# Mealworms!



## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

So my picky little eater decided she likes live mealworms. Just a few quick questions:

-Can I feed them daily? And how many per serving? [she was eating freeze dried before so I couldn't feed as many or as often as I wanted]
-I want to start breeding them. Can she eat every life stage of them? (the mealworm, the pupae, beetle.)

Thanks!


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

It all depends. Some people feed them every day, some feed them every other day, or some just as a rare treat. I've read people giving their hedgehogs anywhere from 1-10+ everyday. _Personally_ I'd stick to 2-3 every other day.

I've read (but don't know first-hand or for 100% certainty) that all life stages can be fed. I believe the protein/fat amounts change though.


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## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

Yeah, I guessed that much about the protein/fat...I'm not too worried about that though since my girl's a little too skinny. I'll wait and see what others say and do some research after school tomorrow. I have seen some Youtube videos of hedgies eating the beetles though. 

Hmm...okay. I think I'll end up doing every other day or every day.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

I have a total runner, so we feed up to 3 per night, and he's still skinny-as. It's easy to cut down if he ever develops a weight problem.

My small friend eats the worms & pupae. I know Lilysmommy used to use the pupae that can't wriggle around as a game of hide & seek with Lily. None of mine live long enough to make it to the beetle-stage; hungry hungry hedgehog.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

You can feed all stages with no problems! The beetles are crunchier and wigglier (and have legs), so they might be kind of new and weird for a hedgie, but you could definitely give them a try. Lily wouldn't try them - I think the feet grabbing her face spooked her and she was so not about to chomp down on that. :lol: I'm not sure what the protein/fat amounts are for the different stages though - I would assume the pupae stage would be fattier and the beetle would be less, but I don't have anything to back that up. Just a guess!

Amounts depend completely on hedgehog. You can start with one a day or every other day and work your way up - keep an eye on weight and poop. Sometimes even the live ones can give them a bit of constipation, but mostly only if they're fed all at once, as far as I know. Lily was getting...I think 6-8 a day during her last 6 months, when she was losing weight. Never saw any problems with poop, though I'm not sure it had much of an effect on her weight either way.


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## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

Thanks for all the responses!


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## DesertHedgehogs (Apr 2, 2013)

One of my girls is really skinny too, and I honestly just feed her as many as she wants, still no serious weight gain. As for breeding them they're pretty easy to breed, they don't smell and they eat very little. If you're getting too many mealworms from it you can always stick some in the fridge for a while to delay their development just remember to take them out every couple of weeks for a couple of days and feed them. While in the fridge they live off of their fat stores and can die if you leave them there too long.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

If you get WAY too many, another idea is to put some in a feeder or some kind of smooth container outside - I bet the local birds would appreciate them!


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## grins&needles (Sep 10, 2013)

Am I understanding correctly that if i have a thin hog, I can bulk her up by upping the meal worms? Ramona is getting them everyday to every other day depending on schedule, but I didn't know it could bulk her up (she needs it).


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yup, mealies can help keep weight steady or add weight.  Waxworms are very fatty too, even more so than mealies, so for very extreme runners or skinny hogs, they can be an occasional treat as well. They're too fatty even for that for most other hedgies.


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