Miami geckos
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Super Worm Care Cheet
GENERAL INFORMATION
The scientific name for a Superworm is "Zophobas morio" and is also refered to as "Kingworm." This species of larvae is native to Central and South America. They are a very popular pet food item which can be fed to Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Lemurs, Sugar Gliders, Hedgehogs, Spiders, Birds, Turtles, and other exotic pets. Due to their large size and rapid movement they will easily grasp the attention of your exotic pets. They can also be used for fresh/salt water fishing. The following suggestions should be taken to ensure proper care of your worms.
OPENING YOUR PACKAGE
When your worms arrive, they will be inside of a ventilated box containing egg carton. You want to have a large plastic bin available to pour them into. Carefully cut the tape on the top and upper-side of your box (take caution as some worms may be on the top fold near the tape.) then you want to unfold the box completely open and flip it upside down over your large container or bin. Shake the box vigorously untill all the egg carton and loose worms have fallen. Now unfold the bottom end of the box inward as some worms may be hiding in the crevices. Shake the egg carton and all of the worms should come loose and into your container.
HOUSING
Superworms may be stored in a variety of containers including glass aquariums but we prefer and recommend using plastic such as the Sterlite brand containers. Make sure your bins are atleast 6 inches tall and you can choose to have a ventilated lid or no lid at all. To design your own ventilated lid, simply cut out a rectangle and use a glue-gun to glue some mesh screen found at your local Home Depot.
SUBSTRATE
We recommend and sell Wheat Bran as Substrate/WormFood because it is the easiest substrate to sift out your worms. You may also use regular Quaker Oats but keep in mind that it is thicker and more difficult to sift worms when it comes time to feeding your exotic pets. Before pouring the substrate into the worms housing, it is always a good idea to freeze it to kill off any potential pests such as ticks, mites, or other creatures that may have gotten into it during its storage. Then you want to pour about 2 inches of Wheat Bran into your container and allow it to warm up to room temperature.
TEMPERATURE
NEVER REFRIGERATE YOUR SUPERWORMS. They are not like mealworms and will die if refrigerated. Your worms should always be kept at room temperture and prefer 78 degrees Fahrenheit. If your temperature is cold such is during winter, you may want to add a heat pad or turn on a heater in the room. Just make sure it does not get too hot or you can kill them.
FOOD
Superworms will eat the substrate but it is also necessary to provide them with a fresh carrot or potato for hydration every 2 to 3 days, and throw out the leftovers when the current one dries up or starts to mold. We feed our worms and recommend you also feed them "Organic produce" because conventional has more traces of insecticides and pesticides which may end up killing your worms.
BREEDING
Breeding Superworms can be fun and exciting but it does require alot of PATIENCE! The whole process can easily take 3 months before you'll be able to feed them to your pets. The first thing you will want to do is get your worms to pupate. If you keep the worms together in a single container, the chances of them pupating are slim to none. We use condiment cups with a small hole cut out on the lid for oxygen, or pill containers, or fishing tackle dividers. place a single worm in each separate compartment. You do not want to feed them anything during this time or it will delay the process. Then put them in a dark area such as a shoebox and let time pass. After 2 weeks take a peek and you should start to see that most of the worms have turned into pupae. It will now take about another 2 weeks for the pupae's to transition into beetles. You can place all you beetle into a single large bin exactly how you have for the superworms but make sure to add egg carton so they can lay eggs on. You will want to keep the beetles hydrated the same way you have kept your worms. After weeks of allowing your beetles to breed and lay small eggs, you want to remove your beetles onto a new bin so that they don't eat the eggs or worms that will hatch. The worms are so small when they hatch that you probably wont see them til about anther 2 weeks. Repeat the process above with your beetles and remove them every 2 weeks onto a new bin. You will soon grow out some superworms to feed to your animals and then you can start the whole process over again and again.
Thanks for looking at our Superworm caresheet. for more caresheets visit Miami Worms.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The scientific name for a Superworm is "Zophobas morio" and is also refered to as "Kingworm." This species of larvae is native to Central and South America. They are a very popular pet food item which can be fed to Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Lemurs, Sugar Gliders, Hedgehogs, Spiders, Birds, Turtles, and other exotic pets. Due to their large size and rapid movement they will easily grasp the attention of your exotic pets. They can also be used for fresh/salt water fishing. The following suggestions should be taken to ensure proper care of your worms.
OPENING YOUR PACKAGE
When your worms arrive, they will be inside of a ventilated box containing egg carton. You want to have a large plastic bin available to pour them into. Carefully cut the tape on the top and upper-side of your box (take caution as some worms may be on the top fold near the tape.) then you want to unfold the box completely open and flip it upside down over your large container or bin. Shake the box vigorously untill all the egg carton and loose worms have fallen. Now unfold the bottom end of the box inward as some worms may be hiding in the crevices. Shake the egg carton and all of the worms should come loose and into your container.
HOUSING
Superworms may be stored in a variety of containers including glass aquariums but we prefer and recommend using plastic such as the Sterlite brand containers. Make sure your bins are atleast 6 inches tall and you can choose to have a ventilated lid or no lid at all. To design your own ventilated lid, simply cut out a rectangle and use a glue-gun to glue some mesh screen found at your local Home Depot.
SUBSTRATE
We recommend and sell Wheat Bran as Substrate/WormFood because it is the easiest substrate to sift out your worms. You may also use regular Quaker Oats but keep in mind that it is thicker and more difficult to sift worms when it comes time to feeding your exotic pets. Before pouring the substrate into the worms housing, it is always a good idea to freeze it to kill off any potential pests such as ticks, mites, or other creatures that may have gotten into it during its storage. Then you want to pour about 2 inches of Wheat Bran into your container and allow it to warm up to room temperature.
TEMPERATURE
NEVER REFRIGERATE YOUR SUPERWORMS. They are not like mealworms and will die if refrigerated. Your worms should always be kept at room temperture and prefer 78 degrees Fahrenheit. If your temperature is cold such is during winter, you may want to add a heat pad or turn on a heater in the room. Just make sure it does not get too hot or you can kill them.
FOOD
Superworms will eat the substrate but it is also necessary to provide them with a fresh carrot or potato for hydration every 2 to 3 days, and throw out the leftovers when the current one dries up or starts to mold. We feed our worms and recommend you also feed them "Organic produce" because conventional has more traces of insecticides and pesticides which may end up killing your worms.
BREEDING
Breeding Superworms can be fun and exciting but it does require alot of PATIENCE! The whole process can easily take 3 months before you'll be able to feed them to your pets. The first thing you will want to do is get your worms to pupate. If you keep the worms together in a single container, the chances of them pupating are slim to none. We use condiment cups with a small hole cut out on the lid for oxygen, or pill containers, or fishing tackle dividers. place a single worm in each separate compartment. You do not want to feed them anything during this time or it will delay the process. Then put them in a dark area such as a shoebox and let time pass. After 2 weeks take a peek and you should start to see that most of the worms have turned into pupae. It will now take about another 2 weeks for the pupae's to transition into beetles. You can place all you beetle into a single large bin exactly how you have for the superworms but make sure to add egg carton so they can lay eggs on. You will want to keep the beetles hydrated the same way you have kept your worms. After weeks of allowing your beetles to breed and lay small eggs, you want to remove your beetles onto a new bin so that they don't eat the eggs or worms that will hatch. The worms are so small when they hatch that you probably wont see them til about anther 2 weeks. Repeat the process above with your beetles and remove them every 2 weeks onto a new bin. You will soon grow out some superworms to feed to your animals and then you can start the whole process over again and again.
Thanks for looking at our Superworm caresheet. for more caresheets visit Miami Worms.
