pupating mealies?

boutiquegecko

New Member
Messages
1,028
Location
Seminole, Fl
Why are my mealies pupating so fast? I've never had this problem before. (I switched back to mealies since only 1 is the cricket eater) Anyhow, I ordered large like I always do only these are turning so fast. I put them in the food bowl and the next day there are pupaes. Even the colony is. What causes this? Temperature? I was thinking that maybe I just got a bunch of more mature mealies, but some are tiny and doing this. Any suggestions? I'm going to have 800 beatles if I don't stop this soon and have to reorder more for food. I just don't understand because the other batches I ordered lasted me forever before they started to pupate.
 

dragonflyreptiles

Resident PITA
Messages
2,135
Location
Winston Salem, NC
You may have gotten older worms this time. Ive had large last a long time at times then the next batch will pupate out fast. YOu can put them in the fridge to make them slow down.
 
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TheHiddenGecko

Guest
Are your mealies on any substrate? I've found that mealies tend to pupate faster when they don't have a substrate.
 

Stitch

New Member
Messages
1,277
Location
Kaua'i, Hawaii
Keep the beatles on the same substrate that you have the worms on. In about 2-3 weeks you should have hundreds to thousands of tiny meal worms crawling around. Rotate the beatles between 2-3 containers so you will get a nice cycle going. I also think the beatles will eat their own eggs if given the chance.
 
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pawsfoot

Guest
I've never bred mealworms before so this may sound like a dumb question, but can you see the eggs when the beetles make them or do you have to just move the beetles and hoped that they made mealworms?
 
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TheHiddenGecko

Guest
The eggs are too small to see with the naked eye. I just move the beetles from one tub to another every few weeks and find a ton of babies a few weeks later.
 
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pawsfoot

Guest
Thank you for the info. Must seem like a pretty dumb question, but do you think it will be worth my while to breed mealworms or will I have an over abundance of them? I have 6 geckos and the staple is mealworms with a few tiny supers and a few waxworms thrown in every once in a while. My baby leos at the moment are eating around 25 mealies a piece every night. I have 3 babies. My 3 adults are eating around 10-15 a piece in a night depending on their mood and all that. Supers I just throw some in and waxworms are not very often, only as a treat. SOrry for all the info but do you think I should breed my mealies?
 
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TheHiddenGecko

Guest
It's all up to you. If you only have six leos I would probably just buy them, but it would never hurt to try.
 
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pawsfoot

Guest
Thanks I think I just may try. It wont be any more expensive to breed them than to buy them anyway.
 
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LadyGecko

Guest
pawsfoot said:
Thanks I think I just may try. It wont be any more expensive to breed them than to buy them anyway.

Exactly
If they are turning into beetles anyway-why not give them a chance to save you some money
They also grow slowly when they start out hatching out of the egg
So you will have varying stages/sizes of worms all of the time
Small ones for newly hatched babies and the larger ones for the adults
it actually works out pretty good
If you have extra you can always give the native birds a treat in the winter

:D

Sandy
 
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pawsfoot

Guest
LOL. Giving the mealworms to the birds was exactly what I was thinking. I don't have any beetles yet. I'm just kinda letting them get to beetle stage by themselves. I bought 1000 small mealworms the other day but they look like medium to larges to me. So far no beetles. You wouldn't happen to know how long it takes to turn into a beetle would you?
 

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