Feeding mealworms, safe?

[damien]

I have Bombina oriëntalis and Bufo brongersmai. I'm not the greatest fan of crickets, so I'm looking for alternatives.
Mealworms are easily obtainable and cheap to get. I understand that for newts/salamanders they are a bad choice, but how is that for toads?

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Same rules apply. they are high in fat and generally not a good staple. I do feed my various anura meal worms from time to time, but more as a treat than anything else. Good alternatives to crickets are various cultured cockroaches.

 

[damien]

So they can be fed, but they are in the same category as waxmoth larvae, right?

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Correct.

 

[Aimee]

Do mealworms pose the same impaction risks to anurans as caudates? I don't think I've ever seen a frog at a petstore that wasn't fed mealworms on a daily basis...

 

[ZephAmp]

Mealworms are very high in fats and I believe phosphorous as well. Some amphibians have trouble digesting them because of their tough exoskeletons. (Think of them as a sausage with a VERY thick wrapping.)
A great alternative to crickets are cultured cockroaches, of which there are several species (P. surinamensis, N. cinerea, B. lateralis) and a few others which are much healthier for amphibians than crickets and mealworms.

 

[Coastal Groovin]

I have feed my toads and frogs mealworms for years with any impaction isssues. I have never fed them as a staple but as a kind of a treat. Just a few here and there between crickets,worms, and roaches. I do culture them and feed them to my salamanders. I will feed them to my tiger salamanders weekly. My other smaller salamanders/newts are only fed "white" recently shed mealworms. The mealworms exoskeloten is still soft and white. Impaction should be impossible. Since I only find a few of these evey week they are just mixed into my food roatation of crickets, worms, pillbugs, wax worms and lawn grubs. Rotating what you feed and limiting the amount will stop any impaction problems.