supplies for their animal myths.

 

[blackcadillac70]

i took them back,they smell funny and are real oily not for me.

 

[ShellsandScales]

oily???? I don't follow.

 

[blackcadillac70]

i put one in with the tokay and it started to burrow so i got it out and it was oily and smelled funny won't buy those again.they all seemed oily

 

[Draiman]

Are you sure they were oily? Anyway yeah it's just an old myth. Even if the superworm survives the gecko's teeth, it's not going to survive the concentrated hydrochloric acid in the gecko's stomach, period.

 

[UrbanJungles]

I have also been told that they use superworms to clean out cadavers. Again not sure how true that is, but seems like that would be a likely source of the myth. Anyone call the mythbusters yet?????

Superworms are not used to clean cadavers...most places use dermestid beetles who's fuzzy larvae in no way resemble superworm larvae...

 

[wildheart]

My dragons LOVE their superworms! :}

The only time that the superworms smell funny is when they were kept in a dark humid place.

 

[dtknow]

If anyone here has dropped a super or mealworm into water to feed fish. Check how long they last...20 seconds if you are extremely lucky. usually not even 8

 

[Erwynn]

When I had barking tree frogs way back when, I didni't know not to feed them superworms, since they were smaller frogs. The next day I found them both dead, with holes in their stomachs after they had eaten the superworms. And the worms were outside of them. So to me...that's what I assume happened, eaten from the inside out. Pretty horrid honestly. I won't feed anything superworms again.