Is this harmful to my Leopard Gecko? Feeding DEAD mealworms?

Question

Alright, so I have an adult Leopard Gecko. I went to the petstore to buy him some mealworms to feed him. Your supposed to keep them in the fridge, but me being the idiot I am put them in the freezer by accident, and didn't realize it until it was too late and they were all dead. Well I took them out of the freezer and put them in the fridge just in case, but I was wondering if it would be harmful to feed dead mealworms to my gecko? There kept in the fridge, but I was wondering if this could make him sick somehow? At first I didn't think it would be because I feed my snake dead mice, but I keep the dead mice in the freezer and thaw them out when I feed them to him. So would it harm my gecko if I feed him these dead mealworms that are being stored in a fridge?

Answer 1

I can only assume that you'd only want the best nutrition for your gecko, right?  Your pets are only as healthy as the food you feed them, they can only eat what you provide...  I just can't imagine risking parasites(and whatever other problems) that would flourish in dead feeder insects.

  I'd rather take a loss on the meal worms than to tack on the cost of a vet visit and a herp de-worming.

  lol... besides, if your gecko's anything like my dragons, they won't touch dead insects,mine are much to picky and I just assume that's nature's way of protecting their tummies.  ;]

Answer 2

No. It should be fine. It wont hurt the animal. If he is willing to eat the dead ones, it is better than wasting them. As long as they haven't been rotting for a long time though. If they are decayed, throw them away.

Answer 3

Obviously the best thing to do is to dispose of the old food stock and replenish with new, live mealworms. Having said that, there is no problem giving your leopard the dead ones providing of course that they are completely thawed out. Don't hang onto the thawed out ones for more than a couple of days though - once thawed out they go off very quickly indeed. Which is less expensive, new live food or a new leopard gecko?? I know what I'd be doing!

Answer 4

Yes it is very harmful Im a leo breeder i didthat before and one of my gecko threw up and got sick i had to take him to my vet for medical attention.