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Every feeder insect is different, and we don’t just mean in terms of nutrition. They all require different setups, they all interact with your pet differently. And they all mature and reproduce at different rates. This all equates to a difference in cost. So when you get thinking about which feeder to pick, you have to look beyond nutrition to which is right for your setup. In this article, we’ll talk about the cost breakdown for maintaining crickets and mealworms, two of the most popular feeders for reptile pets.
Let’s get into it.
Comparing Crickets and Mealworms
Crickets and mealworms are actually pretty similar in terms of nutrition. They both have a high protein content, making them “lean” feeders, which means they’re a good staple food to stick with. They also both have moderate-to-high fiber, which can sometimes be a problem if your pet is sensitive to a high fiber diet. With some species, high fiber intake can cause impaction.
Beyond that, they both have a low calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which is not great, but also not abnormal. Regardless of which feeder you choose, you should always be dusting your feeders anyway.
Here are the details on mealworm and cricket nutritional values:
Mealworm Nutrition Facts
Protein: 20%
Fat: 13%
Moisture: 62%
Ash: 1.5%
Fiber: 5.7%
Calcium to phosphorus ratio: 1:8-1:17
Brown House Cricket Nutrition Facts
Protein: 21.4%
Fat: 6.9%
Moisture: 66.1%
Ash: 1.6%
Fiber: 3.9-7.5%
Calcium to phosphorus ratio: 1:10
In terms of keeping them, mealworms and crickets are very different. Mealworms spend a long time as beetle larvae (the “worm” form we talk about) before maturing into actual beetles. This two-stage life cycle, along with their storage-friendly habitat requirements, make them good to keep indoors.
However, beetles are slower growing than crickets. They don’t reach reproductive maturity for as long as four to six months! Unless you have multiple groups growing at the same time, it can be tough to time their growth so that you always have the right sized mealworm on hand.
But there’s a trick - you can store mealworms for long periods in the fridge. This is the main benefit of mealworms. Once you get your mealworms to the right size, you can pick a bunch of good feeders and store them for later use so that they don’t keep growing.
Crickets, on the other hand, grow fast and reproduce fast. They’re perfect if you need to produce a ton of feeders very quickly, which is why pet shops always have them on hand. The downside of this is that they can be very high maintenance and take a lot of cleaning. If you leave them unattended too long, their bodily functions will make the humidity in their habitat go up until they all get sick and die.
Which Do Reptiles Like Better?
So which will your pet like more? Well, it depends on your pet, of course. Crickets are more active, which means they’re a lot of fun to hunt if your pet has a lot of energy. Mealworms are slower moving, which is good if your pet is low-energy. Crickets grow to be a little larger, so they are good feeders for a larger age range of reptiles. Large reptiles like bearded dragons may outgrow mealworms as they get older.
How Many Crickets/Mealworms Should I Feed My Pet?
This is another thing that varies a little depending on what kind of pet you have. In the reptile community, there used to be an idea that you let your pet eat as much as it wants for ten minutes once per day. But then some more research revealed that this isn’t the way to go. Bulk feeding can cause obesity and is generally not good for your pet’s health.
One thing you can rely on is the size of the feeders you pick. Feeder insects should always be as long as the distance between your pet’s eyes, regardless of the species.
For bearded dragons, you should give your pet 5-6 feeders per feeding. How often you do protein feedings varies by age. As juveniles, you should do one protein feeding per day. As your beardy ages, you’ll move down to once every few days, to twice per week. This is in addition to their daily salad of veggies and fruit.
Leopard geckos are strict carnivores, so they eat protein more often. Juveniles need protein every day, and adults should be fed once every two or three days. Again, each feeding is 5-6 insects roughly as long as the distance between your pet’s eyes.
Adding it all up, that’s about 12 feeders per week for an adulty beardy, and more like 18-24 for a leopard gecko.
Cost of Starting a Cricket/Mealworm Colony
Cricket colonies are pretty simple. You need a bucket, some mesh to ventilate the lid, some water crystals to hydrate them, egg flats for hides, and some vermiculite for substrate. This all goes for around $40.
Mealworm colonies are a little more complicated. You need two storage bins: one that’s more flat and wide for the larvae, and another that’s taller for the adult breeding beetles. The shallow bin should be full of substrate like oats. The larger beetle habitat will need some egg flats and hides. All told, it will probably be around $40 to set up.
Cost of Maintaining a Cricket/Mealworm Colony
The difference in maintaining mealworms and crickets is in cleaning and substrate. The main cleaning you’ll need to do for mealworms is checking the substrate for wet pockets. Mealworms need more substrate, and you may throw it out more often, so they may cost you more that way.
Crickets, on the other hand, need near-constant cleaning and can go through a lot of substrate, too. Overall, crickets have a higher operating cost, but produce more feeders quicker.
Which Is Less Expensive?
Mealworms are slightly cheaper to maintain, producing feeders of many sizes that you can store long-term in the fridge.
Crickets are high-maintenance and slightly more expensive to maintain, but produce tons of feeders very fast. You might end up with more than you know what to do with.