Mealies drying out

[moonieass13]

I am feeding my leo mealies for now and I am keeping in em in the fridge like lots of people recommend to do.. however I find quite a few of em dead everyday when I go to feed my leo.... depending on where I get em the substrate changes a bit. However, I normally just switch their substrate to a flukers gut load / grinded oats combo and then put a couple water gels in the container...

any reason why they seem to be dying?

 

[ketz]

Hmm, I've never kept them in the fridge, I thought that caused them to go dormant and not eat as much. Are they actually eating the food and being lively?

 

[moonieass13]

I think they are eating the food stuff.. but they dont move much in the fridge... maybe I will try and take em out.... some people said that keeping em in the fridge made them stay alive longer

 

[STUTFL]

I've had more mealies die from too much moisture than from too little.
Mine are still in the fridge, actually, with no moisture at all, and they've been around forever. :laugh: Mealies won't turn into beetles in the fridge, which is good if you don't go through 'em fast. Just don't try that with supers or phoenix worms, or they'll die right off.

I give the butterworms carrots and the supers carrots and assorted other veggies when I have them leftover, it's been working fine so far.

 

[moonieass13]

will they still eat the flukers/oats if I put em in the fridge tho?

 

[snowgyre]

Nope, they don't eat and don't drink while in the fridge. I have a feeling your mealies are actually dying because of the moisture, not from the lack of it. I take my mealies out of the fridge once a week for a day to feed and hydrate them, then I make sure their substrate is 100% dry before I put them back in. Mealworms can live up to a month in the fridge without a warm day for eating and drinking.

 

[moonieass13]

the container does not seem to have any moisture in it... seems fairly dry because the gels get covered in the substarte... maybe I will take em out for a couple days

 

[snowgyre]

Mealies are sensitive even to relative humidity, not outright wetness. I don't store them with any moisture at all. They're just really finicky that way.

 

[moonieass13]

hmm okay thats good info... you just take the gel out after their day of feeding?

 

[snowgyre]

Yep! I let them sit overnight with mandarin oranges though, I don't use the gel. I remove anything moist before I put them back in the fridge.

 

[moonieass13]

okay I shall give that a try