Not sure what I did wrong?

[Alex G]

I was raising my mealworms on chick feed and feeding them carrots for moisture, changing them out as they dried up to prevent mold growth, and woke up this morning to find every single one dead. This isn't a huge colony, maybe 100-200 mealworms, 20 or so pupas and maybe 7 beetles so far, and everyone was fine and dandy the night before... but this morning the whole colony is stiff as a board. What happened?

 

[T-ReXx]

What were your temps at? A severe change in temp could kill off a colony. Any potentially toxic sprays being used in the area?

 

[gixxer3420]

My first guess would be temps just like Ted said.

 

[Alex G]

Temps are consistantly between 79-82... that's the ambient temperature of my house and they aren't near a window or anything and the ac didn't fail yesterday as far as I know. No toxic sprays were used near them.

 

[Alex G]

UPDATE: About a dozen mealies have begun to move again, albeit lethargically. No beetles or pupa are recovering from whatever this is though, effectively putting the last month or so of work back to square one.

 

[M_surinamensis]

You didn't have any potatoes in there, did you?

 

[roger]

You didn't have any potatoes in there, did you?

Whats wrong with potatoes ?

 

[M_surinamensis]

Whats wrong with potatoes ?

It is not exactly wrong- just that they need to be handled carefully.

As potatoes decompose, which they start to do anytime they aren't actively growing, they release a lot of carbon dioxide and a few gaseous toxins that are heavier than air. If they get old enough or stay in there long enough in a tub that has no ventilation at the bottom levels (which most won't for insects), it can start to fill the bottom of the tub, like a bowl, with an atmosphere that will kill insects.

Other decomposing materials can produce similar effects, potatoes are just something that does it fairly quickly and are something that a lot of people use in their insect tubs.

I'm not saying it is what definitely happened here, but if there were no temperature extremes and there were no chemicals of any kind used anywhere near them and there is no evidence of fungal growth and they weren't being kept too densely... it's up there on the list of fairly common mistakes that will KO a tub of bugs. So it was worth asking.

Edit: fresh potatoes that are cycled out regularly are not producing problematic gases, it is the decomposition problem. As they get dessicated they produce toxins and heavier than air carbon dioxide.

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

I know something as simple as Windex will kill a bucket load of crickets. Not sure if it would do the same with mealies. Keep in mind, toxic chemicals may not only mean insecticides. Could be simple cleaning agents also.

 

[Alex G]

No, I don't use potatos. I used oranges for a while in the beginning but they molded way too quickly, so I switched exclusively to carrots.

I know something as simple as Windex will kill a bucket load of crickets. Not sure if it would do the same with mealies. Keep in mind, toxic chemicals may not only mean insecticides. Could be simple cleaning agents also.

No, they are in the same room as all my reptiles which is a strict no-spray/no-chemical-cleaning zone.

 

[5HiddenLizards]

Sorry for your worm & beetle loss. I have mine in a bin, but without the lid. I actually have one of those big filters on top of it (like for the ac unit). It keeps it ventilated. I've been feeding mine the same finely ground food as my roaches, along with some leafy greens. They especially like the roach chow though.

I tried oranges, but they did mold too fast, and carrots always dry out too fast.

 

[acpart]

It is not exactly wrong- just that they need to be handled carefully.

As potatoes decompose, which they start to do anytime they aren't actively growing, they release a lot of carbon dioxide and a few gaseous toxins that are heavier than air. If they get old enough or stay in there long enough in a tub that has no ventilation at the bottom levels (which most won't for insects), it can start to fill the bottom of the tub, like a bowl, with an atmosphere that will kill insects.

Other decomposing materials can produce similar effects, potatoes are just something that does it fairly quickly and are something that a lot of people use in their insect tubs.

I'm not saying it is what definitely happened here, but if there were no temperature extremes and there were no chemicals of any kind used anywhere near them and there is no evidence of fungal growth and they weren't being kept too densely... it's up there on the list of fairly common mistakes that will KO a tub of bugs. So it was worth asking.

Edit: fresh potatoes that are cycled out regularly are not producing problematic gases, it is the decomposition problem. As they get dessicated they produce toxins and heavier than air carbon dioxide.

Thanks for the interesting info. I didn't know that.

Aliza

 

[C C Gecko]

Would glade spray and ferbreze be an issue or even sented* candles and insents?

 

[Alex G]

No, I don't allow either of those things in my reptile room.

 

[acpart]

I wish I could come up with a solution. I"m really mystified. I've never had a mass die-off like that so suddenly. I did have a period where the mealworms were progressively dying and it turned out that the gutload I'd made myself was somehow asphyxiating them (I think I had too many powdered fatty nuts and stuff like that).

Aliza

 

[C C Gecko]

No, I don't allow either of those things in my reptile room.

But would those items be an issue for them though?

 

[Alex G]

I don't know, probably. I know with reptiles as a general rule, if it's something you wouldn't have around tropical birds, it's something you don't want near your reptiles, but inverts are so alien in the way they are structured it's hard for me to say without running the risk of sounding like a moron and getting sound spankies for my lack of knowledge.