Super Worms

[Stl_Greaser]

Wow, went to all of the local shops that used to sell bulk packs of supers for $19.99! Well they no longer sell in bulk , and the cheapest I can find them now is a dollar a dozen! Dang these things are getting expensive! Guess I'll just be adding a few dozen to the colony to keep it going!


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[robin]

superworms to me are too much a hassle to breed so i buy them LOL

 

[Tony C]

I tried breeding them but my beetles all died within days of emerging from the pupae.

 

[sablebeauty]

I was thinking about trying to breed them. How easy are they to keep up with?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

They are pretty easy to breed and maintain but it does take several months to produce med-large worms to feed off.

 

[Stl_Greaser]

I was thinking about trying to breed them. How easy are they to keep up with?

Not real hard, just a little time consuming. You have to separate the worms from the colony and seclude them without food to get them to pupate. Then you need to keep the beetles separate cause they will eat the pupas. A lil time consuming but the lone you will save in the long run is worth it.

I did the math the other day and if I still bought crickets I would be spending $100 a month on crickets. With my superworm and Dubia colonies I spend around $20 a month on the up keep and food. $80 a month is well worth the time. And soon the colonies will be big enough that I will begin to sell them at the monthly breeders show here in St. Louis!


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[Stl_Greaser]

Delete

 

[sablebeauty]

Oh wow, well then I might have to try that. I only have a few geckos so I wouldn't need tons of worms constantly right now but having a supply would be nice. I'm also deathly afraid of the regular house roach......... but considered getting Dubia roaches to start a colony. Um, how different are they from the freakishly lightening fast roaches that plague my nightmares? lol

 

[T-ReXx]

Oh wow, well then I might have to try that. I only have a few geckos so I wouldn't need tons of worms constantly right now but having a supply would be nice. I'm also deathly afraid of the regular house roach......... but considered getting Dubia roaches to start a colony. Um, how different are they from the freakishly lightening fast roaches that plague my nightmares? lol

Get dubia, you won't be disappointed I think. They're very slow moving in comparison to other roach species.

I've found Super worms VERY easy to breed, I'm in my third generation with a colony I started from 1000. The key with them is to keep them warm and provide a good regular supply of water. Super beetles and worms seek out and eat eggs/pupa/smaller larva not so much as a food source, as a water source. I use carrots for the worms and water crystals for the beetles, keep them at around 82F 24/7, and use a piece of screening in the bottom of the tub to seperate the beetles from the bedding, preventing them from digging up and eating eggs. So far I've had good success. They do grow fairly slowly, so with a larger collection several colonies would be a good idea, but with only a few geckos they are cheap, easy and a good food item.

 

[sablebeauty]

Get dubia, you won't be disappointed I think. They're very slow moving in comparison to other roach species.

I've found Super worms VERY easy to breed, I'm in my third generation with a colony I started from 1000. The key with them is to keep them warm and provide a good regular supply of water. Super beetles and worms seek out and eat eggs/pupa/smaller larva not so much as a food source, as a water source. I use carrots for the worms and water crystals for the beetles, keep them at around 82F 24/7, and use a piece of screening in the bottom of the tub to seperate the beetles from the bedding, preventing them from digging up and eating eggs. So far I've had good success. They do grow fairly slowly, so with a larger collection several colonies would be a good idea, but with only a few geckos they are cheap, easy and a good food item.

Where are the cheapest place to get water crystals? and how would i breed the dubia roaches?

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

Get dubia, you won't be disappointed I think. They're very slow moving in comparison to other roach species.

I've found Super worms VERY easy to breed, I'm in my third generation with a colony I started from 1000. The key with them is to keep them warm and provide a good regular supply of water. Super beetles and worms seek out and eat eggs/pupa/smaller larva not so much as a food source, as a water source. I use carrots for the worms and water crystals for the beetles, keep them at around 82F 24/7, and use a piece of screening in the bottom of the tub to seperate the beetles from the bedding, preventing them from digging up and eating eggs. So far I've had good success. They do grow fairly slowly, so with a larger collection several colonies would be a good idea, but with only a few geckos they are cheap, easy and a good food item.

I'm going to try the water crystals. I have SLOWLY built a colony of about 50 beetles and added them to the substrate since July 7th. I dug through the substrate yesterday and see NO sign of worms. I don't know if they're too cool and haven't laid eggs (more likely) or if they've eaten them. I would think I'd see some baby worms by now.
I wonder if I could tape some screening just above the substrate and set the whole drawer over my heat tape? I'll add the crystals, too. Thanks!

 

[goReptiles]

I tried breeding them but my beetles all died within days of emerging from the pupae

I had the same problem. I just buy super worms.

I'm actually going to try going back to mealworms. They were so much easier to breed. Just bought 4000, and as long as the geckos switch back to them as easily as they took to supers, I'll buy a few thousand every time I order crickets.(found a new guy who sells cheap.)

Sablebeauty
As for breeding Dubia. Put them in a storage bin with food and egg flats. They will just breed. I never had problems breeding them, till I started feeding off the larger nymphs faster than the adults would breed.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I have a mealworm colony for hatchlings but that's going to be given away now that our breeding is over for the year. Good thing mealies can be refrigerated The superworm colony has been simple and prolific for us. We've picked up an extra thousand at shows a couple times over the summer just because I've sold some to a few of our herp club members. It does take what seems like forever to see baby worms when starting a new colony. They hide in the bottom. We use hi-protein pig grower from the feed store in addition to vegies and they grow well. Some people like chicken feed but we use what we already have. I use 32oz tall clear deli cups with screen lids for beetles, wheat bran, carrots, piece of egg crate and dump the bedding every 2 weeks in a bin to hatch. There's about 120 beetles (in 3 cups, some are older) and the pupation box stays full too. IDK how long the beetles last but when they stop laying eggs they will be discarded. A new hatching bin is started every month as they're moved up to the full grown bin where different sizes can be used as needed. I sift out the big worm bin once a month. It only takes about 10min every couple days to maintain, except for the monthly sift, and that's about 45min. Piece of cake