Meal worms

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This is a touchy subject for some as it constitutes live feeding, even if it is a bug.
But essentially, yes, they are good for rats, nutritious and exactly what the rat needs as part of his diet if they are not on blocks.
 
jorats said:
This is a touchy subject for some as it constitutes live feeding, even if it is a bug.
But essentially, yes, they are good for rats, nutritious and exactly what the rat needs as part of his diet if they are not on blocks.
alright, :) thanks
 
Dewi said:
I don't like the live feeding aspect of feeding meal worms, plus they look creepy! Eeek!
haha the only fact it dosent bother me, is because we have qails to give them to and.. ok, you can call me disgusting here, but me and my roommate want to fry them up, and eat them ourselves...<< and some crickets too! but, anything other then an insect, i would never feed to another animal

there is always the aspect of putting them in the freezer before hand before feeding.. its not very uncomfortable for them.. its like falling asleep.
 
Seeing as they are cold blooded I'd say that chilling them in the fridge to make them unconscious followed by freezing them might be a nicer thing to do if you are going to feed them to rats or yourself :shock: . Are you seriously thinking about eating them? They'll probably taste like chicken :laugh2:.
 
Dewi said:
Seeing as they are cold blooded I'd say that chilling them in the fridge to make them unconscious followed by freezing them might be a nicer thing to do if you are going to feed them to rats or yourself :shock: . Are you seriously thinking about eating them? They'll probably taste like chicken :laugh2:.
fry them up in some oil and viniger, spice them up and toss them in a salade! num num!:D
 
They're very good in a 'stir fry' type meal. They give a little bit of a crisp texture with the softer rice. Just make sure you do not burn them. Most horrible smell and taste. :sick2: Good with some garlic and cumin.

Same goes for crickets, any other grubs/larvae, ants, etc.. The key is to get them cooked, but make sure they don't start to burn. Keep it on a lower heat if you tend to singe things around the edges. I didn't think they tasted like chicken, just.. crunchy and not half bad. Crickets were a bit more of a stretch for me [whole and on a stick] and just tasted like fried crispy stuff. Yanno the little fried batter bits you get with fish n chips and such? Kinda like that.

Refrigerating them until they reach stasis, and/or freezing them until they're dead [about 15min in most cases] and then immediately putting them in the pan is best/humane.
 
I guess as long as they are given a good life and then humanely killed ....
... if you are sure it is humane.

BUT as jorats said, there is no reason to feed them if the rats are being fed a good quality lab block.

Personally, I don't want to kill animals and live feeding would provoke me to homicide.

At school last week I picked up two june bugs and set them safely outdoors on grass,
in an area where they had shelter ... this involved getting out of my seat in class, etc.
It disturbed me that no one else in the room was concerned about their welfare.
 
SQ said:
I guess as long as they are given a good life and then humanely killed ....
... if you are sure it is humane.

BUT as jorats said, there is no reason to feed them if the rats are being fed a good quality lab block.

Personally, I don't want to kill animals and live feeding would provoke me to homicide.

At school last week I picked up two june bugs and set them safely outdoors on grass,
in an area where they had shelter ... this involved getting out of my seat in class, etc.
It disturbed me that no one else in the room was concerned about their welfare.
your such a sweetie *hugs* haha my house is a haven for spiders, they like to sit in the corners, and dance :D i love the daddy long legs, just recently ive gotten over my hate for centipieds, i no longer squish them
 
Glad you stopped killing them ... you could rehome them to the outdoors ...

In my previous apartment there was a spider that lived in my bathroom.
I named him Herman Munster.
Kind of miss that little guy ....
 
SQ said:
Glad you stopped killing them ... you could rehome them to the outdoors ...

In my previous apartment there was a spider that lived in my bathroom.
I named him Herman Munster.
Kind of miss that little guy ....
i have to many t name them! um..brb.. theres something large moveing in the kitchen o.o...


sigh, my roomates quail escaped again, sigh, she needs to get them a propper cage!
 
I've given my rats meal worms before and they LOVE them. I always make sure that my meal worms have a good solid week of happiness before they go. I give them lots of good fresh food daily...lots of oatmeal mixture for them to crawl and dig in. A happy bug is a healthy bug and I don't see the point in feeding them to the rats if they aren't healthy.

If you are going to feed your rats meal worms just make sure you get them from a good place. Some places don't bother with up keep and it really effects the meal worms...they are often skinny and don't have much strength. A healthy worm is fat, sandy-yellow in color and puts up a fight when you pick it up. They are actually quite strong for their size...it surprised me when I first got some.
 
bruxxy said:
I've given my rats meal worms before and they LOVE them. I always make sure that my meal worms have a good solid week of happiness before they go. I give them lots of good fresh food daily...lots of oatmeal mixture for them to crawl and dig in. A happy bug is a healthy bug and I don't see the point in feeding them to the rats if they aren't healthy.

If you are going to feed your rats meal worms just make sure you get them from a good place. Some places don't bother with up keep and it really effects the meal worms...they are often skinny and don't have much strength. A healthy worm is fat, sandy-yellow in color and puts up a fight when you pick it up. They are actually quite strong for their size...it surprised me when I first got some.

After that description, I think I would name them and start shopping for a larger home and toys for them ... Mealworms are definately Pets ... not food !!
I'm envisioning happy little bugs right now :nod:
Wonder what kind of toys they like ..... ?
 
I give my crickets egg carton and toilet paper rolls to hide in....they love it...i think :lol:
 
Keltera said:
your such a sweetie

Thanks ... I do care about animals.

Actually, I am a mature woman, an experienced rat owner, who has returned to university.
I can no longer work in my previous field so I am retraining for a new career.
I am appalled that rat owners would view small animals as food for other animals.
But will say no more as that is not what this thread is about.

Thank you for the video, however, it was a bit different than what I had thought you meant.
 
SQ said:
Keltera said:
your such a sweetie

Thanks ... I do care about animals.

Actually, I am a mature woman, an experienced rat owner, who has returned to university.
I can no longer work in my previous field so I am retraining for a new career.
I am appalled that rat owners would view small animals as food for other animals.
But will say no more as that is not what this thread is about.

Thank you for the video, however, it was a bit different than what I had thought you meant.

SQ you sound a little like me. I rescue insects when I see them in trouble (and slugs, snails, earthworms etc), have done so since I was a little child and am still doing it (in my 30s now). I also had a career change and recently went back to university, thank goodness that this study has finished now! To be honest I'm planning on a 3rd career change because the second one I chose (which is about to commence) isn't quite my cup of tea.
 
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