Cricket AND mealworm questions

[LCReptiles]

Okay, so my mealworm colony is doing fine. I have 2 bins roughly 14 days of age apart with multitudes of baby worms. I have enough beetles that I have split them into 2 more tubs and will have 2 more bins of baby worms in another 14-16 days. My question is what you guys do to keep your mealies active. I have 1 gecko that won't eat supers cause I think she is intimidated but the mealworms don't move enough for her.

As for crickets, they stink and I don't really want to breed them, however I have an outdoor shed that has room for a setup. Would they need to be heated in the winter? I know very little about crickets. This is just a tin shed that other then stopping the rain pretty much maintains outdoor temps. Would they need supplemental heating during the winter months?

Thanks

 

[favrielle]

A baby carrot in the dish (if it's big enough) seems to keep mealies pretty active.

If you don't want to breed crickets due to the smell/noise... have you considered dubia? They're quiet, don't smell nasty, don't escape easily, and have great nutrition. It also takes fewer of them to equal the same amount of nutrition as crickets. My 88g adult male rescue eats one large (1" to 1 1/8") dusted dubia twice a week, and gets a refill of his mealworm dish once a week (as many as fit in a tiny terra-cotta saucer). He is maintaining his weight well with this regimen; it would take quite a few crickets to get the same result!

 

[LCReptiles]

Hey, thanks for the response. I actually am currently breeding dubia's, mealworms and soon superworms. My dubia colony is only about a month old so I don't really have the numbers to feed off them yet. This one particular gecko (maybe she's just lazy) seems to really only take to the crickets with their legs pulled off and allowed to roam the tub. None of my other geckos have a problem eating out of the dishes. I don't like letting the mealworms loose in the tubs because they get under the carpet and then she never finds them. I was just trying to find a way to entice her to eat.

 

[favrielle]

Ah, gotcha. I have a princess, myself. She won't eat crickets unless they're a very specific size and have their legs amputated, and doesn't like dubia much at all, silly girl. Her mealworms must be moving, or she won't eat them, and she HATES the taste of Repashy Calcium plus. So I get it.

Try the chunk of carrot in your girl's mealie dish and see if that works. Once your dubia colonly gets going, try giving her a few good-size nymphs laid down on their backs. I have to do this with my special-needs girl who can't hunt well... the wiggling as the roach tries to turn over triggers a major hunting instinct.

As for crickets, bleh. I have some, started with 1000 adults to use as feeders and breeders. They stink, they escape all over, the chirping is enough to drive anyone crazy, they can transmit parasites because of their eat-anything appetite, and they're susceptible to massive dieoff at the drop of a hat. Can you tell I hate them? If you choose to set them up in your shed, then yes, they'll need supplemental heating to keep alive and especially to keep breeding during winter.

 

[LCReptiles]

Your post is enough to keep me away. I hate crickets almost as much I was willing to make the sacrifice for the good of the geckos. I also use Repashy Plus, I never considered it might be that. Right now I am using a C Serpents rack system which allows the geckos to see each other. Due to space constraints she is next to a male, so she may just be stressed. I have a Boaphile Rhino Raxx coming FedEx as I type this. Not only is it going to triple my space but each tube has a divider between the tubs so they cannot see each other. I am hoping she starts to come back around after that. Until then I'll just keep doing what I can to keep her from losing weight. She has been fluctuating up and down the past month. She'll gain 2-3 grams then drop them again... so it isn't a dire situation I just want them happy.

 

[favrielle]

I just got my first rack (ever!) on Tuesday from Boaphile. It's the sideways blanket, with dividers for the 16qt tubs. I LOVE it! And I'm actually keeping some small bins of baby dubia in the top space so they have extra heat for growth, though that will change if my two gravid girls drop fertile eggs.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's just stress keeping your girl from gaining consistently. I had problems with one of mine because she could see my big male from her enclosure... I had to cover three sides with paper just to get her settled down.

 

[LCReptiles]

Fav,

This may seem like a crazy question but are the mealworms smart enough to get the veggies off a lid in their bin? I've seen people say they don't put their veggies directly on the bedding to avoid mold... I've always just been scared to try it.

 

[favrielle]

Smart enough? I wouldn't say they're smart enough for much of anything, but as for smell/taste and finding the food... you can always try it. I just try to keep their veggies/fruits in a clear corner of the plastic drawer if I'm afraid they'll mold, and I remove anything left after a few days. You could also try small pieces of paper towel to separate the fresh food from the bedding, but the worms will eat through the towel, too.

 

[LCReptiles]

I am sad to report that whether it was sickness or stress Giselle passed away today. She was my favorite girls from one of my favorite projects. I can't believe she went downhill so quickly. It was only 2 weeks ago she was eating crickets and superworms and acting like she was returning to normal.

 

[favrielle]

I'm sorry to hear that.