Mealie Question(s)..

[LizMarie]

Sorry longish post with a few questions..

While preparing for another gecko I got to thinking how exactly am I going to feed her? I already know she is already feed dusted mealworms with the occasional waxworm, which is fine.

I can't buy mealies in my local pet store because they are expensive after awhile and half of them are dead by the next day, and don't want her dying from the possibility of eating tainted food, ya know. So I've found a site that sells mealies at very affordable prices and has many good reviews from what I've read on other sites. Only problem is that the smallest package I believe is 100mealies. Is it a good idea to order from them and freeze the rest? If the fridge is to cold I have a small cooler that I can place in my closet with some ice packs or something.

Does this sound like a good idea?

If it is...
Around how long would 100mealies last for a single gecko?

Lastly does anyone have a recipe to a good well-rounded gut-load for mealies, or where I can purchase an affordable one?

Thankies..

 

[sushikam]

I think I can answer all your questions!

As far as ordering mealies, I would go ahead and order about 500 or 1000, whichever is the next step up. When I had my one leo in the beginning I ordered 1000 from sunshinemealworms.com and they were shipped to me within 3 or 4 days, all alive and well! And they don't cost a lot for the time that they will last. I usually will leave a little bit of them in a small gladware container and keep those out for feeding the geckos, and then keep the rest on their gutload in the fridge. When they are kept at cool temps they are dormant and will last for months!

As far as gutload you can just use a mixture of store bought things, like maybe regular oatmeal or cornflakes or something. I use Progutload from progeckos.com...this is a very good gutload and I think a lot of people on this forum use it. It's very affordable too! I buy the one pound bag and it lasts me for a good while.

Hope this answers your questions!

 

[moosassah]

Hi, I have 4 leos eating mealies. The leos were bought in Jan, April & 2 received in Dec. I buy online 1,000 at a time. The majority go in a butter container in the fridge with cricket food in it. I take them out 1-3 times a month for a warm up & hydrate day (adding in potato or carrot slices). Even when I had only 2 leos, 1,000 worked out great. I also keep a container for the ones that pupate & turn to beetles to extend our 1000 a little further. I've had leos for 1 year now & have purchased just purchased my 3rd order of 1,000 mealies, plus other side foods here & there (crix & waxies). All other mealies came from our lil' colony at home.

 

[LizMarie]

Thanks guys that does help a lot now I'm not worried anymore.

And sunshinemealworms.com was the place I was looking into I just had forgotten the URL. And thanks for the gut load link that was helpful and is affordable. Do you use the gutload as the bedding in the fridge?

 

[sushikam]

Do you use the gutload as the bedding in the fridge?

Yep! I don't know if it matters since they aren't really active while in there, but I guess it's good for when you take them out to give them an apple or something, so that they can eat and "drink".

 

[dmward]

for gutload you should check out Progeckos.com gutload. It is used by lots of folks on here for mealie bedding.

 

[MSMD]

I get my mealies from Sunsine.....great service and mealies! :main_yes: My extras keep very well in the fridge. For 10 geckos, I've been ordering 4,000 at a time....if that gives you any idea.

 

[TokayKeeper]

time to setup a mealie colony....

wal-mart/target/k-mart/whoever carries sterilite sweater boxes (12 quart)

1 shipment of 1000 mealies
2 sterilite sweater boxes
4 jars wheat germ (kind of expensive!)
1 large jar instant oatmeal (doesn't have to be name brand)
2 pieces of egg crate that will cover the bottom of each sterilite tub (newspaper works too)

mix wheat germ and oatmeal thoroughly, divide out to boxes. Place egg crate onto surface of mix. Dump ~500 mealies per box.

Feed mealies (see post #22 within the Mealies vs Crickets Poll), wait for them to pupate...I leave the transforming larvae in the boxes.

Wait a month (mean time you can use the non-pupated mealies for food for gecko(s)) and you should have a decent colony going! It's REALLY simply to setup and maintain.

Keep out of fridge at room temp, otherwise the mealies are pretty much just pooping while in the fridge and not necessarily eating (the fridge puts them into a suspended animation type state, prolonging growth, development, and consequently gutloading).