Mealworms Dying

[Ultrakd]

My mealworms are dying, I have them in about 6qt tubs holes drilledd in the top for ventilation.I hsve them on about 2" of oatmeal.There are about 1000 in each tub. I have 2 slices of potatoes. I dont know if the the oatmeal is to moist or what. Is there somthing wrong with my setup?

 

[ssscales]

Try moving them to a 12qt tub and there is no need to cover the tub at all. 1000 may be too many to house in a 6qt tub and they may be generating too much heat, just a thought. What are your temps in the room? Also make sure they have a slice of potato or carrots regularly to have moisture when needed.

 

[Ultrakd]

Yes they have a 2 slices of potato every day. THe temps n the room are around high 70's low 80's. When the fans are not on it s like a sauna because there is no air vent out there, I just put a thometer out there so Ill tell you the exact temp in a sec. It make the perfect reptile room.

 

[Ultrakd]

The temp in the room is 86.

 

[LadyGecko]

The temp in the room is 86.

That is way to warm for mealies

Try moving them into a basement or the garage or anywhere else that is cooler

I use baby carrots for all of my insect feeders and they love them

Hope this helps

Sandy

 

[mynewturtle]

I keep my mealie racks at 88 I've never had a die off. Try something a bit bigger.

 

[Halley]

Yeah, just move them. I keep 30,000 in a 15-qt so there isn't too many in there. I would say temp is the only problem you have.

 

[Ultrakd]

Well they dont have a basement and there garage got turned into an apartment for my great grandma. I guess Ill have to try a bigger tub. we have a sterilite 20qt tub. It is about foot and a half by a foot. will that work for 2000?

 

[ssscales]

What substrate are you using? I can't say if the temps are too hot or not at 86F. We keep ours at about 82F and don't have any problem.

 

[Ultrakd]

Im using oatmeal

 

[ssscales]

Im using oatmeal

Try also adding whole wheat flour as well as tropical fish flakes and wheat germ. Blend it all together into a fine powder. You can also add other things to it that some use, but this is what we've used so far and no complaints.

 

[malt_geckos]

We have quite a few die too.... ???? Maybe about 400 out of every 5000 we buy. Quite a waste.