Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had them in the fridge but took them out to gut load them and found out they eat alot more. So, I need to get some advice on how to start breeding them at home. thanks for the help.
-----
new pix on the way

first thing you need to do is... take them out of the fridge

when they're in the fridge, they're hibernating and can't breed... they're fine at room temp, but keep them in a dark place. they'll be really active and will constantly be gutloading. depending on the age of the mealworms, it takes 9-20 sheds to get them to pupate. when they pupate, they look like little white aliens. put those in a separate cup on top of a thin layer of gutload. these will not eat or drink, so no water source is necessary. keep a thin layer of gutload in case one turns into a beetle. you will notice the eye color forming, then a brown outline around the front chest. when you notice a light brown outline form on the front chest of the white pupae, move it to your beetle container. the beetle container should have 2 inches of gutload and a carrot or potato for water. in a few hours or 1 day, it'll turn into a white or light brown beetle with a brown head. an adult beetle is black - the bigger ones are the females. keep them in a dark place too or else they'll just hide in the gutload. while they're in the dark place, they'll constantly be mating. a few weeks later, they start to die off, and a week or two after that, you'll notice very tiny mealworms.

many people say to just keep them in the same bin, or have the pupae and the beetles in the same bin... but if worms or beetles don't get the water source they want, they tend to eat the pupae or each other for meat and water. so i just separate the 3 diff. stages... 1 bin for mealworms, deli cups for pupae, and 1 bin for beetles.

if you want a good care breeding sheet, check out:
www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/oct2003/mealworms/mealworms.html

that's where i got a lot of helpful info!

take care and good luck!

[aimEe]

>>I had them in the fridge but took them out to gut load them and found out they eat alot more. So, I need to get some advice on how to start breeding them at home. thanks for the help.
>>-----
>> new pix on the way
>>
-----
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

np
-----
new pix on the way

>>np
>>-----
>> new pix on the way
>>
-----
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