Superworms vs. Crickets - Which is the Better Feeder?
Superworms vs. Crickets - Which is the Better Feeder?
Picking a staple feeder insect for your pet can be a big decision. There are a lot of options available, and which you pick depends on your pet’s needs and your own living situation. Crickets are one of the most common feeder insects out there, and you can buy them in most pet shops. Superworms are a little less common, but they’re very easy to raise indoors.
On top of that, they have some nutritional differences and other biological factors that might make you pick one over the other. In this article, we’ll compare and contrast so you can make the right choice for your reptile.
Reptile Dietary Needs
The first thing you should figure out is what kind of diet your pet needs. The two examples we normally look at for reptile diets are bearded dragons, which are classic omnivores, and leopard geckos, which are strict carnivores.
For bearded dragons, variety is key. They need a mix of leafy greens, fruits, and some insect protein to stay well-rounded. They like greens like kale and collards, and fruits like banana, apple, and mango. As far as insects go, they need something that is both high in protein and fiber. They also need a lot of calcium for their general health, lots of moisture, and low fiber. Their diets shift from more meat-heavy as juveniles to more vegetarian as adults.
Leopard geckos eat bugs, bugs, and more bugs. But the key to remember is that they still need variety. One feeder insect probably isn’t going to keep them in great health for their whole life. It’s good to have a single feeder, which should be high in protein and fat, while low in fiber. But they will need other supplemental insects to round out their diet (this also keeps them entertained, as they’re avid hunters). They also need a high calcium intake (2:1 calcium to phosphorus).
When picking an insect to feed your reptile, you should pick one that is as long as the distance between your pet’s eyes. As your pet gets bigger, its food should too. This is another factor to consider in picking a feeder insect.
Superworm Biology
The Superworm, Tenebrio molitor, is a beetle larva native to tropical forests in Central and South America. During the larval stage, it will grow to reach 2.5” long. This is suitable for even the biggest and beefiest bearded dragons. They will spend up to six months as larvae before pupating. Compared to mealworms, superworms are also much softer and less chitinous (meaning lower in fiber).
Cricket Biology
There are two main kinds of crickets sold as feeder insects, the brown house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and the banded cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus). Brown house crickets are more common, although if you keep crickets and your colony dies off, you might switch to banded crickets. Both species are native to southeast Asia and are about the same size at adulthood (.7-.8”). This is an appropriate size for most reptiles, but if you have a large lizard, you might need a bigger bug.
Breeding in Captivity
Both crickets and superworms are fairly easy to breed, although they require very different setups. Because crickets are easy to buy, they are always a good backup food source if something happens to your feeder colony. Superworms are incredibly low-maintenance to breed, but depending on how many pets you have, you might end up with too many if you start a colony.
Nutrition Comparison
Crickets and superworms are fairly similar in some ways and differ a lot in others. Here are the nutrition facts for both species.
Superworm Nutrition Facts
Protein: 19.7%
Fat: 17.7%
Moisture: 57.9%
Ash: 1%
Fiber: 2.7%
Calcium to phosphorus ratio: 1:13
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
As you can see, both have good protein content, crickets are slightly higher. Superworms are a clear winner for fat, and also have a lower fiber content than crickets. You can always boost your feeder’s nutritional value by gut loading them before giving them to your pet.
You’ll also notice that both species have a low ratio of calcium to phosphorus. This is pretty common with a lot of feeders, and the most common solution is to dust them with a calcium supplement.
Digestibility
You can correct for a lack of fat or calcium by gut loading or dusting your feeders, but you can’t take fiber out of an insect. For reptiles like bearded dragons that can become impacted if they get too much fiber, crickets could potentially cause digestive issues. This on its own might be enough to make your decision for you.
But again, crickets can be a good backup feeder, and they probably wouldn’t hurt too much if you needed to use them occasionally or along with other (low fiber) feeders. You could potentially use superworms and crickets together (depending on how large your pet is) to ensure good nutrition and plenty of entertainment
Which Do Reptiles Like Better?
Which brings us to our last point. Like any predatory animal, reptiles love hunting. Crickets are much more mobile than superworms, and provide lots of entertainment for active reptiles (usually juveniles). If your pet is older, they may not have as much energy and might prefer something slow-moving and easy to catch. For that, the superworm wins out.
A Balanced Diet
It’s important to remember that reptiles need a healthy mix of things. Bearded dragons need veggies (meaning lots of vitamins and minerals) and variety to stay healthy. Leopard geckos should have more than one feeder insect. It’s smart to pick one feeder that’s higher in protein, and another “snack” feeder that’s more fatty.