# Regular vs. Super Mealworms



## JahJahWarrior (Jun 1, 2009)

Do most people here feed regular or super mealworms? I've heard that with super mealworms, you must cut off the head or freeze them for an hour, then thaw them, to kill them. Do you need to kill regular mealworms before offering them? If you freeze mealworms, should you thaw them all, or just the ones you are going to feed immediately? (I'm assuming otherwise, the dead ones will rot...) 

Thanks!


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I don't know anything about super mealworms except having heard about cutting off their head so they don't bit the hedgies throat on the way down.

For regular mealworms you can feed them live or you can buy canned ones. No need to kill the live regular mealworms, most hedgies will just gobble them right up.


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## JahJahWarrior (Jun 1, 2009)

I heard something about the super mealworms being able to eat their way out of the stomach if you don't kill them first. Any worry of that happening with regular mealworms?


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

JahJahWarrior said:


> I heard something about the super mealworms being able to eat their way out of the stomach if you don't kill them first. Any worry of that happening with regular mealworms?


Regular mealworms are safe..Always wash after handling them.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Regular mealworms are wimps. :lol: They have very little in the way of defense mechanisms, so they make a great treat for hedgehogs. They can't crawl too fast, so hedgehogs can catch them relatively easily if you just put them down in front of them. If you handfeed them, they snatch them up so fast (or anyway, Lily does) that the mealie hardly knows what's happening before it's dinner! They have no chance to bite back or hurt the hedgehog in any way before they're eaten. They also cannot climb straight walls, so you don't need to keep a cover on their container. It actually helps guard against mold to leave the container uncovered.
Actually, the beetles are pretty wimpy too, from the one I've had. It wasn't deformed or anything, but I tried taking it out, then putting it back down in the container, and all it did was try to burrow down into the oat bran. And my mom was afraid they'd escape into my room, lol.


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## GoodSmeagol (Dec 29, 2008)

SUPER mealworms, are hormone enhanced, never feed them. they can be refrigerated to keep
Regular mealworms, small can be refrigerated to keep
SUPERWORMS- also known as Morio Worms, which are larger then mealworms, will die if refrigerated. They are meatier, and have less chitin.


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