для знакомых с английским. все совершенно четко про то чем кормить, а чем нет, пищевая ценность приведена в таблице внизу
Insects
Live insects and worms are another live food choice, and when provided properly can offer exceptional nutrition in the meat category. Some common varieties are mealworms, superworms, waxworms, butterworms, and silkworms. That's listed from easiest to find to hardest to find, and coincidentally also from unhealthiest to healthiest. How convenient, huh? Here are some pictures...from top left to right: Superworm, Silkworm, Butterworm, Waxworm. Some other insect choices are earthworms, slugs, and snails (snails are highly recommended as their shells are a great source of calcium). Remember to "detox", that is, if you collect snails from the wild, keep them in a clean bucket for a couple days with some leaves and a little water. If they are alive after the couple days, you are usually good to go; the idea being that if the snails were poisoned, they would die during this period or rid their bodies of any contaminates. It's probably best however, to avoid wild food in heavily populated urban areas. Cockroaches are also fun for a treat. Abstain from feeding them crickets and avoid mealworms. Both have essentially no nutritional value. They can be fun however, and are readily available, so if you do throw some in once in a while, dusting them with calcium powder isn't a bad idea.
Can worms eat their way out of my skink?
NO!! No matter what you've heard, this is not true. I'm not sure where this rumor or urban legend originates, but it's an incredibly popular one. You do NOT need to cut off a superworm's head before feeding it to your BTS, and a superworm is also NOT a mealworm on steroids or any other drug/enhancer. They are a completely different species and pupate into a completely different beetle (yes, the beetles are ok to feed to BTS). So, the next time a pet store employee tells you to cut the head off of a mealie or super prior to feeding, just roll your eyes, and politely explain the truth. Don't ignore them! Be sure to set them straight if you know better. If you ignore it, the person will just spread the bad advice to someone else continuing this widespread absurdity.
Gut loading
Gut loading is raising and feeding insects and mice with a healthy or special diet in order to make them more nutritious for your skink. Many pet stores claim to sell "pre-gut loaded" crickets. This would be an advantage if it were true, but it's not always the case. Ask the employee if the insects are gut loaded. If they tell you that they don't know, that is an honest answer, and you can then ask for a manager or supervisor. If they respond "Yes, they are", then ask what they are gut loaded with. This will usually determine if the person truly knows what he or she is talking about.
One last thing to mention is that you will likely never find silkworms or butterworms in pet stores, so if you're interested in purchasing some, check out the Skink Links for websites. For fun, here is a comparative table of feeder insects—now you can really see how crickets are virtually "nutritionless" compared to high quality feeders such as the butterworms and silkworms.
Live Insect Comparisons
Feeder Moisture % Ash % Fat % Protein % Ca
Crickets 69.07 9.9 22.7 11.4 1:9.75
Mealworms 61 1 14 20 1:25
Superworms 59.37 1.2 17.89 17.41 1:18
Waxworms 61.73 1.02 22.19 15.50 1:7
Butterworms 58.54 1.04 5.21 16.20 ?
Silkworms ? 7.4 10.6 63.8 1:2.35
Nightcrawlers 85 1 2 10 ?