Mealworm colony (beetle question)

[enigmaslim]

I use Flukers cricket diet and oats,I add potatoes or water crystals and they are doing fine, I got a lot of baby mealies in the bin but I haven't taken em out yet, are the in danger of gettin eatin?

 

[mindgamer8907]

Sorry Merlin, I'm going to disagree with you on the temp. you're proscribing. The worms and beetles will do just fine from around 60-80 degrees Farenheit. Your 80 degree suggestion is a bit high, I find that the added heat, causes any extra moisture to collect on the lid and drip down, it also raises the chance of having moldy feeders. Almost everything else sounds good. Though if you're a bit lazy, there's no shame in not removing the mealies (for smaller colonies this works well). Really as long as you have carrots or something at the top (they'll sink it so watch out) that you switch out every two days or so, the beetles won't kill all of your worms and you really won't need the water crystals. For a bare bones operation, that'll be fine.... Oh and wheat flour (unbleached, etc) works well too and my beetles almost never flip on their backs anymore.

 

[RampantReptiles]

Any tips for getting the approx 4-5k mealies out of the oats now? LoL. I spent around 2 hrs picking 1k out of a different bin the other day

Started a thread on sifting mealies...
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?p=518323#post518323

 

[RampantReptiles]

As far as the wheat bran that I picked up today, its in a big brown bag with wheat bran written on it, couldnt find any other kinds.

Ive got the same stuff... came from Southern states.

Just be careful not to get it wet. When I was moving the bag got wet and I had a nice grain mite infestation. Tinny white bugs crawling all over everything, not just the feeders but wher eever there was moisture like the geckos water and stuff. I did not notice my geckos getting sick from this but I read about dog food that was infested and dogs that got sick which just seemed weird... Once it got cold and the house dried out they all died out but they are super difficult to kill pests and I will not be surprised if they come back in the summer. The eggs can go through some kind of dormancy for several months and hatch out once conditions become agreeable again.

I started a new colony in my bedroom away from the old colony and make sure not to mix them. Hopefully it wont become infested. I started on the feed you buy from progreckos... Loooove that stuff but I find that it takes longer to start colonies on but once started, they produce huge amounts of very fat healthy worms.

I also use carrots and change them out less often than most of you guys and dont have any problems.

 

[CapCitySteve]

In addition to carrots I give my mealies and beetles oranges (they love these the most) apples, and romaine lettuce. I also have only used wheat bran with no problems. In addition to help give them a boost of nutrition I grind up chicken or game bird feed (the stuff free of medication) and sprinkle it on the top of the bran. And I also sprinkle them with Vionate. It might just be me but I swear it makes the baby mealies grow faster.

Steve

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Sorry Merlin, I'm going to disagree with you on the temp. you're proscribing. The worms and beetles will do just fine from around 60-80 degrees Farenheit. Your 80 degree suggestion is a bit high, I find that the added heat, causes any extra moisture to collect on the lid and drip down, it also raises the chance of having moldy feeders. Almost everything else sounds good. Though if you're a bit lazy, there's no shame in not removing the mealies (for smaller colonies this works well). Really as long as you have carrots or something at the top (they'll sink it so watch out) that you switch out every two days or so, the beetles won't kill all of your worms and you really won't need the water crystals. For a bare bones operation, that'll be fine.... Oh and wheat flour (unbleached, etc) works well too and my beetles almost never flip on their backs anymore.

I think that 60-85 is good. To be honest I'm keeping mine at 91 right now without a lid and they are doing great. I dangle a heat lamp over them and then cut toilet paper rolls in half for them to hide in. Beetles get cooler temps/less light, baby mealies get higher temps/grow faster and everyone's happy! haha I like the wheat flour idea ill have to try it! :main_yes: I have also noticed that the males will breed with the females while they are eating the veggie scraps i've thrown in. *Quick get her while she's distracted!!* haha
This reminded me of the Hangfly and sexual selection- The male will try and find the largest prey item possible to give to the female. Once he finds it he gives off a pheromone to attract the females. When the female meets him he presents the food, and she eats, while he mates with her. The larger the prey, the longer she eats, and the longer he gets to mate with her. It's kinda funny though because if he finishes copulating with her before she is done eating he will take the food away from her and try to find another female to tempt with it. Ahh the insect version of dinner and movie :main_laugh:

 

[-Mischief]

I am fairly new to raising Leopard Geckos and I have been using live crickets but I would like to try meal worms. They seem like they would be a little easier to control and possibly be better than crickets for my leo's. What is the easiest way to keep them? I would like to try breeding them eventually but it's not necessary right now. If there is a thread here, please send me that way. Thank you in advance for any and all help.

 

[charlie476]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. Ive found 78 degrees to be the best temp for raising mealworms. 55-70% RH is optimal ive found as well. if your RH is low expect low number of eggs from your beetles. For the most part the temp will play a roll in how fast the pupae stage lasts and how long eggs will hatch. My average time of pupae to beetle is about 6 days. I notice worms hatching from eggs 6-8 days after being layed.