Mealworms,the myth or facts.

[keith123toad]

Hi to the world of Frog forum!
I am a 62 year old junior member with 45 years experience of keeping amphibians and various reptiles.Please can we dispel the myth of mealworms eating there way out of your pet like a great white shark.I have fed mealworms to frogs and toads all my life and have never experienced one burrowing its way out of my pet like some alien carnivore.
I have observed mealworms in water and they generally stay motionless.They have evolved as vegetation and grain eaters .I assume that when the mealworms arrive at your pets stomach they are overwhelmed by the gastric juices,(acid cocktail) I have yet to place mealworms in a vat of acid but I expect te results would be the same?
Please could worldwide membersl either dispel the myth for ever or reply with confirmation and evidence that mealworms can and do in fact burrow their way out of your pets stomach ?

[LilyPad]

I always believed the problem with mealworms was the impaction hazard as their stomachs have trouble digesting the shells. I've never heard of burrowing out of the frogs.

[keith123toad]

Hi Lilypad
I have never experienced impaction through feeding mealworms.I have observed amphibians eating hard shelled insects such as beetles and wooodlouse and various tough insects with no impaction problems.I have noted how frogs and toads use their front legs and feet to wipe of various substrates from sticky slugs and worms .I personally think people are unaware of the natural conditions that amphibians can deal with like moss,bark ,grit,sand and pebbles etc. I assume that in the wild any amphibian that cannot deal with eating from natural substrates would die due to the natural selection process.
keith

[John]

Welcome to the forum Keith.