How to keep mealworms?

[Boa'sUnlimited]

Hey guys, im a little confused

I dont really know how to keep mealworms.. ive heard you have to put them in the fridge, and take them out 24 hours before you feed?

Can I just keep them in a container and leave them at room temp or do they HAVE to be in the fridge?

And what do you feed them? Can I just put a peice of lettuece or carrot in there and an egg carton?

Thanks for any help!

 

[fuzzylogix]

if you are feeding a small amount, and plan on continuing to purchase them, then keeping them in the fridge is the best way. it slows down their pupation. if you decide that you want to breed them, put them in a tub at room temp with rolled oats, wheat germ, even cricket gutload as substrate. provide them with carrots and/or potatoes for food and moisture, just dont get the substrate wet. mold will kill your worm colony.

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

if you are feeding a small amount, and plan on continuing to purchase them, then keeping them in the fridge is the best way. it slows down their pupation. if you decide that you want to breed them, put them in a tub at room temp with rolled oats, wheat germ, even cricket gutload as substrate. provide them with carrots and/or potatoes for food and moisture, just dont get the substrate wet. mold will kill your worm colony.

Im only going to have one gecko so I guess the fridge is best

can I just throw them in a container and put them in the fridge, or should I add a peice of potate and some type of substrait?

Thanks

 

[Lady Hyena]

It also depends on size. I always order slightly smaller then i want mealies so that i can gut load them myself and i know what they've eaten and when. they dont start pupating till there over 2 inchs most times. It might be fun fer ya to try breeding them. It only takes a few beetles to make thousands of mealies. I have more then i need so Im giving away extrase when there big enough.

If you want them to stay that size and not breed then keep them in the fridge. If ya want to give breeding a go round get a bin put them in and watch for them to pupate once they do that ya need to remove the pupla coz they'll eat it putting it in a small dish they turn into beetles a week to three weeks later. Most mine have in a week. then you put the beetles in a different container and wait=w= about a month later you'll have TINY mealies! it takes about 3 months to get them going well but once you do its super rewarding! who doesnt like free food right?

If you do this then you'll need to either buy some bedding/food or make your own, I make my own but if you just plan to do it for a little while then maybe consider buying some. Its easier and you dont waste none. the food/bedding shoudl be grainy fatty and protein. I use corn flakes, baby food, oats, and dog treats high in fat and protien its wokring great!

as for moisture be CAREFUL!!! you do not wanna get grain mites! this will ruin your colony! I use carrots. I cut them into sections then into halfs or 3rds placing the outside in the bedding to minimze the moisture being put in the bin.

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

It also depends on size. I always order slightly smaller then i want mealies so that i can gut load them myself and i know what they've eaten and when. they dont start pupating till there over 2 inchs most times. It might be fun fer ya to try breeding them. It only takes a few beetles to make thousands of mealies. I have more then i need so Im giving away extrase when there big enough.

If you want them to stay that size and not breed then keep them in the fridge. If ya want to give breeding a go round get a bin put them in and watch for them to pupate once they do that ya need to remove the pupla coz they'll eat it putting it in a small dish they turn into beetles a week to three weeks later. Most mine have in a week. then you put the beetles in a different container and wait=w= about a month later you'll have TINY mealies! it takes about 3 months to get them going well but once you do its super rewarding! who doesnt like free food right?

If you do this then you'll need to either buy some bedding/food or make your own, I make my own but if you just plan to do it for a little while then maybe consider buying some. Its easier and you dont waste none. the food/bedding shoudl be grainy fatty and protein. I use corn flakes, baby food, oats, and dog treats high in fat and protien its wokring great!

as for moisture be CAREFUL!!! you do not wanna get grain mites! this will ruin your colony! I use carrots. I cut them into sections then into halfs or 3rds placing the outside in the bedding to minimze the moisture being put in the bin.

I do want to try breeding them, but only when i get other geckos. Like i plan on getting a 2nd gecko already lol!

Then it may be more worht it, but I dunno if I wanna go through the hassel of breeding for one gecko.

But I will keep all of thsi in mind for when I do want to breed!

Thanks!

 

[fuzzylogix]

trust me, you won't stop at two geckos, lol

 

[thegeckoguy23]

if you are feeding a small amount, and plan on continuing to purchase them, then keeping them in the fridge is the best way. it slows down their pupation. if you decide that you want to breed them, put them in a tub at room temp with rolled oats, wheat germ, even cricket gutload as substrate. provide them with carrots and/or potatoes for food and moisture, just dont get the substrate wet. mold will kill your worm colony.

+1

 

[Lady Hyena]

I do want to try breeding them, but only when i get other geckos. Like i plan on getting a 2nd gecko already lol!

Then it may be more worht it, but I dunno if I wanna go through the hassel of breeding for one gecko.

But I will keep all of thsi in mind for when I do want to breed!

Thanks!

Lol you wont stop at 2 you cantXD So you will wanna start breeding early or less you'll be buying mealies for a good few months just to supply the few you have and it all adds up@.@ its 3 bucks for 50 mealies where i am. I go threw almost 150 a night. You do the math lol thats alot of mealies nightly. i have 16 leos. 2 werent so bad but Sabi and Komo both ate alottttttttttttt as babies i started breeding early but had to throw the group out coz i got mites@.@ start early! i cant stress that enough. It saves you alottttttttt in the long run!!! buy 500 or so(even 100) extra mealies and you wont regreat the little effert you put into them. seariously it takes me half a hour a day to tend to my 10k mealies, 500+ darklings, 500-super worms, 250+ dubias and 900+ red racers. thats alot of bugs to do but its literally no time at all to check them, swap out there carrots pick out pupas or beetles or dead ones. Peice of pie it just takes a bit to get used to it=w= (note i didnt say crickets. they still get them just as a treat or for picky eaters. i do keep around 50 atleast at all times)

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

trust me, you won't stop at two geckos, lol

LOL!!

This is so true!

I know im gonna end up with like 100

Maybe its better to start breeding mealworms LOL!!! :main_laugh:

 

[fuzzylogix]

heh, yeah get a head start. i started with 1 leo a few months ago and now i have over 160

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

Lol you wont stop at 2 you cantXD So you will wanna start breeding early or less you'll be buying mealies for a good few months just to supply the few you have and it all adds up@.@ its 3 bucks for 50 mealies where i am. I go threw almost 150 a night. You do the math lol thats alot of mealies nightly. i have 16 leos. 2 werent so bad but Sabi and Komo both ate alottttttttttttt as babies i started breeding early but had to throw the group out coz i got mites@.@ start early! i cant stress that enough. It saves you alottttttttt in the long run!!! buy 500 or so(even 100) extra mealies and you wont regreat the little effert you put into them. seariously it takes me half a hour a day to tend to my 10k mealies, 500+ darklings, 500-super worms, 250+ dubias and 900+ red racers. thats alot of bugs to do but its literally no time at all to check them, swap out there carrots pick out pupas or beetles or dead ones. Peice of pie it just takes a bit to get used to it=w= (note i didnt say crickets. they still get them just as a treat or for picky eaters. i do keep around 50 atleast at all times)

I know ill end up with mroe than 2, the only thing that worries me is picking out the pupa or whatever they are called

I dont think I can afford to buy so many bins to house all indivual ones in

Can the pupae be housed together? Or can you just put a ton of mealworms in a container with oatmeal, some potatos and just leave them be?

I dont really fully understand how to do it

The impression I got was, put oatmeal/oats or whatever its called, add some carrots/potato's in, put mealworms in, Remove pupae, put them in a seperate container

Is that about right?


EDIT:

Oh i see

I watched some videos about it, I get it now

So the beetles breed together, and then the eggs hatch and you take the mealworms and start the cycle over again

I get it!

Gonna pick up about a hundred asap and get it going

Sorry about not understanding, im more of a visual learner I guess lol, gotta see it to understand it

Thanks!

 

[Lady Hyena]

Sorry i didnt make that clear no pupas dont need to be indiviual just away from other meal worms or darkling beetles. when there at this stage there super vonurable and often will get eaten by the others. you only need 3 bins. Maybe get a storage system from walmart. Thats what i use for mealies, supers, and roachs. Cheap and effective. one of the bigger one that have three are like 15.

Just be sure your carefuly with the veggies. them videos on you tube arent always good. You do not want grain mites! it will kill your colony! It can spread to all your other bugs too and are boggers to get ride of!

Its great your getting into them but do NOT get collecteritius!!! Dont get over your head!!! Leos are great but people often think its easy to house and feed them all but after a year or three it seems everyones having to down size massivly because so many are breeding them for moneyD: Limit your self. Dont take on more then you can chew specailly if your not done with school. So many leos are in rescues because kids grew tired of them or went off to college and parents didnt want them anymore. be sure to offer varitty too. Its both good for your leos and its fun! Breeding roachs isnt that much harder. Supers are a bit more tricky and crickets are just a pain in the arse. Also if you plan to breed be sure you can house all them right. SO many people dont understand that a female can have 12+ babies from a good mating. If you have 4 females being bred to a male thats 48 babies...thats alot for anyone. Hatchlings eat ALOT. I told myself after 20 i wont keep no more....;D still got room for 4 more!

 

[Lady Hyena]

Your SHTCTB is super cute! If your consdering breeding it maybe look at another SHTCTB or a mack snow(or super snow) you'd produce mack snows, hypo snows, some SHTCTBs and some normals if im thinking right.

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

Your SHTCTB is super cute! If your consdering breeding it maybe look at another SHTCTB or a mack snow(or super snow) you'd produce mack snows, hypo snows, some SHTCTBs and some normals if im thinking right.

Thanks!!!

Lol, I am not breeding her, I promised that I would keep her only as a pet and im gonna stick to my word on that. I signed an agreement saying I wouldnt breed her. Terms of adoption

I dont really want to breed leos anyway, I like them just as pets

anyways,
I do however want to breed mealworms lol!

The info you gave me before thsi post has really helped! Gonna take your advice with the moisture problem!


Thanks again!

EDIT:

I found what you mean by "Racks" itsl ike a rack with tubs that slide in and out, Im gonna check how much it costs, then I can use that for my mealworm farm

 

[Lady Hyena]

;D was just throwing that out there if you were considering breeding her. I have a SHTCTB too, even tho hes a common morph now hes still on of my favorites Yay for adoption! you dont see that to often!

:main_thumbsup: glad i could help. Rather pass on the bit of info then have ya mess a holleeee colony up@.@ its such a headache! If you do get mites you'll have to throw it out and start anew its a mega headacheD: No one warned me about the mites you'd get from potatoes@.@ I stopped feeding them that stricking carrots or cellery one in a while some apple all the outside up.

=w= i think breeding the mealies is fun.When you get tiny babies(there only a few cms) and you were able to make them(well sorta) its a eeeee moment. Its alot harder then it sounds but once ya get it its easy. Also with the darkling beetles and eggs make sure you have stuff for them to climb on(i.e. egg cartons, box ends, toliet paper rolls, ext) to minimize them eating the eggs.

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

;D was just throwing that out there if you were considering breeding her. I have a SHTCTB too, even tho hes a common morph now hes still on of my favorites Yay for adoption! you dont see that to often!

:main_thumbsup: glad i could help. Rather pass on the bit of info then have ya mess a holleeee colony up@.@ its such a headache! If you do get mites you'll have to throw it out and start anew its a mega headacheD: No one warned me about the mites you'd get from potatoes@.@ I stopped feeding them that stricking carrots or cellery one in a while some apple all the outside up.

=w= i think breeding the mealies is fun.When you get tiny babies(there only a few cms) and you were able to make them(well sorta) its a eeeee moment. Its alot harder then it sounds but once ya get it its easy. Also with the darkling beetles and eggs make sure you have stuff for them to climb on(i.e. egg cartons, box ends, toliet paper rolls, ext) to minimize them eating the eggs.

Thanks for the compliment! I like to adopt to be honest, Makes me feel happier And i bet the geckos get happy from it too (if they can get happy, which im sure they can )



Lol, im a bit of a bug freak too so breeding them will give me that eee moment

Thanks for the heads up about the egg cartons! I didnt know if they didnt have them they'd eat the eggs :O Evil little creatures!

It sounds like fun though, And I am really big on saving money so, breeding my own food is a plus lol!

 

[Lady Hyena]

Lol! im a money saver too, always comparing prices@.@ if your looking for a large amount of mealies try grubco.com their shipping is cheap and you can get lots definatly worth it in the long run!

they are super evil! there life cycles are ruthless. Superworms are even worse they'll eat once another if there isnt enough liquid! Its bothersome the stupid evil things! But its worth it

Glad ya figured out what i ment!XD right now most are on sale too! coz of school starting! Targets a good place. They dont need them really tall either. ones that are like5 inchs high are plenty.

Once ya get going you'll have more then you needXD you're gonna wanna find someone to give/sell some too specailly since you'll only be feeding one(or moreXD) geckos. i have someone with sugar gliders gonna take some extras. Great way to get some good karma!

I wish i could adopt but wayyyyyyy up north in mn only rescue doesnt allow adoption to anyone with other reptiles....@.@ since i have 16 im throwen out. Super cute leo they have but cant do nothing for her since i have some already. Apparently they think someone would breed her(shes a normal/wild type)...there not all to bright tho they have her hosued on sand@.@

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

Lol! im a money saver too, always comparing prices@.@ if your looking for a large amount of mealies try grubco.com their shipping is cheap and you can get lots definatly worth it in the long run!

they are super evil! there life cycles are ruthless. Superworms are even worse they'll eat once another if there isnt enough liquid! Its bothersome the stupid evil things! But its worth it

Glad ya figured out what i ment!XD right now most are on sale too! coz of school starting! Targets a good place. They dont need them really tall either. ones that are like5 inchs high are plenty.

Once ya get going you'll have more then you needXD you're gonna wanna find someone to give/sell some too specailly since you'll only be feeding one(or moreXD) geckos. i have someone with sugar gliders gonna take some extras. Great way to get some good karma!

I wish i could adopt but wayyyyyyy up north in mn only rescue doesnt allow adoption to anyone with other reptiles....@.@ since i have 16 im throwen out. Super cute leo they have but cant do nothing for her since i have some already. Apparently they think someone would breed her(shes a normal/wild type)...there not all to bright tho they have her hosued on sand@.@

Will that website ship to Canada? Porbably good to mention im in Canada lol!

When I get my mealworms going, im actually gonna give the extras that I dont need to my step sister, she has two bearded dragons

About the whole, no adoption if you have other reptiles.. thats kinda stupid lol... Wouldnt it be betetr if people with more reptiles adopted because then they have more knowledge about what they are adopting?

Lol, maybe im crazy though :main_yes:

 

[Lady Hyena]

Mm i do know they ship world wide so i dont see why they wouldnt ship to canada just email them. they'll tell ya quote before you buy.

Just be sure they dont get to many mealies. There not the best for beardies=w=

I KNOW! its stupid i pointed that out too(i tried to adopt her) they said i wanted her for breeding=-= Because i had two unknown sexed geckos apparently i wanted to breed her=-= none the less they refused me=-= Refused my friend too because he has a nile monitor and some boas...they said he was gonna feed her to his other reptiles=-= honestly i think they're running as a private rescue to cover up there hoarding=-= they have newts and beardie too...But then i could be complelty wrong...

 

[Boa'sUnlimited]

Mm i do know they ship world wide so i dont see why they wouldnt ship to canada just email them. they'll tell ya quote before you buy.

Just be sure they dont get to many mealies. There not the best for beardies=w=

I KNOW! its stupid i pointed that out too(i tried to adopt her) they said i wanted her for breeding=-= Because i had two unknown sexed geckos apparently i wanted to breed her=-= none the less they refused me=-= Refused my friend too because he has a nile monitor and some boas...they said he was gonna feed her to his other reptiles=-= honestly i think they're running as a private rescue to cover up there hoarding=-= they have newts and beardie too...But then i could be complelty wrong...

Thanks, ill contact them and see how much th shipping will be!

Also, than kyou for the heads up about the beardies. I know nothing about them so yeah lol!!!

Its unfortunate that they wouldnt let you adopt the gecko :main_no: I think as long as the adoptee gives them written proof that they wont breed, they should take your word

Some people just dont trust other people, for what reason I dont know :main_no: