Mealworms

[dave123791]

Hey HC people

I saw many of you talking about giving your hamster mealworms. Where do you buy them from? How many should be given to a robo hamster per week?

Cheers
Dave

[kyrilliondaemon]

We buy dried mealworms, the type sold in pet shops, garden centres e.t.c for birds
They can have one or two a day whenever you want to use them as treats. I'd not give them too often as they're high in protein but once or twice a week won't hurt

[dave123791]

Thanks, will get some soon. I heard Poundland sells them so will go and check tomorrow after work. Don't have any money left as i spend tons in Pets at Home today lol, bought 10 packs of Carefresh natural, a animal carrier for my robos, a new bed for my dog and a few toys for my budgies. Spent £108 today haha, the most i ever spent but because I'm getting paid soon, decided to buy some stuff for all my pets

[kyrilliondaemon]

Wow... Thats a heck of a shop!

[dave123791]

Just a question:

Sorry if that sounds stupid but can i feed live worms from my garden to them?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Er... I've never heard that asked before. I wouldn't, mealworms aren't really worms (they're just a stage in a bugs lifecycle) and worms from the garden could well carry yucky stuff from the dirt and make them unwell

[dave123791]

Originally Posted by kyrilliondaemon

Er... I've never heard that asked before. I wouldn't, mealworms aren't really worms (they're just a stage in a bugs lifecycle) and worms from the garden could well carry yucky stuff from the dirt and make them unwell

Okay, just wanted to ask,

What bugs are mealworms from?

[Peanut84]

There is a German hamster site that says you can give your hamster small bugs and worms from outside. The discussion was in the context of putting grass from your garden in your hamsters cage.

[kyrilliondaemon]

According to wikipedia... "Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle"
I had never thought to look it up lol

Peanut - Thats interesting to know but personally I'd still not want to risk it, that might just be me though.

[_nod]

I agree with Kyrilliondaemon, while most the time garden bugs might be fine, you never know if one might contain a parasite or pesiside or who knows what else.

While I hope the bugs sold in stores have been breed in a relatively sterile environment.