Setting up a colony (mealies vs supers)

[vear]

Hey guys, so I have only 1 leopard gecko but I've been thinking about setting up a mealworm colony. I've been reading through a lot of the posts however and it seems like superworms might be better than mealworms.

Leiah is still small (20g) so I haven't offered her any superworms (I feed her mealworms and crickets) however, since I'm going to put all that effort into a colony, do you guys think I'm better off breeding superworms? or should I just stick with mealworms? Should I not use mealworms as a staple diet?

BTW, breeding crickets is out of the question, since I live in an apartment and wouldn't be able to deal with the noise or the smell! I could never breed roaches either, I can't stand roaches, they're the one thing that grosses me out.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Either feeder is fine as a staple, depends what you want to do. It takes a lot longer to get supers going if you want a breeding colony, and for 1 gecko not really worth the effort. You can buy a quantity and keep them for a long time without breeding. Mealworms, however, are very simple to maintain/breed and even with one animal eating is still a big savings.

 

[vear]

Thanks.

 

[BadKelpie]

I don't have my gecko yet, but I used to raise mealworms for my fish. It's very easy. I'd put them in a plastic shoebox with whole wheat flour (I've tried oats and everything, but flour is easiest). They like apples best, just give them a half an apple every week or so. When the beetles got old, the fish got those too. He loved the beetles more than the worms, he loved crunching things.

 

[tastyworms]

Here is a short mealworm breeding guide I wrote. If there is anything not covered that you have a question on, please let me know . As others have mentioned, mealworms are very easy to breed. However, if you've never done it before it's good to get an idea of what to expect.

 

[vear]

Thanks guys! wow, the forum changed! hah! good job. I just bought everything I need to start... I'll be getting some mealworms today!

BadKelpie, what kind of fish did you have? Can I feed my goldfish mealworms?

 

[BadKelpie]

My fish was a jack dempsey cichlid. Goldfish are omnivores, with a preference for veggies. You can try them, but they might not eat them.

 

[Dougefresh]

Here you go watch these videos they will give you a good idea whats all involved in breeding both worms, then you can decide but there both fairly simple!

mealworms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HndiMpFVM5U


Superworms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex-jbQtClPM

 

[tastyworms]

I've tried feeding my goldfish mealworms before, and he was usually not interested. Your mileage may vary... I think they would prefer freeze dried mealworms to live ones because they float, and the live ones sink pretty fast.

 

[vear]

I gave my goldfish a mealworm... she loved it! haha. I swear that fish eats anything I put in there.