Mealworm Humidity in the Fridge

[prettyprincess3690]

So, I've been keeping mealworms in the fridge for awhile now and I can never seem to keep them alive for very long due to moisture build up. I usually order groups of 1000 and keep them in a large plastic container (with several holes in the top) and progecko gutload. Is there a better way to store them that lessens the moisture build up in the container?

I WISH that I could just breed them, but my family would totally freak out, so I'm stuck with the fridge option

 

[Alusdra]

I've found that if the meal is deeper than 1" then it turns into a brick and kills all the worms. Shallower and/or smaller containers are better. Anything larger than the 500 mealie container you get from ***** is too tall. Also larger flakes are better- oatmeal vs. bran meal. And DO NOT put any form of carrot or potato or whatever in the meal while it is in the fridge. Take the mealies out of the fridge and feed them a carrot for a couple hours, remove carrot and put them back in the fridge afterwards like once every 1-3 weeks. Though if you forget them in a small container (like the 1/4 pound deli things or a small I can't believe it's not butter or smaller) they can live for years. A fun conversation when they get found in the back of the fridge... heh.

Breeding the mealies is pretty easy... you could try 'forgetting' 500 or so in a critter keeper in your closet or under the bed. They actually seem to do a bit better hidden away somewhere. And the beetles don't live very long, should they escape.