Mealworm Care Help

[fifthdawn]

I just ordered 1000 mealworms and I'm not sure what to do with it...

Right now I just have them in a container with bran and cricket gutload and hydrating crystal. Do I have to refrigerate them? How long does it usually take for them to turn into beetles?

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

If you plan on using them as feeders for more than a week or two the definitely refrigerate them to prolong their usability. How long it will take for them to begin pupating varies from the number of molting the worm has already done, temperature they are kept, and stress also can sometimes induce pupating (like lack of food or extreme temps). What I do when I receive a shipment of worms is allow them to eat as many veggies and grains as possible for 2 days. Then take out what I need for the next week and continue to allow them to eat and molt at their leisure. The rest will be refrigerated until 1 day prior to needing them as to allow plenty of time to molt and eat prior to feeding. This has worked perfectly fine for me and I breed my own mealies for all my babies.

 

[RocksMama77]

I would stop with the water crystals and give them carrots, potatoes, or apples. I have heard the the water crystals can kill them. I give mine carrots and keep them in wheat bran and they are growing and changing like crazy.

 

[fifthdawn]

Hmm, I dont think I want them to grow though. I want them to stay mealworms so I can use them as feeders. I also dont want to keep them in the frig unless I absolutely have to.

 

[RampantReptiles]

1000 mealworms is a lot to order... how many geckos do you have?
They will need to be refrigerated if you want to keep them for more than a few weeks. They will be useable for a variable amount of time depending on what size you ordered and what temp they are kept at. Lets say you ordered large mealworms and they are kept at like 70F, you will see worms start to pupate within a week. 1-2 weeks after that they will be beetles. Medium mealworms I guess add maybe another 3 weeks to that? They will last a lot longer refrigerated.

 

[jfreels]

Hmm, I dont think I want them to grow though. I want them to stay mealworms so I can use them as feeders. I also dont want to keep them in the frig unless I absolutely have to.

Should have gotten superworms then. Hope you have a lot of geckos.

 

[fifthdawn]

The mealworms are small size. So about half an inch? It'll feed 3 young geckos. I was originally going to get 500, but it was 1.50$ more to make it 1000 so I figured I'd just get 1000.

 

[-Mischief]

If you are going to keep herps for a long time, get a small fridge to keep near them. They can be found used and are generally no more than $50. It can be a very handy setup!

 

[MichaelJ]

Read my post here.... this should help you! 1,000 mealworms is perfect to keep in the fridge and will last you a long time. Take good care of your mealworms and you'll have healthy-happy geckos!!!

http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?p=520967#post520967

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