Mealworm/beetle colony

[Reptile Barbie]

See the screen, then another tub is undeneath it? Well, i rigged up a little system that made my life hella easier.. the beetles go in the tub with the screen on it.. they lay eggs, then when they hatch the little bitty baby mealworms fall right thru to the other tub, so i dont have to sift them out lol

putting the smaller mealworms in with the rest of them..

if anyone needs any help with breeding or wants any info, feel free to ask :]

 

[thegeckoguy23]

nice setup

 

[Taquiq]

cool! I am gonna start breeding when I order my next batch of mealies.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

cool! I am gonna start breeding when I order my next batch of mealies.

ur gonna save a ton of money i hope it works out for you make a thread on it

 

[infamousJokeR]

saw that idea on youtube a while back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjv5fek0-s

may try it sometime. right now i have 1000's of mealworms in all sizes doing it the old fashioned way.

 

[Reptile Barbie]

It will deffinatly save you some trouble lol

 

[Chestersmom]

I need help with breeding these. I've got a couple of beetles that I let hatch out of what I got from the pet store. I've also got a couple of pupa things (sorry if terms aren't right) How do I keep them? How do I make them breed? Are they as easy as dubia to keep/raise?

 

[Reptile Barbie]

Just keep the mealworms and beetles seperate because they will snack on the mealies..

when you get more pupas you can put them with the beetles.. just keep them on rol;led oats (un processed oatmeal) and put hunks of potatoes or carrots in there for them to eat.

the beetles will breed like rabbits and lay thousands of eggs in the oatmeal, when you look close and see little tiny microscopic mealworms take the beetles out and put them in another container.. or you could do what i did and do the screen thing.. you can watch the video that infamousjoker posted.. thats pretty much what i did :]

It will take a while, but once you start getting them it will be easier and so much more worth it hehe

 

[Chestersmom]

cool thanks. As far as container size what do I need? Currelty I use the big country crock margerine bowls with holes punched in the top. Will they work or do I need bigger?

 

[Reptile Barbie]

I just use 6 quart tubs..
they are 99 cents at walmart, i'd get about 4 of them :]

 

[jfreels]

My bedding wouldn't allow such a thing right now. I guess I could try and change it up and put the beetles on oats and keep the gutload on the bottom. I use the three drawer system. It's very convenient.

 

[infamousJokeR]

My bedding wouldn't allow such a thing right now. I guess I could try and change it up and put the beetles on oats and keep the gutload on the bottom. I use the three drawer system. It's very convenient.

me too. i have two 3 drawer sterilite containers and i love 'em. use them for both my mealworms and supers. i had to construct a lip on the drawers of my supers container because once the bedding was in there they were able to 'stand' high enough and crawl out. my beetles are in a 6qt tub.

 

[jfreels]

I haven't had a problem with the supers getting out yet, but I only put an inch of bedding in there.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

i saw that vid 2 and he has another version for super worms

 

[RampantReptiles]

seeing as this thread has been somewhat hijacked I will add to the confusion...

Question towards those with the "3 drawer" system. Do you put holes in the drawers? I want to expand into breeding supers and would like to use some form of sterlite drawer system. I would probably get bigger drawers than that as I DEFINITELY DO NOT want super beetles crawling around in my bed room and I like to use 2+" of bedding.

I have been breeding mealworms for a few years now and its very easy. I have been using small cat litter pans with great success but this may not be the best space saver so if you have the option then maybe a drawer system would be better.

Thank you very much for sharing the screen technique with us Reptile Barbie

 

[Reptile Barbie]

No problem, it made my life much easier && i hope it does the same for you guys

 

[geckoman1]

nice, great job

 

[jfreels]

seeing as this thread has been somewhat hijacked I will add to the confusion...

How did anything get hijacked? The thread started about a mealworm/beetle colony and we're still talking about mealworm/beetle colonies.

Question towards those with the "3 drawer" system. Do you put holes in the drawers? I want to expand into breeding supers and would like to use some form of sterlite drawer system. I would probably get bigger drawers than that as I DEFINITELY DO NOT want super beetles crawling around in my bed room and I like to use 2+" of bedding.

No holes in my drawers, there's a small gap at the top that's sufficient for airflow and keeping the humidity at bay. I thought about the bigger drawer system. I even bought one. The one with two deep drawers on the bottom and two small on top, also wider. I don't have a use for it right now though, my colonies are not that big.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

cool thanks. As far as container size what do I need? Currelty I use the big country crock margerine bowls with holes punched in the top. Will they work or do I need bigger?

u dont need a big space i use a 6q i get at big lots for one buck o ya i put a hole at the top of the lid a large hole and apply mesh hope this helps

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I like the larger screen idea as well as the 3-drawer method. Both will be incorporated into my superworm colony. Thanks y'all