Quote Originally Posted by JeffreH View Post
You don't need to cut the heads off, the idea of mealworms being able to eat through an animal's stomach is an old wives tale that probably originated from death by impaction.

The hard part of an insect's exoskeleton is a structural, complex polysaccharide that is very similar in cellulose in plants. Just like cellulose, it cannot be digested by most of the animal kingdom and only very specialized organisms can break it down (Fungi and certain bacteria have the capacity to metabolize the polymer). Because chitin cannot be digested, it can potentially act as a blockage in the digestive tract of a herp if fed in excess... this is called impaction, The risk of impaction varies from species to species and individual to individual and is generally associated with particulate substrate ingestion, but it can occur if too many hard bodied insects are fed in the diet (i.e. mealworms).

Not to be confusing, but it worth noting that ALL insects have chitin in their exoskeleton. The hardness is dictated by the relationship of the polymer with scleretin protein residues and other protein components interweaved within the cuticle. This is probably useless jargon to you, but wanted to point that this is why mealworms are more hazardous to feed than say, a silkworm or soldier fly larvae who are soft bodied. Scleretin is probably the true culprit of impactions because it makes the cuticle less flexible and therefore less easily transported through the animal's digestive syem...but I digress.

The controversy behind mealworms is their overall poor nutritional quality [see previous post] and poor meat to shell ratio...which can lead to impaction if fed in excess or exclusively. You can feed them from time to time, just don't go overboard. Think of them like a treat.

So yes - crickets are good feeders and see if you can get an earthworm culture going as they are very easy to breed. You can also supplement the diet with solider grubs (calci-worms/phoenix worms), silkworms, and roaches. Roaches are a great feeder overall and lack the annoyances of crickets because they don't smell, chirp, or jump. Limit waxworms, trevo worms, mealworms, and appropriate sized superworms (zophobas) to treats. As far as variety goes, you don't need to be feeding a different prey item every single day... focus on your staple quality insects for that but just supplement the diet from time to time with other feeders = )
Hi and thanks for writing, you are very knowledgeable about this, and I got up early and was reading all kinds of info about frog diets and some sites mentioned cutting head off mealworms and some didn't. If anything got stuck inside a frog I would consider that a bowel obstruction! Thismorning I went to the pet store, bought some wax worms? they are whitish-yellow and I got home and found many black ones not moving. I went back to the store, they said the black ones were dead, gave me a new carton and we checked first to make sure worms were alive. When I bought them, there was no date and I asked if they were fresh and was told they were. Now I know why this store did not have good ratings on my computer, they also won't give their hamsters a wheel. Anyway, I got home, each frog got a worm and I cleaned their tank. It took way over an hour, had to set everything up first. I had an easy time transferring them to large container but was nervous getting them back, they really jump fast! The tank had sand in it and I got rid of that (I think it may have contributed to an odor when wet) and I had that peat moss you add water to for hermits. Mine was premixed last night and dry. Instead of sand, I put moss into flat plastic container and sure enough one frog/toad liked it.

I might try guppies next time I go to the store and I don't know yet what to put crickets into so I can catch them easier. If you can think of any other insect, I can try it. I like the idea of earthworms but need to read about breeding them, have never done this before. So, toads/frogs are happy and back in their cleaned tank. I keep hoping I will hear them chirp but they haven't yet. Any other tips are welcome and my tank looks better and I am happy it is, the driftwood, rocks, plants make it look natural, which I think the frogs appreciate. I am glad you wrote about mealworms, I needed to know if it was true about cutting them first. Since frogs are fine, guess like you said it must be old advice.