Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi all,

how many beetles can be in a small/medium sized container? i got this mealworm starter kit from wormman.com that came with 2 containers, 250 mealworms, and 1 or 2 aliens. now i have about 50 aliens (that i separated into small cups of 15-20) on a thin layer of gutload and 3 beetles in the bin given in the starter kit. will 60 beetles be alright in a 2-inch layer of gutload in the medium sized container? i dont want a whole lot of beetles coz i'm just trying 2 breed a few... i only have 1 leo! i wanted to just have 25 beetles, but after i got back from my road trip last night, i had 40 aliens! i think 2 of em are dead though..

thanks all!

[aimEe]
-----
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

You know, I probably stuck way too many aliens into the little sterlite shoebox I used. They didn't cover the entire surface of the substrate, but when they turned into beetles, they started eating each other and eating the aliens that hadn't pupated yet. But the result was that I've got a ton of baby mealworms.
-----
chickabowwow

3.2.3 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)

thanks again xelda

i keep my aliens separate coz i don't want them to get eaten just yet once i have too many, i'll stop separating them from the beetles i have like 80 beetles already and i only wanted 25 - hehe!

[aimEe]
-----
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

I'm in the same boat. I wanted to start breeding them, and thought that it would take some effort. Turns out, it's harder to stop them from pupating/breeding. I'm up to about 50 beetles and another 30 aliens pupating away in their tub.

Hopefully my little beetles are breeding away as I write this.

Oh, and my leo absolutely loved the beetles. I took 3 out and let them eat carrots for a day to gut load them up. The next day I put them in my leo's feeding dish and she went crazy. She scarfed them down as fast as she could swallow them. I figured she'd take her time and lick them first, but she must have been hungry!

Try to feed the lighter coloured or freshly hatched one though (not as crunchy) if you're gonna try it. But it's an easy way to get rid of extra beetles. My leo won't touch the aliens anymore (probably not squirmy enough for her), but the beetles were a hit.

>>thanks again xelda
>>
>> i keep my aliens separate coz i don't want them to get eaten just yet once i have too many, i'll stop separating them from the beetles i have like 80 beetles already and i only wanted 25 - hehe!
>>
>>[aimEe]
>>-----
>>0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
>>0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
>>0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
>>1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
>>0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
>>1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
>>aimee.i8.com
-----
Blaine

0.0.1 High Yellow Juvenile Leo (Echo)