# Nutritional value of different kinds of mealies



## toblerone (Mar 28, 2011)

I've been doing tons of research in preparation for my hedgehog [or maybe it's because i simply cannot wait another 3ish months to get my hedgie], and went to the local petsmart to check out their supply of mealworms etc. I found to my dismay that the only live mealworms they have are superworms  I know these can be dangerous to hedgehogs so i went searching. They also had those freeze dried worms which I hear don't have the nutritional value that the hedgies need. The last product they had were canned worms. What are canned worms?! are they freeze dried worms in a can? or just dead worms in a can? or ?!?! I have no idea. And does anyone know what the nutritional value of them are? If neither of those options are nutritionally bennificial for a hedgie then I will go find a new pet store *crosses fingers that there's another one in my town* or get them offline [anyone know of a place you could order live mealies from?! is this even possible?!] or start learning to chop the heads off the superworms :shock: [which the thought of just gives me the heebie geebies, but i guess that's the price u pay for your beloved pet...]

ps here's the websites of the canned worms that I saw:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10951327
they also had like a jar of worms:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147428
they also had these three products, snails and caterpillars, would these be safe for hedgies or even nutritional?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754865
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752608
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752614


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Freeze dried are bad because they can cause internal buildup & intentinal (?) blockage. (I might have got the symptoms wrong, but they can cause something bad). The jar that you linked too are freeze dried (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Superworms can bite the laranx & mouth on the way down. This is prevented by cutting their heads off before feeding (eww).

Canned worms are cooked in their can. This is fine to feed. Store them in the fridge & watch them/their smell. I find they can go bad quickly once opened.


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## PintoPrincess2 (Apr 5, 2011)

We feed regular live meal worms; that was what the breeder of our first hedgie gave her so we just stuck with it. They love them though. The almost turn their snack time into a game. The movement is what my guys love about them. We also give them Spikes... well thats the nicer name for them. The are typically used for ice fishing so they're always available but they are very soft and small; good for baby hedgies. But if you have a local sporting goods store they might have a selection for you. We live in a little tiny town and are very far from a PetCo and PetSmart but we have tons of Sportsmans and Bait Shops. Just an idea. I dont think I could decapitate a super worm either! So I dont blame you for not wanting to do that! :? 
Good luck hope I was of some type of help!


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## toblerone (Mar 28, 2011)

So it's a no go for superworms and for freeze dried mealies, but would those canned "pillars" and snails be ok?

Also thanks silvercat for the 101 on canned worms!!! I'll give those a shot for sure if I can't find live NORMAL mealies somewhere. I really hope I find them because I think they really would make a great game! [and I suppose I could also get live crickets for a game!]

Has anyone had experience feeding their hedgie crickets?! can you do so in a c&c cage without the little crickets escaping over the walls of the coroplast and through the holes in the crates? Or should I put my hedgie in an enclosed area and THEN feed the crickets?

Pintoprincess 2, thanks SO much for the suggestion!!! We have countless sports shops here in Bozeman, MT so i'm sure I can find some "spikes." not too sure what spikes are, but I'm off to google them now! ...ok eww that's disgusting, but if I can't find live mealies anywhere in town, then I definitely choose spikes over decapitating super worms!!! and i guess they're kinda just like smaller plumper mealies, i'm sure i could get over my discrimination against them! [the things you do for those you love right?] would eating the spikes cause any troubles for the hedgie? I dunno much about them in general but have you noticed any differences between them and mealies?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Be careful feeding insects from a bait shop. They are not always fed the same as insects sold as feeder insects. Sometimes they are feed unhealthy foods just to keep them alive longer. Since they are being raised for bait not food they aren't any controls over what they are fed or how they are kept. Its safer to get them from a petstore, usually.


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## toblerone (Mar 28, 2011)

nikki said:


> Be careful feeding insects from a bait shop. They are not always fed the same as insects sold as feeder insects. Sometimes they are feed unhealthy foods just to keep them alive longer. Since they are being raised for bait not food they aren't any controls over what they are fed or how they are kept. Its safer to get them from a petstore, usually.


Thanks Nikki!!! That is really helpful! Do you have any suggestions for our pet store's lack of normal meal worms? Also have you had any experience with crickets? I have no clue even how to feed a hedgie crickets...


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## PintoPrincess2 (Apr 5, 2011)

nikki said:


> Be careful feeding insects from a bait shop. They are not always fed the same as insects sold as feeder insects. Sometimes they are feed unhealthy foods just to keep them alive longer. Since they are being raised for bait not food they aren't any controls over what they are fed or how they are kept. Its safer to get them from a petstore, usually.


We actually asked them that before purchase and they said that they are feed the same as the petstore; they said they actually have a lot of customers buying them for feeders since we have no petstores and have been asked the question a lot. If they couldnt promise me they were safe I would never give them to my hedgies.


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## PintoPrincess2 (Apr 5, 2011)

As Nikki mentioned I would make sure to ask the sportgoods store if they are suitable. As i siad earlier they assured us they were safe and had a clientle (spelled wrong I think) for them. Seeing has it sounds like you live in small area like I do; where there's a general store, pizza joint, sportsman store, and way more bars then necessary... and thats it, they might have many requests for feeder. I cant help you with your cricket question though but I would like to know the answer. We have not tried crickets as a snack yet... for the same reason, we dont know how to contain them. Our little guys love the spikes and research ive done says they're suitable nutritionally for hedgies.. as you said similar to mealies. Our sportsmans shop also has the regular mealies too so i'm suprised yours doesnt. Good luck on your search!


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

PintoPrincess2 said:


> We have not tried crickets as a snack yet... for the same reason, we dont know how to contain them.


I buy crickets, toss some fresh veggies in with them for a day, then freeze them, so they can't escape. I take out whatever I'm feeding Stub that night (usually 1-2 crickets) 30 minutes or so before the lights go out to defrost a little. She always gobbles them up!


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## toblerone (Mar 28, 2011)

PintoPrincess2 said:


> As Nikki mentioned I would make sure to ask the sportgoods store if they are suitable. As i siad earlier they assured us they were safe and had a clientle (spelled wrong I think) for them. Seeing has it sounds like you live in small area like I do; where there's a general store, pizza joint, sportsman store, and way more bars then necessary... and thats it, they might have many requests for feeder. I cant help you with your cricket question though but I would like to know the answer. We have not tried crickets as a snack yet... for the same reason, we dont know how to contain them. Our little guys love the spikes and research ive done says they're suitable nutritionally for hedgies.. as you said similar to mealies. Our sportsmans shop also has the regular mealies too so i'm suprised yours doesnt. Good luck on your search!


Thanks so much pintoprincess2 for all of your responses! I will definitely be checking this weekend at all of our little outdoorsy stores for the spikes and mealworms! [i didn't even know they had mealworms] and i will conduct a through interview with them to see what they feed them! This has been a GREAT suggestion!!! I'm crossing my fingers that they are feeding them healthy stuff! We are a small town, with lots of outdoors shops and way to may bars...but we're not TOO small, we have a petsmart, but for some reason the silly place doesnt have any normal mealworms! :roll: sigh. It's great to have found an alternative though!!!



Sarahg said:


> PintoPrincess2 said:
> 
> 
> > We have not tried crickets as a snack yet... for the same reason, we dont know how to contain them.
> ...


Can i assume that once i freeze crickets, when they thaw they aren't alive or move again, yet still have the nutritional value of live bugs? same with mealies? because in that case i guess worst comes to worst I can make the trip out to another town who's petsmart DOES sell them and freeze a huge batch of them...


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

PintoPrincess2..I hope you didn't think I was meaning you would feed unhealthy bug to your babies. I just wanted to make sure that others knew to make sure that the bugs from bait type stores were safe before feeding 

I have not fed live crickets before but I have heard of people putting their hedgies in the bathtub with some to "hunt" so the crickets didn't escape. I had enough fun with crickets when we had chameleons and my then 2 year old grand-daughter would open the bin with the crickets in to "play" with them and let a bunch loose all the time...LOL


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## PintoPrincess2 (Apr 5, 2011)

Sarahg said:


> PintoPrincess2 said:
> 
> 
> > We have not tried crickets as a snack yet... for the same reason, we dont know how to contain them.
> ...


Veggies, thats another thing i havent figured out! I cant find any =thing that they like. I've offered ton and tons of things from fruits and veggies to plain unseason chicken made exactly the way they tell you to. She'll sniff it and then walk away...  My husband making fun of my cooking of when she does this.... men! But anyway what type and variety of veggies does you little one like?


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

The main reason why mealworms are good for hedgies is not just because of the protein. It's also because of the chitin. Chitin is the exoskeleton of the mealie. It aids in digestion as fiber. Snails don't contain chitin, but you could always substitute that with leafy greens. It is estimated that snail is 15% protein, 2.4% fat and about 80% water.

Here is a link to a really good chart about snail nutritional guide.

http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/snail-escargot.php

Keep in mind it was made focused on the suppliments good for humans, so hedgehog benefits and also harmful aspects towards hedgehogs might not be included. Hope this helps.


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