wax worm v.s butter worm

[crankypunk]

What is the difference beside the size between those 2 ?

Also my gecko loves wax worms but the day i offered butter worm ( bigger fatter ) the gecko licked them and then totaly ignored them ...

[concept3]

wax worms are really fatty and should olny be used for treats, butter worms are super high in calcium ( their body mass is like 65 percent calcium) and relitivley low In fat. This is all from memory so excuse me if its not right on but maybe someone knows of a chart comparing diffrent feeders?

[drewlowe]

It may take them a while to try butter worms because they have a sweet smell. It took mine a few tries, but after that they gobble them up.

I prefer butterworms over waxworms for nutrietional purposes.

[LISA127]

butterworms are a better food source than waxworms. though my leo's much prefer the waxworms, unfortunatley.

[RazzleMcDazzle]

All my guys ate the butter worms, but they seem to be too rich or something, because the would poop out undigested worms or got runny turds. It really put me through the ringer cause I thought they were sick. I went back to crickets and mealies. One thing I did find.... they love the way silk, butter and wax worms moved! As soom as they see them ... bam they eat. I have to coax them to meal worms some times.

If you get the chance, get some silk worms just to see them.... they are kind of funny to watch (just before the get eaten), they remind me of Fragel Rock characters..... standing half up and waving around.

[herpslave]

They both should not be fed alot. Butter worms contain over 80 calories. When calories are not burned. They are stores as a fat sotrage. Which if over fed can lead to other problems.

[Topaz]

So is it a good treat, or nutritional suppliment? I differenciate between the two as the suppliment needing to be fed every so often regularly to be worthwhile.

[herpslave]

Wax worms should be fed very sparingly. Alot of people don't feed wax worms to they're leos as they don't need them at all. Butterworms contain fat and calories, but they are not adddicting like wax worms. That's one positive thing, two they are among the fullest of calcium of any common feeder out there. I still would use these a treat or a quick need for calcium intake.

[DragnDrop]

Originally posted by herpslave
They both should not be fed alot. Butter worms contain over 80 calories.

You're not thinking 80 calories per worm, right? It's something along the lines of 80 calories per 100 g according the the info I've seen. The charts don't specify the calorie measure, but all other measurements they have are based on 100 grams (or some other unit of measure), not per worm.
Assuming the average adult leo weights 50-90 grams, it is not going to be eating 100 grams of food per meal, so there's no way you'll be feeding your leo 5 butterworms worth 400 calories. Granted, butterworms do have a fair number of calories, but the other nutrients make them worth using as part of a balanced diet. They're fantastic for breeding females to get their weight back after laying a clutch, for underweight leos recovering from illness, and conditioning before breeding.