i really like keeping mealworms. many people don't like them as feeder insects because they have been known to cause impaction (they have a chintinous skin that can clog BDs up), but i keep about 5000 at a time and it's easy to pick out the newly shed ones. i sometimes get lazy and just put a bunch of random worms in the dish, but my BDs are big enough where a few unshed worms won't do them any harm.



as for the set-up, i put 5000 or so in a slightly larger than shoebox-sized plastic container with the lid off that i picked up at the dollar store. they live in bran substrate (so do my lizards), which is ultra cheap, and they just get veggie scraps (orange rinds, apple cores etc) or potato slices.



if you don't feed them fast enough, mealworms will pupate and become beetles, which is okay since they eventually mate and lay eggs in the substrate or potato slices...*bling!* more mealworms!



anyways, just thought i'd give you my take on this since i hate keeping crix as well. i find the superworms a little harder to keep, since mine always end up cannibalizing each other for moisture, and cockroaches are stinky, no matter what kind you get. plus, it seems like most reptiles and amphibians will eat mealworms! (i've fed them to roughskin newts, BDs, skinks, leopard gekos, toads, frogs etc...)



i order my mealworms from sunshinemealworms.com and have had no complaints. they send them pretty small sometimes, but they get big after a few days of feeding.





-ming
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