Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got these right before Luna stopped eating so i am just maintaining them. They are extremely active. I put in fresh carrots every couple days, but they do not seem to be eating them and are still eating each other - ew! I have about 50 in a 2.5 glass tank with about 4" of raw oatmeal and bran. They are covered with - waht else - plastice canvas! LOL!

I keep them in my plant room, which is quite cool this time of year, in hopes they would slow down - they have not. I know they don't pupate for a very long time, but I may have them for awhile.

Any thoughts on food/bedding/temps?
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

We keep some breeding colonies of both mealworms and king mealworms...it usually take 2-4 weeks before they pupate...

We keep ours at room temperature (78-80 F...we keep our house nice and toasty) with a flour/instant breakfast mixture for bedding...the instant breakfast contains vitamins.

Ours are in open top containers because they cannot climb the sides of the plastic. (ours are housed in small rubbermaid containers)

Leafy things like bok choy or lettuce are fine for moisture...carrots should work too though.

The bedding should be 2-3 inches deep beacuse they like to burrow...seeing as they are nocturnal.

That about all I've got...
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Chris Vanderwees
REPTILE SALES AND INFORMATION
E-mail Me
1.3.0 Bearded Dragons
1.2.0 Green Basilisks
1.1.0 Crested Geckos
1.3.0 Veiled Chameleons
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1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
0.0.1 California Kingsnakes
2.7.0 Leopard Geckos
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thanks Chris, but I was talking about superworms (
Zophobas morio) as opposed to giant mealworms (Tenebrio molitor). They are actually a different species. An aside...NY Worms http://www.nyworms.com/index.htm says, and I've read elsewhere, that the Giant Mealworms should not be fed b/c they are treated with growth hormone...we'll have to begin a new thread for that one

>>We keep some breeding colonies of both mealworms and king mealworms...it usually take 2-4 weeks before they pupate...
>>
>>We keep ours at room temperature (78-80 F...we keep our house nice and toasty) with a flour/instant breakfast mixture for bedding...the instant breakfast contains vitamins.
>>
>>Ours are in open top containers because they cannot climb the sides of the plastic. (ours are housed in small rubbermaid containers)
>>
>>Leafy things like bok choy or lettuce are fine for moisture...carrots should work too though.
>>
>>The bedding should be 2-3 inches deep beacuse they like to burrow...seeing as they are nocturnal.
>>
>>That about all I've got...
>>-----
>>Chris Vanderwees
>>REPTILE SALES AND INFORMATION
>>E-mail Me
>>1.3.0 Bearded Dragons
>>1.2.0 Green Basilisks
>>1.1.0 Crested Geckos
>>1.3.0 Veiled Chameleons
>>1.1.0 Corn Snakes
>>1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
>>0.0.1 California Kingsnakes
>>2.7.0 Leopard Geckos
>>0.1.0 Green Iguanas
>>1.1.0 Savannah Monitors
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

np
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Chris Vanderwees
REPTILE SALES AND INFORMATION
E-mail Me
1.3.0 Bearded Dragons
1.2.0 Green Basilisks
1.1.0 Crested Geckos
1.3.0 Veiled Chameleons
1.1.0 Corn Snakes
1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
0.0.1 California Kingsnakes
2.7.0 Leopard Geckos
0.1.0 Green Iguanas
1.1.0 Savannah Monitors

First off, what are you trying to do with them?
If your goal is to simply maintain them as a food source for Luna, I would suggest adding more protein and calcium to their diet. I remember reading something about zoophobas being used in the preperation of skeletons. They do seem to like protein.
My suggestion: add good ole chicken lay mash to their substrate. Good protein, with added calcium. If they continue to eat each other, then add some ground dry dog food (no red dye!). As for temps, its been my experience that they have a higher metabolism and more canabalistic tendencies the warmer they are kept. I would reccommend 75-90 f.
As for pupae, they need individual pupation chambers and warm temps to pupate into beetles. I use 35mm film canisters and baby food jars. I like to put in some SLIGHTLY damp pine shavings once they pupate (the 'alien' stage).
Bug Lady??? I don't recall you keeping any TRUE bugs......

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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

i use the same thing that i use for my crix for them. it's cricketfood.com. you can also try high protien fish flake. for moisture, they seem to really like orange slices. i just sprinkle the flake on top, and then put an orange slice in. what also seems to work really well is the flukers water bite things. i use the orange ones with calcium.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.2 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
0.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
0.0.1 Chameleo Melleri

Yet another person using the polymer water crystals for hydration of their feeder insects... how bad could they be for your herps?
Agar agar anyone?
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

BTW i do not simply use polymer bites for everything. i use them on my insect breeders since i do not feed off of them. my feeders are given oranges and other fruits for moisture.............
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.2 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
0.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
0.0.1 Chameleo Melleri

I used to use it for everything, but now I use agar agar and fruit/veggies for my feeders.
My post wasn't meant to accuse you of anything, hope I didn't offend. It was in reference to a discussion with Lele and Eric A.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

>>i use the same thing that i use for my crix for them. it's cricketfood.com. you can also try high protien fish flake. for moisture, they seem to really like orange slices. i just sprinkle the flake on top, and then put an orange slice in. what also seems to work really well is the flukers water bite things. i use the orange ones with calcium.
>>-----
>>groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
>>1.2 Chameleo Calyptratus
>>1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
>>0.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
>>0.0.1 Chameleo Melleri
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

>>First off, what are you trying to do with them?

** I am just "keeping" them until Luna decides to eat some again. I am not interested in beginning a breeding colony (I have enough bug stuff going on here!) LOL!

>>If your goal is to simply maintain them as a food source for Luna, I would suggest adding more protein and calcium to their diet. I remember reading something about zoophobas being used in the preperation of skeletons.

** Really? hmm...quite interesting!

They do seem to like protein.
>>My suggestion: add good ole chicken lay mash to their substrate. Good protein, with added calcium. If they continue to eat each other, then add some ground dry dog food (no red dye!).

** OK, will do more protein

As for temps, its been my experience that they have a higher metabolism and more canabalistic tendencies the warmer they are kept. I would reccommend 75-90 f.

** If more cannabalistic at higher temps I would think my cool plant room (can get as low as 55 and only up to about 65 this time of year - it's also where I maintain some of my dead bug collections!)

>>As for pupae, they need individual pupation chambers and warm temps to pupate into beetles. I use 35mm film canisters and baby food jars. I like to put in some SLIGHTLY damp pine shavings once they pupate (the 'alien' stage).

**Nah, no rearing these guys - though David Rogers' Big Bug Exhibit (he makes 18' long, 12' high wooden bugs! very cool!) will be in New England this summer and fall (first time on the East Coast) and I will be doing a presentation for the sponsoring organization so maybe I will have a few adults on hand!

>>Bug Lady??? I don't recall you keeping any TRUE bugs......

** es, I considered being "correct" but I figured the forum gets enough of my "science!" I currently have a "stink bug" living in a jar with some ficus leaves. It came in with my ficus for Luan and I didn't want her to eat it - ick!! I do take in leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae family) for the winter. I name them all Erica - go ahead, ask me why.........
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I had been dubbed the "Luna Lady" by one of the neighborhood kids b/c I rear Luna moths, but I figured it would be too confusing to keep that moniker now that I have my other Luna! Yes, that's in part how she got her name
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Just a clarification on temps-
I was reccommending temps ranging from 70-90, the higher the temp, the faster their metabolism.
The canabalistic tendencies showing up more in warmer weather really applies to temps above 90. They become more aggressive and have a higher die-off rate above 90.
BTW- I know that usually dermestid beetles are used in natural skeletal preperations, but I heard Zoophobas morio were sometimes used as well.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

got it.

As disgusting as I find maggots used to ward of spread of infected tissue and beetles/skeleton I still find it fascinating!

btw, good point about Luna - tic LOL!!!

>>Just a clarification on temps-
>>I was reccommending temps ranging from 70-90, the higher the temp, the faster their metabolism.
>>The canabalistic tendencies showing up more in warmer weather really applies to temps above 90. They become more aggressive and have a higher die-off rate above 90.
>>BTW- I know that usually dermestid beetles are used in natural skeletal preperations, but I heard Zoophobas morio were sometimes used as well.
>>-----
>>Victor Gomez
>>gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
>>gomezvi@yahoo.com
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Lele (bug lady),

Superworms are a different species than mealworms, as I am sure you know. Since we have the advantage of seeing them raised (Sunshine Mealworm), we know that they are not happy when kept in a cool environment. We keep ours at room temp - 75-80F. They love heat... so up to 90F is okay with them.

We keep ours in a bedding of red bran (we buy it in 50# bags), and we feed them our dry gutload (same as crickets, roaches). For moisture, we offer carrots, apples and squash. Overcrowding usually leads to cannibalistic behavior.

There is no need to offer commercial "cricket bites" which are made from polymers.

If you need more specific info on Zoophoba... I can ask the folks at Sunshine to provide it.
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Thanks, Morgana. Yup, know they are different. I moved them into this tank to give them more space than the original container I had them in and put in LOTS (deep) of bedding figuring they would have more privacy - haha! As for temps, I don't care if they are happy or not (LOL!) since I do not want to breed. they are plenty active as far as crawling around - ALL THE TIME - even at night. But are you saying they may eat more juicy stuff if in warmer temps? I ask b/c I thought they ate each other when there was insufficient moisture - thus, the carrots. Gee, they even get organic!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

At Sunshine Mealworm, they keep superworms in huge flat tubs with bran bedding. They have silos filled with bran for this reason. In order to fill sales orders, they put them into new tubs with no "bedding". Each day they are cleaned and fed: grains and carrots or some other veggie. The grains seem to be fed to them at night, while the veggies are given during the day.

When they pack them to be sold - or shipped, small amounts are put into cups with fresh bran. Large amounts are put into canvas bags with newspaper. The newspaper affords them places to hide from each other, while saving on shipping weight.

They advise keeping them warmer than reg mealworms.
If you need more info on the canibalistic thing, I can get details from them.

Hope this helps,
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No, I'm not too concerned - it's not like one is eating all the others where I would end up with one huge SUPER-DUPER Worm! LOL!

thanks

>>At Sunshine Mealworm, they keep superworms in huge flat tubs with bran bedding. They have silos filled with bran for this reason. In order to fill sales orders, they put them into new tubs with no "bedding". Each day they are cleaned and fed: grains and carrots or some other veggie. The grains seem to be fed to them at night, while the veggies are given during the day.
>>
>>When they pack them to be sold - or shipped, small amounts are put into cups with fresh bran. Large amounts are put into canvas bags with newspaper. The newspaper affords them places to hide from each other, while saving on shipping weight.
>>
>>They advise keeping them warmer than reg mealworms.
>>If you need more info on the canibalistic thing, I can get details from them.
>>
>>Hope this helps,
>>-----
>>
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta