Mealworm Breeding issue!

Kiara1125 said:

Where did you get them from? If they're from a pet store then they're likely to all die. I got 500 mealworms offline a month ago and now they're almost all either pupae or beetles. There were 3 mealworms that, overnight, pupated then hatched into adult beetles in my leo's food dish. They grow quickly and my temperatures are 81F in my room. I do not believe that overheating is the problem, nor hydration. I use potatoes and carrots, they both work great. If not the fact that they're just bad, unhealthy stock from a local pet store, then try to switch the oats onto wheat bran. I got 25lbs of wheat bran for $10 at my local ranch and garden store. Just microwave the wheat bran for 30 seconds (stirring every 10 seconds) to kill any bugs or bacteria. Put about an inch in the container and let the mealworms go to town. Mine love wheat bran and they grow very quickly on it. Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

Click to expand...

jaredricha said:

Where do you suggest I buy some online at?

Click to expand...

Kiara1125 said:

I bought 500 mealworms for $9.95 at Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. They were nice and big, fat and healthy. Now, I don't use a screen, I use separate containers. If you're using a rack system for the mealies, put the beetles on top and have the eggs fall through the pupae container and the mealie container. If you mix up the wheat bran in all containers on a daily basis, the eggs will fall through and you can have them in the bottom container. Now, if you're using 3 racks then you probably should have it as beetle, mealies, then eggs. Take the pupae out and put them into a rubbermaid container with a lid (puncture holes into the lid) or a Kritter Keeper. I grab out beetles on a daily basis from the pupae container. Right now I'm just looking for movement in the wheat bran to indicate that the eggs have hatched. That's the only time I'm transferring my beetles. I'm still unsure of what I'm going to do, I might just stick them into the big mealworm container because I only have a handful of them left. All of the others are already pupae or beetles! It only took a week for the mealworms to start pupating. they breed fast and it may vary for you. My room is at 81F constantly, so the mealworms and beetles grow fast. So far, I've had mealworms that have pupated in the dish and then turned into beetles in a SINGLE night. Yet, no beetles have died yet. I've heard that beetles only live for a month or two, which means that it would be sped up from there being such high temperatures in my room. But I have yet to see a single dead beetle in the two months that I've had them. Although, it doesn't appear that there are any eggs in the container either. I wonder what's up with that ...

Sorry for rambling, but rambling made me think, so I am going to go play with my darkling beetles. xD

Click to expand...