Bio-active substrate with superworms for lizards?

Hi everyone, I know the usual suspects for a great bio-active substrate are Springtails, Woodlice and some other little critters like that. But I read that superworm larvae and beetles can be used too?

I thought that sounded great because then my lizards can forage for them and they will clean up waste as well as eat the potato and carrot I have in there for them, but now I am worrying they may pester my animals?

Over worrying?

Also, side question.. I have a small reptile lamp with one of those metal guards. I want to use just the ceramic fixture so, removing the guard. But the switch for the lamp prevents me from unscrewing and removing the top part of the ceramic so the guard can slide off. Am I going to have to cut the guard off somehow? any ideas?

I put super worms in my cages, they all got eaten pretty quickly. I use springtails, isopods, and earthworms in there to help with the soil. As far as the fixture you would be better off just getting a fixture from your LHS. When I was building my Tegu cage I picked up 3 ceramic fixtures for $1.50 a piece.

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Originally Posted by MikeYPG

Hi everyone, I know the usual suspects for a great bio-active substrate are Springtails, Woodlice and some other little critters like that. But I read that superworm larvae and beetles can be used too?

I thought that sounded great because then my lizards can forage for them and they will clean up waste as well as eat the potato and carrot I have in there for them, but now I am worrying they may pester my animals?

Over worrying?

Also, side question.. I have a small reptile lamp with one of those metal guards. I want to use just the ceramic fixture so, removing the guard. But the switch for the lamp prevents me from unscrewing and removing the top part of the ceramic so the guard can slide off. Am I going to have to cut the guard off somehow? any ideas?

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i'm not sure what kind of lizard you have, but I wouldn't do it. I have owned and bred leopard geckos for almost a decade now and I've seen them all bitten up from mealworms left in the enclosure. Honestly, stick to the woodlice.

It depends on the lizard he has, I'm basing my response off his avatar picture, which I probably shouldn't do. The mealworms/superworms didn't do anything to my Tegu, that being said their skin is much tougher than a gecko. She would dig and hunt for them and it provides some enrichment. Like I said they never last long enough in her cage though.

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Originally Posted by jclaiborne

It depends on the lizard he has, I'm basing my response off his avatar picture, which I probably shouldn't do. The mealworms/superworms didn't do anything to my Tegu, that being said their skin is much tougher than a gecko. She would dig and hunt for them and it provides some enrichment. Like I said they never last long enough in her cage though.

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Oh, I just assumed that was as picture from the internet, but you're right. if the OP owns a tegu then the mealworms shouldn't be a problem

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Originally Posted by FlynnTheBP

Oh, I just assumed that was as picture from the internet, but you're right. if the OP owns a tegu then the mealworms shouldn't be a problem

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It very well could be, it almost looks like an baby Argus Monitor but its such a small pic. That's probably why I shouldn't have assumed.