Setting Up Multiple Colonys

[panthergecko]

Well I have Already Setup a Dubia Colony.
Tips on that?

And i am struggling to get a meal worm colony going.
I am using a standard 6 quart tub.
Tips on that?

I am going to get some nice Lateralis
tips?

Also can someone post me their own tips on breeding?

 

[TokayKeeper]

I'd go larger on the mealies. I use the 16 and 28 quart tubs, where I start with about a 1-2 inch layer of wheat germ seded with 100 mealies. I cover the wheat germ with a couple pieces of newspaper, feed the mealies and let them do their thing. You should have a good start in about 2 months in my experience.

 

[ReptileWorld]

i dont breed meal worms at the moment but i do plan on doing super worms in the near future.

as for the Dubia Just keep them as close to 90F as possible and keep the humidity between 40 to 60% and of course keep them well fed. I only feed males out of the colony if i can to keep their population down. The darker the better they dont care if they ever see light. :main_thumbsup:

 

[Fencer04]

I have the following setup for my mealworms:

1. Three shoebox size tubs.
2. One mealworm cup from pet store.
3. Ground quaker oats.

All tubs have 2 inches of ground oats in them. The feeding tub is the one that I am currently using to feed my geckos. That is also the one where I will find pupae.

I move the pupae to the mealworm cup because I have found that the substrate can dry them out and I get more that survive this way. When they turn into beetles I move them to the beetle tub. Every two weeks I move the beetle substrate into the grow tub. The other tub is the feeding tub where I have 2 months of beetle substrate added.

As time goes on you will need larger and/or more tubs depending on how much and often you feed. I keep about 200 larger mealworms in some substrate in a fridge around 50 degrees in case I need backup feeders or if I lose the colony.

 

[Hankj]

My mealworm set up is almost identical to Fencer's. I had thousands of babies getting close to feeding size then I accidentally threw them away -.- only salvaged a thousand probably.

 

[theCREECH]

I can't take credit for my setup. I used it but found out about it on youtube.

1. I cut the bottom of a 6 quart container out then replaced it with metal screen material.
2. I filled this bin with Oat bran not ground up.
3. Under the bin described above I put in 1" of ground up Oat Branin an unaltered bin.

This method works perfect for me. The beetles in the top bin lay eggs on the bottom close to the screen. the eggs either fall through to the bin below and hatch, or the eggs hatch and the babies fall through the screen to the bin below. I wasn't sure if this method was going to work but I decided to try it anyway. After a couple of months I started to see tiny babies everywhere in the bin below. Everytime I see a pupea I just move it to the above bin. I put a carrot in each one cut length wise and hardly ever worry about it.

It's great. But I still prefer my Dubia Roaches.

 

[Taquiq]

I can't take credit for my setup. I used it but found out about it on youtube.

1. I cut the bottom of a 6 quart container out then replaced it with metal screen material.
2. I filled this bin with Oat bran not ground up.
3. Under the bin described above I put in 1" of ground up Oat Branin an unaltered bin.

This method works perfect for me. The beetles in the top bin lay eggs on the bottom close to the screen. the eggs either fall through to the bin below and hatch, or the eggs hatch and the babies fall through the screen to the bin below. I wasn't sure if this method was going to work but I decided to try it anyway. After a couple of months I started to see tiny babies everywhere in the bin below. Everytime I see a pupea I just move it to the above bin. I put a carrot in each one cut length wise and hardly ever worry about it.

It's great. But I still prefer my Dubia Roaches.

That sounds like a great idea! I'm going to try it!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

It's really important to keep a supply of feeder sized mealworms in the fridge in case anything every happens to the colony. Once your colony is going good, put up 1000, which is enough to feed off plus start a new colony if needed.

 

[12many]

how much does it costs you guys for the oats? Mine is expensive. Only place i can get oats from is walmart, safeway, and target. The container that they come in isn't big enough and its work like $3-5. It costed me a lot of money so i gave up and just started a dubia colony.

 

[thibeau89]

how long can you keep extra mealworms in the fridge for ? Do you take them out for 24hr periods and put them back in, or just do that before feeding them to the gecko ?

 

[Pokersnake]

I keep my beetles in a shoebox-sized kritter keeper (i think it's a breeder something). They have wheat bran on the bottom, a container of water crystals, some egg crate to hide in, and an occasional carrot. After 3 weeks or when I start noticing movement in the substrate, I move the beetles to a temp container and put the substrate into a vented 6qt tote. All I do for the babies is put in carrots for moisture and leave them. I check on them every few days to see how they're growing and to give them new carrots. After they've grown to the size I want, I stick them in the freezer (in a nes-quick can no less) and take out as I need food. The beetles go back over some new wheat bran and I start the process over. Whenever I find a pupae, I throw it in a small container until it turns into a beetle.

Once in a while, you'll notice that your worms have eaten all their substrate and all that is left is the droppings. I bought a parmigian cheese shaker from Jewel and I sift the worms from the waste that way. It does take a while, and I'm sure a wire pasta strainer would work quicker. The waste makes me sneeze, so I do it outside.