mealies eating aliens? (and other questions)

[HepCatMoe]

anybody seen their mealies eating their aliens? i think mine are doing it.

i supply them with oatmeal and pieces of potato and keep em in a tupperware tub.

also, i think a strange mold has invaded one of my colonies. it doesnt live on any of the mealies, just the potato pieces i throw in there. is it no problem?

 

[acpart]

I think it's best to separate mealies, aliens and beetles because they will eat each other in their search for moisture. Some veggies get moldy after awhile, especially if it's really humid in the container. If you put veggies in there, watch for them getting moldy and take them out if they do get moldy.

Aliza

 

[HepCatMoe]

thanks, next question, how do i find the aliens before the mealworms do? for the most part im just finding their hollowed out bodies.

 

[gothra]

I pick them out once a day; the aliens are usually on the top, its pretty easy to spot. Also, I would be very careful with the mold issue, have you tried using carrots? Carrots seem less likely to mold, but I change out the carrot once every 2 days MOST.

 

[tronicsman]

i use baby carrots and they eat all of them before they mold

 

[skyline]

I have a question to is it ok to keep waxworms with mealworms?

 

[gothra]

The mealworms may eat the waxworm; I once put a left over silkworm and a few mealworms together, the next morning only the head of the silkworm is left...

 

[fallen_angel]

what is the alien? is it that weird chubby-looking thing, the phase before it turns to beetle? I didn't know the mealies ate those, I've always found them alive, but I also always throw them away..

 

[ALGeckos]

The mealies will eat the aliens (the pupae phase before the beetle stage) if they're left in there, so I suggest taking them out if you want beetles or don't want them eating the pupae. The majority of the time, they sit at the top of the bedding, but you can always sift through the top layer to see if there are any that got semi-buried with all those mealies moving around.

If you plan on growing your own mealworm colony, you can separate them out into another container so that they can turn into beetles and mate for some baby mealies. Beetles are treated the same way as mealworms - same bedding, same water source, and no bright lights - Or you can just toss them out, which is what I do since my geckos all prefer crickets over mealworms.

I also had the potato problem when I first started, and I ended up tossing out the whole colony that was using the potato that had gone bad. When there's mold, I have a fear that it'll make my geckos sick, so I tossed them just in case. What I've been doing since having that potato problem, was tossing in a bunch of baby carrots and I've had much success. It stays drier and the mealworms still get their water and vitamins. They like to keep eating straight through, so you'll have mealworms hanging out of the carrot hehe. Sometimes, I'll also put a square of paper towel that covers 1/4 of the bedding and place the carrots on that... the only thing with that though, is that they'll eat through the paper :main_rolleyes:

 

[HepCatMoe]

thanks for all the help guys, one more related question, do the beetles eat the aliens?

 

[LeopardLunatic]

yep the beetles do eat the pupae (aliens) they are the ones most likely causing most of the problems i dont really have problems with the worms in my colony rather the beetles.

 

[LadyGecko]

I also use baby carrots
They are the easiest veggie to use for moisture for insects and are usually eaten before there is a chance of mold
They are usually $1.50 lb and that will feed a lot of worms and crickets

Sandy

 

[Freemankind]

My mealworm tub got mold in it and got a nasty funk to it. My geckos wanted nothing to do with these stinky mealies so I had to scrap it and go buy more.

 

[HepCatMoe]

so, i need a box for the worms, a container for the aliens, and a box for the beetles?

even if you check everyday, how do you stop the recently changed beetles from devouring the aliens?

 

[GeckoGathering]

meal worms for gecko prey???

hey hep cat....I got smart after doing the separating thing and tested to see what happens when you throw 8,000 small ones in a nice plastic container.not too deep but lid-less, for good air circulation. Chick starter and bran(or other protein high grain or pet food) + Plus +
Only use carrots(they dry different from potatoes + have some extra goodies in them) and oranges (halves for most of the moisture needed) or the skins after you eat one it will be appreciated too. I don't try to count each phase of the cycle so, I don't know who eats who. But I do know the system works to feed 17 geckos my "well gutloaded" worms. Plenty of everything available too. eggs, small-med.-lg. worms, aliens, beetles, ***caution on mold......keep orange halves on the top with the skin side down. don't remove old dry looking skins because that's where groups of the beetles like to hang out to sing old hit songs. Sorry, wrong beatles.
People give up on it because they make it painful. But remember, you know what's in the ones you feed your babies. Take care. HJ

so, i need a box for the worms, a container for the aliens, and a box for the beetles?

even if you check everyday, how do you stop the recently changed beetles from devouring the aliens?