Started my breeding... should this work out ok?

[Lady_Kiya]

Okay, so I have finally (after a long delay) started breeding my mealworms. I am using quaker oats which I grinded up through the blender until they were a fine soft powder. I am now questioning this because I am wondering if this will make it harder to sift through and clean later. After that I put three baby carrots in. After only about 2 and a half hours there is a drastic amount of carrot gone. I also placed 2 damp paper towels into the tub as well. My plan is to replace the paper towels every second day. My hope is to avoid mold from growing that way. Of course I will also replace the carrots once they get too dry, that will probably take place every second day as well. Now I was lucky to have some pupae when my order got here, so I put them into a seperate bin right away to wait for them to become beetles. I put the 5 tiered container that all of my feeders are in right next to my toilet, so hopefully they will get added moisture from that as well. The temperature in there will be warm and stable. I have been told once the babies laid are relatively big enough, at least that they can be seen, they are then moved into another container.

I have recently came to wonder what the reasoning is for that. Do the beetles eat the mealworms, or is it the other way around?

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Juust wanted to add (just in case) don"t forget to microwave your oats.

 

[cwazy]

ok please dont take offence to this, but it sounds like your WAYYY too worried about moisture... personally i would ditch the paper towels and not worry about having them next to the potty... lol... give em some carrots and thats all they need, if you want them to pupae sooner, back off on the moisture, this seems to work well... but seriously... i wouldnt do the paper towel... kind of seems like too much to me... i mean i put paper towel in mine for them to crawl around on and in, but its always dry... i never make it moist in any way!

the substrait... i use old fashioned oats, rice cereal *for babies*, and bran flakes... blend em all together as a powder... this allows them to dig in it as well as eat as they would like... this is what i do and it seems to work great thus far....

seperating, beetles can and sometimes will eat the lil mealies... some people say beetles dont need moisture and such, but i have found mine love to munch on carrots too... and they seem to last longer... thus producing more babies!!! i have found that most people wait about 4 weeks and then change the beetles to new... the lil worms are tinney tiny!! seriously... dont be discoraged if you dont see them... they are lil... and chances are... they ARE in there... just keep a supply of carrots in there and wait...

hope that helps you out a lil, juts my 2 pennies!

 

[ChristopherD]

Wheat bran works great but can carry or breed mothes (not good) and carrots potatoes and romaine stems or Rodent chow fines and rolled oats moistened like wet cereal and a teaspoon blob of cereal under several Stouffers meal trays in the bin is relished and moisture in maintaned under those trays

 

[Lady_Kiya]

ok please dont take offence to this, but it sounds like your WAYYY too worried about moisture... personally i would ditch the paper towels and not worry about having them next to the potty... lol... give em some carrots and thats all they need, if you want them to pupae sooner, back off on the moisture, this seems to work well... but seriously... i wouldnt do the paper towel... kind of seems like too much to me... i mean i put paper towel in mine for them to crawl around on and in, but its always dry... i never make it moist in any way!

the substrait... i use old fashioned oats, rice cereal *for babies*, and bran flakes... blend em all together as a powder... this allows them to dig in it as well as eat as they would like... this is what i do and it seems to work great thus far....

seperating, beetles can and sometimes will eat the lil mealies... some people say beetles dont need moisture and such, but i have found mine love to munch on carrots too... and they seem to last longer... thus producing more babies!!! i have found that most people wait about 4 weeks and then change the beetles to new... the lil worms are tinney tiny!! seriously... dont be discoraged if you dont see them... they are lil... and chances are... they ARE in there... just keep a supply of carrots in there and wait...

hope that helps you out a lil, juts my 2 pennies!

I was noticing that most of them seem to be focused on carrots, so I will remove the paper towels. ^^

 

[herpencounter]

ok please dont take offence to this, but it sounds like your WAYYY too worried about moisture... personally i would ditch the paper towels and not worry about having them next to the potty... lol... give em some carrots and thats all they need, if you want them to pupae sooner, back off on the moisture, this seems to work well... but seriously... i wouldnt do the paper towel... kind of seems like too much to me... i mean i put paper towel in mine for them to crawl around on and in, but its always dry... i never make it moist in any way!

the substrait... i use old fashioned oats, rice cereal *for babies*, and bran flakes... blend em all together as a powder... this allows them to dig in it as well as eat as they would like... this is what i do and it seems to work great thus far....

seperating, beetles can and sometimes will eat the lil mealies... some people say beetles dont need moisture and such, but i have found mine love to munch on carrots too... and they seem to last longer... thus producing more babies!!! i have found that most people wait about 4 weeks and then change the beetles to new... the lil worms are tinney tiny!! seriously... dont be discoraged if you dont see them... they are lil... and chances are... they ARE in there... just keep a supply of carrots in there and wait...

hope that helps you out a lil, juts my 2 pennies!

+1

 

[ChristopherD]

Like Fishing ,Try not to out smart something that doesnt think.C

 

[Bennayboi]

I think youre trying way too hard. The worms absorb oxygen through their exoskeleton, if your substrate is a fine power it could kill them, or just keep them from borrowing at all. Literally all you have to do to breed mealworms is put large mealworms in some oats, ignore them til you have beetles then put the beetles and some oats wherever you want babies, and provide moisture through fruits/veggies. Mealworms are very hardy and incredibly easy to breed. If you cant breed them you shouldnt own any reptile.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

I think youre trying way too hard. The worms absorb oxygen through their exoskeleton, if your substrate is a fine power it could kill them, or just keep them from borrowing at all. Literally all you have to do to breed mealworms is put large mealworms in some oats, ignore them til you have beetles then put the beetles and some oats wherever you want babies, and provide moisture through fruits/veggies. Mealworms are very hardy and incredibly easy to breed. If you cant breed them you shouldnt own any reptile.

Why should anyone have to breed mealworms before owning a reptile? I am just curious. To me that comment came of as an insult.

 

[Bennayboi]

Its an insult if you cant do it. Cause majority of 4 year olds could do it. I didnt say you should breed mealworms before owning a reptile. If someone cant keep an extreme low maintenance insect alive, then they wont be able to keep a reptile healthy.

 

[cwazy]

i guess that would be a matter of opinions... seems kind of rude to say such things *shrug*

 

[Lady_Kiya]

i guess that would be a matter of opinions... seems kind of rude to say such things *shrug*

I thought the same thing, however we have it all cleared up. I still do not entirely agree, but the comment was not aimed directly at me.

 

[LizMarie]

We spoke earlier.

As you know I'm trying to breed mealies too! Even though my beetles don't seem to do anything but eat and drink, Lol

I have my mealies in a big tupperware its like 16x12inches but I only have like 30-40 beetles as of now. I personally keep my beetles on un-grinded oats because I noticed that they tend to fall/roll onto their backs and find it hard to get up and the regular oats seem to help them get up right again. When I have mealworms and they're big enough to see and move around I plan to move them in a bin with grinded up oats so it's easier to shift through. I've been keeping my last few proportions of mealies like this and don't seem to have any problems.

For moisture I just use some baby carrots for both my beetles and mealies they seems to suck them dry in a day or two. i don't think the paper towel is that necessary. They seem to be pretty hardy feeders.

 

[cwazy]

As you know I'm trying to breed mealies too! Even though my beetles don't seem to do anything but eat and drink...

:main_laugh: if they have been in there a lil while... like a few weeks... take em out and poke around... with a good eye and a bit a pateince you will see they are doing a lil more than just eating n drinking the hard part is waitin for the mealies to grow up :main_rolleyes:

 

[LizMarie]

:main_laugh: if they have been in there a lil while... like a few weeks... take em out and poke around... with a good eye and a bit a pateince you will see they are doing a lil more than just eating n drinking the hard part is waitin for the mealies to grow up :main_rolleyes:

That really is the hard part i take them out to check on them everyday waiting to see some action but no luck.

 

[cwazy]

oh but they are in there... i almost guarentee it!... move things around... you will adventually see... take a big spoonfull out and put it on like a tote cover, then spred it out carefully... course this is for those of us with out patience but im almost sure they are in there... its effortless!

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Lol, well that is the bright side of waiting so long.