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Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult is it to breed super mealworms?
Would breeding super mealworms make sense for a person who only owns one or two tegus?
I've heard that if you don't crush the heads of super meal worms, they will eat their way out of the stomach of my lizards.
My husband bought a ------- agama (or lizard) and we cannot find any info on him.
Have you ever considered breeding Chilean Dwarf Tegus (Callopistes maculatus)?

1. How difficult is it to breed super mealworms?

These animals need much care, almost daily. Humidity is the main problem: too dry and they die, and too moist and everything molts. the strategy is staying inbetween.

2. Would breeding super mealworms make sense for a person who only owns one or two tegus?

It would make more sense to breed cockroaches if you're only supplying a small demand.

3. I've heard that if you don't crush the heads of super meal worms, they will eat their way out of the stomach of my lizards.

DON'T BELIEVE all that NONSENSE people are saying or writing. Who in nature will be there to prepare the food that way for the lizards? I feed millions of superworms, and NEVER crush any heads. What big nonsense that is! (I do not sell superworms any more, so I am not biased in telling you this.)

What can happen, however, is the following: indoors lizards get (even with UVB lights) a fraction (10% or so, depeneding on many factors of the light) of the UVB light which they receive in the real sun. When they also get a diet low in Calcium, then their bones and muscles get weak. If then they see a large prey item, they THINK they can swallow it as all there forefathers could, and that is what is in their minds. However, because of their weak skeleton and weak muscles, the animal cannot handle that prey and may die from it. If that happens, then the insect is not to blame, but only the caregiver that failed to give enough UVB and calcium.

If the worms eat their way out of a lizard, then you must watch out not to swallow a seedpit of a grape, as maybe grapes will grow out of your ear. Tell that to the people who come with these silly stories. Complete nonsense. What must have happened is that an animal has died and that then loose hungry worms start eating from it, which then is misinterpreted by the observer. I never saw an insect eating his way out. Never in 30 years.

4. My husband bought a (fill-in-the-blank)-agama (or lizard) and we cannot find any info on him.

If a lizard is often seen in petshops and if in spite of that you cannot find any info on him, then that is bad news. The point is that people write articles or make webpages on their pets if they have had any kind of success with them. People that fail with that particular lizard don't tend to say very much about it. If you see a lizard in a shop and you want it, it is better to go home first and check literature or the internet before making a purchase.

5. Have you ever considered breeding Chilean Dwarf Tegus (Callpistes maculatus)?

I had several chilean dwarf tegus about 12 years ago, to try them out, and found them to be difficult. I have worked with lizards since 1970 and so I am tired of difficult species. Moreover, I have a recent german book (by the same professor who wrote the tegu book with me) and he lists all of the information that he could find on breeding reptiles. He searched magazines and books in various languages, but even though many thousands of chilean dwarf tegus were imported to Europe and the USA, their reproduction is still Terra Incognita (unknown land). Thus I think that breeding them is very unlikely as surely many hundreds of people must have tried it by now.

Further, and I am especially concerned with this as I need to sell the offspring of the animals that I breed, if breeding is so difficult, then it would take much extra work to get it done. However, if thousands are imported every year, for heaven's sake who is going to pay for the special effort required? Who would pay $400 for a baby if you can get them as adults for $50?

I have been corresponding with people in Chile who breed t. merianae (argentine tegus) and asked them, why not breed callopistes macullatus? They replied that no, they are too difficult to breed. Moreover, in nature their main diet is lizards. Putting all of this together I have decided not to spend time trying. Still, for those who want to try it, it is possible that people could replace lizards with pinkies (though people trying to do that should bear in mind that pinkies have a different nutritional content than lizards).

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