One more thing.

[thekooliest]

Actually a couple...about mealies...before I breed 'em.
I asked before about being outside, and people said it would work.
I have a barn with high up shelves...do you think that would be best...and do I need and heat for them outside?
I put a couple thousand in a container on an inch or two of oats...with some sliced carrots or potatoes on the top, right?
How big should that container be?
Should I put the certain stages in different bins?
And finally, do they grow at different times, for example would I have some small mealies, some medium, some big, some aliens, and some beetles...if not should I get an assorted pack, so I always have the right size?
Thanks so much,
Sam

 

[thekooliest]

Anyone?

 

[wings2fly]

From my understanding, the mealies need to be kpt at a temp from 75-80 for best results. Any higher and they start to die, any lower and they are very slow to grow and mature into pupa.
I have about 1000 mealworms in a 15qt container with oatmeal, dried orange peels, and fresh carrots.
They do not all go into pupa at the same time, so I am pretty sure that I will have several different stages of mealworms soon.
I have seperated the beetles from the pupa/lg mealworms. Then when I started to see tiny mealworms, then I removed the beetles and put them in another container.
Hope this helps.

Carin

 

[acpart]

You don't need to sort the mealies, but it's best to separate the pupae, mealies and beetles because the beetles will eat the others for moisture. The pupae don't need any food. Ikeep them in a plastic container with no substrate and check them every day for beetles. I move the beetles to new substrate every month or so and put the old substrate with the tiny mealies and eggs in a small plastic (cricket keeper size) container. I check my containers every few weeks, and when I have enough mealies that are big enough so they won't go through the holes of the strainer, I sift them and put all the ones that stay in the strainer into my big mealie container. Right now I have a big mealie container with several thousands, 4 small mealie containers and some beetles that are about ready to transfer.

Aliza

 

[thekooliest]

How small are the small ones?
And how big is the big one, Aliza?
So...I'll put all of my mealies in a big one...when I see pupae I put them in a plastic bag...when they turn in to beetles, I put them in a small container...when the mealies start to hatch...I move the beetles over and so on...and when my beetles have no where to go, do I kill them or just move the first small container into the big one?

 

[GeckoGathering]

keeping/ raising meal worm

How small are the small ones?
And how big is the big one, Aliza?
So...I'll put all of my mealies in a big one...when I see pupae I put them in a plastic bag...when they turn in to beetles, I put them in a small container...when the mealies start to hatch...I move the beetles over and so on...and when my beetles have no where to go, do I kill them or just move the first small container into the big one?

Hey Sam, Just my opinion and it's the way I work the meal worms. There are different ways to do it and each method is a little on how many geckos you are trying to feed + how much time you wish to spend separating the life stages. I tried separating. I don't anymore.
Now I use two containers. Get the worms started in the first. Get the 2nd one ready like the first one.Your worms will grow and turn into pupae, the pupae will turn to beetles, your beetles will mate and then lay eggs, the eggs will hatch into tiny, tiny, worms.
At the tiny worm stage (hard to see worms) You will tell them by a constant moving or churning in the very fine bedding material. These are areas of small worms and will usually be under things like orange peal or stuff you have put in the mix for the moisture. These are places the beetles like to lay the eggs. Don't worry about finding each and every tiny worm because soon they will be big enough that you can see them or later sift out and transfer. The tiny, tiny, worms ...the tiny worms ... the small tiny worms...
the small worms, etc. are going to go into the 2nd container. As the worms are sizable for your gecko.....feed from it. The excess will go through the life stages and you will process #2 in the same manner as you did the # 1 container. ........Since your beetles die a while after laying their eggs the important part is to change the food mix without tossing a lot of eggs and tiny worms in each change over. If unsure......just start a 3rd container and hold onto the #1 until you see no more worms.......then toss it and start it new again.........Once you get things going, to delay the worms from going through the life stages, just cool a group of them down in the fridge, but take them out once a week so they can eat and stay alive..........Take care. / HJ

 

[brad.a.c]

Hope it works out for you! I'm about to breed mealies also, so this info is very helpful, thanks!