Mealworms in weed container

I just got some mealworms from someone local and the container the mealworms are in was used for weed. Will that hurt my leopard gecko

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Not sure, but I'd guess that it could IF the mealworms ingested any bits left behind, & there's no way to know that so I'd personally "error on the side of caution". (ie. don't chance it, even though it's a remote possibility) :(

I wonder how long it takes for food eaten by mealworms to completely pass thru their GI tract? You might google that- maybe feeding them healthy food for several days (or however long it takes per "Dr. Google") might safely remove the risk? Not sure though. And I'd have to assume that the previous user of the container would have gone out of their way to remove the prior contents pretty thoroughly?

Good question- anyone else have thoughts on this?

"there's no way to know that so I'd personally "error on the side of caution". (ie. don't chance it, even though it's a remote possibility) "

That's my practice, too. I have a few sources I'll get feeders from, and no others. Too many variables that I know nothing about, so I keep things simple and reliable.

It looks like THC absorbs into plastic: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3018361/

Honestly, I think even the risk of the mealies being kept/raised in a room/house where smoking of anything was going on is enough to make them suspect.

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

...It looks like THC absorbs into plastic: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3018361/ ...

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Very interesting. And I agree with you about avoiding smoke too.

People will send things in the weirdest containers....
When I worked at a lab for animal reference I've seen vets send urine samples in a glass sorbet container, a soda bottle and the weed jars. Even a tic tac case once. Desperate times and measures I suppose?

depending on how much I spent on the mealies might change the opinion but if it was less than 500 worms I'd probably just toss them and avoid risking it. If it's a large amount, maybe try keeping them in a container where you can have a screen under them to let the frass fall out as they eat so they don't continuosly get exposed to the possible weed ingested through feces?
Keep a clean suplly of veggies and some oats in the meantime.

I would say “toss it all “. Too risky as most would call it contaminated. Can you get a refund? Consider a new supplier.

I guess it would depend on is there still weed in said container or it was just used for that previously and cleaned but smells? Because feeding mealworm edibles to a reptile seems risky so I'd toss if there were still drugs in there but not if it was simply the odor. Or like someone else said find out how long food is in their system and go from there but THC in human systems lasts a long time so that's another concern. For the price of some worms I'd probably look for a new supply.

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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

I guess it would depend on is there still weed in said container or it was just used for that previously and cleaned but smells? Because feeding mealworm edibles to a reptile seems risky so I'd toss if there were still drugs in there but not if it was simply the odor. Or like someone else said find out how long food is in their system and go from there but THC in human systems lasts a long time so that's another concern. For the price of some worms I'd probably look for a new supply.

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But about the "smell", did you see this?

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

...It looks like THC absorbs into plastic: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3018361/ ...

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:confusd:

I totally agree that it's time for a better source. (And they're actually quite easy to raise your own mealworms too- I did, back when I kept geckos & other lizards.)

+1 on raising your own if you need small quantities. Oats/oat bran is cheap(ish), and carrot ends and peels (and other veggie scraps) make a good water source. I raised my own for a few years until my gecko collection outpaced my ability to produce them (I order mealies 10K at a time these days).

What stands out the most to me here is that the person had a weed container, which indicates that they use drugs. I would never trust that they didn't do so around the mealworms, personally, which means that even if the container was cleaned out, even if toxins didn't absorb into the plastic and cause contact contamination, they were still exposed, and probably over the course of their life cycle. Just my personal opinion - I'd throw them out, find a better source, and let anyone else I knew who bought from that source know there's a problem.