Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First, thanks everyone for getting back to me about the mealworm thing. I'm using wheat germ, bran, supplements, a whole bunch of stuff in the bedding mix.

What i think i should have asked was do you just throw in the moisture source (ie. carrot or potato) right into the bedding or do you leave it on something like a lid? Every time i just put it on the bedding the worms move it down to the bottom and the bedding surrounding it is all *icky* by morning....

On a happy note my second bin of beetles has produced a TON of baby worms. I checked it today when i got home from work, and despite not being able to see the worms right away the bedding was moving. Upon a very close inspection i could see the worms WOOHOO......What i've found though is that if i don't give them lots of moisture sources they don't grow well, taking forever to get to feeding size.

I've done this before, breed mealworms, with no trouble at all...now all of a sudden i'm having trouble.......Grrrrrrrr lol maybe after a goodnights sleep i'll be more clear headed to figure out the problem

Thanks again all
Red
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

ok red i took this pic just for you...
in a 12 QT sterilite i put in rough twqo inches of bedding... wheat germ, oatmeal (the old fashioned kind not quick cook) and gerber baby ceirial in the can with grain and fruit added .... its a powedered mixture.....
a couple times a week i put in potatoe chunks, carrot chunks and oramge slices or squash.... i keep roughtly 5000 mealies per container.... a couple times a week as well we get out the food processor and grind up kale and squash,carrots apples,pears sweet potatoes.. whatever is on sale basiclly LOL but it in a cup and place the cup of processed foods on its side so they go in and eat but much moistenb or mold up the bedding... the chunk stuff generally doesnt mold on me nor does my bedding but daily i turn the bedding and pull all the vegies out to the top and any damp or cool bedding rotates to the top to keep from molding.... here is a pic

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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

oh yeah and i keep them in a warm dry room.... the geckos room LOL
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

Wow that looks pretty, Robin! LOL Who'd've ever thought I'd be saying that about mealworms????

~~Dusty
_

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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

new colony i set up last week... all purdy and what not, this is my old established breeding colony

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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

i lanled everything to make it easdier... i have cats sooo everything goes up high..... plus i put those damn spiders as far away as i can

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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

Hey, I know that room!

>>i lanled everything to make it easdier... i have cats sooo everything goes up high..... plus i put those damn spiders as far away as i can
>>
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>>-robin struck
>> Geckoheads And Geeks
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Justyn Miller
Intense Herpetoculture

Just wondering, how do you heat the *baby area*??? I like the shelving unit though, all open, thats cool. I see the dimmer switches but i don't see any heat tape.

Thanks
Red
P.S. have your cats gotten into stuff before?

>>i lanled everything to make it easdier... i have cats sooo everything goes up high..... plus i put those damn spiders as far away as i can
>>
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>>-robin struck
>> Geckoheads And Geeks
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

the white rack at the bottom has heat underneith the crate looking one has sides and a back and the heat runs down the back and the green one has heat running across the back..... all flexwatt
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

right now i use rheostats and monitor the temps closely but i will be soon switching to either helix or ranco thermostats
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

I currently run my 11" flexwatt off a Ranco (which came highly reccomended) but have not been impressed with it at all....my cheaper BAH-1000 kept the temps within /- 1 degrees but the Ranco even at its tighest setting only gives me a /-4 degree which is a bit more than I like with my Corn snakes...

I have heard good things about the Helix but here is another one you might consider looking at...plus its a sponsor or advertiser here on the KS forums...

http://www.kingsnake.com/gcsreptiles/

you can setup 4 different racks at 4 different temps off the same unit and it has programable night time lows and I think lighting timers built into it also....not a bad price if you ask me and it will be my next purchase for Thermostats as soon as I sell this Ranco...want a good deal on a Ranco??? LOL

Good luck

Lee
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1.0 Fattail - Amel het Stripe
0.2 Fattails - Normal het Amel, het Stripe
0.0.5 Fattails Juvies - Amel het stripe
20 Corn Snakes (many different morphs)
2 tubs of Mealies, a ton of Roaches and too many crickets

Thats really cool, i like the pics too (your painting is neat!) So its Ok to run heat along the back of the unit, not just underneith the back of each bin? I had checked out Bophiles racks but was concerned that the heat tape was along the back of the unit, so the bins weren't on top of it just butted up against it from what i gathered. I'll be building my own rack but in the mean time i have plenty of 10 &15 gal tanks with heat pads that i can set up if need be.

Thanks for sharing the pics
Red

>>the white rack at the bottom has heat underneith the crate looking one has sides and a back and the heat runs down the back and the green one has heat running across the back..... all flexwatt
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>>-robin struck
>> Geckoheads And Geeks
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

really dont want to start a flame here but you cant be serious. =( the superworms have more height than the arboreal aurics. this husbandry is now where near acceptable.
if id see something like this overy here, i would send the vetrinary and the guy would have a few days to adjust his cages, or he would lose his animals.
i know you arent the only one who keeps his animals like that, but i accidently found this thread ...

poor geckos =(

i find that too much space for hatchlings os too much. my adults are kept in something very similar to the crestie cages....... i have tried the large enclosures for hatchling aurics and they didnt do well, even with alot of hiude... i compare this set up to what mike c. has posted for his hatchlings.... bash me bash him.... of ask what size animal is in it... first
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

hi again, and once more, i dont mean to bash anybody here, and i must admit i only flew over the whole thread, and since you had an extra baby area, i thought that that is where you keep the small ones.
i know very well, that hatchlings should be kept in smaller cages, so they find their food more easily etc... no doubt bout that.
the cages for crested would be what i would suggest minimum for an adult cresty (again, its just my opinion, plus in europe we have the law that the height of cages for arboreal geckos must be 8x the length of the gecko (stv), thats minimum for a single or pair).

but for example the leo breeders are adult animals? are they kept single? (again europe law, i know you could care less about europe , is 4x3x2 (length, depth, height stv) for a single or pair)

and i see no lights anywhere =o/

i know many breeders in the states keep their anymals like that, thats what i said too, but the fact that the geckos breed doesnt always mean that everything is right with their husbandry. due to a lack of other attractions its basically the only other thing they can do.
in too small and plain decorated enclosers you also will never be able to see their broad spectrum of interesting behaviour.

again i dont know all your reptile cages or the way you keep your animals, so if i am wrong about your husbandry i want to apologize right now.(perhaps you could post some pics of your other reptile enclosers? not to proove anything, im just curious)

and once more sorry if i sound harsh, may be because of my bad english.

my leos breeders are kept one to a cage and lights... leopards are nocturnal animals they need no uva/uvb... the baby area is only for my leo babys, nothing else. the crrestie cage you see is 12 x 12 x 30, you are right i really do not care about europe.. some nice facts to know though... everything here are kept singly unless breeding. ya know the poor gecko routeen just pisses me off... you have no idea or clue my leos extremely healthy and get the best of the best, i take HHOURS out of the week making sure of this and for you to come here and [piss and moan just really gets me..... i would be interested to see your set up and share your vast knowledge and husbandry and let me disect it because i am sure i could find flaws, trust me ..... come one i really dont care about your enclosures because you already hit on that whats your husbandry methods?
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

okok please calm down, no need to get pissed here. i have no doubt, that you only want the best for your animals, but in my opinion you keep your leos like breeding machines. (i know thats the way every breeder does it in the states, but again its only my opinion and opinions can be different)
over here in europe we have a different philosophy, we want to see the animals (not all the time, if they feel like hiding they should have many retreat possibilities), so mostly glass enclosers, or selfbuilt cages with glass front are used, we want to give them an environment as close to nature as possible, so we can study their behaviour.
we dont use undercage heaters (if possible) because in nature the heat comes from above, and the ground is where they retreat if it becomes to hot.
even nocturnal geckos take sunbaths, some species less some more often (but ive seen leos do so).
i dont want to say i know everything (not nearly), specially about leos, because im more in to rhacs, i never kept leos myself (i only have friends who do).

so if you want to see some of my setups here we go, not meaning they are perfect but i try to improve them where ever i can.

first one of my hatchling enclosers for rhacodactylus ciliatus

here is an other of my smaller cages, i only use it in cases of emergency, because i figured out it wasnt high enough (16in x 16in x 24in)

here is my current r. ciliatus cage its 20in x 20in x 40in(the pic is quite old, the plants grew a lot since then and i adjusted the interior to have more hiding spots, sadly i dont have any recent pic where its shown in total)

here you can see the lower half of it on the custom cage (upper left)

and this is a shot of the inside

best regards

ingo

yeah real pretty... nice critter keepers papertwol or tp rolls and paper towels.....
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

aehrm thats for crickets and other food-insects...

I have seen Robin's husbandry firsthand many times, as I am a frequent visitor to her home. Let me tell you, I have extremely high standards, and her the care she gives to her geckos is top notch. Her husbandry is excellent, and she has healthy, beautiful animals. Her geckos are thriving in the setups she provides for them. You may not be aware of this, but young auriculatus can be hard to get started feeding really well. They seem to do much better in a smaller enclosure for awhile. I keep my adult cresteds in 10 gallon tanks, I actually pair them up in enclosures that size. Do you think that is too small? Hmm well funny thing is my animals are thriving and I have hatched 5 babies so far form my adult pair, and have 2 eggs still incubating. I also have 2 gravid females at the present time.

I think you owe Robin a big apology. You assumed and made a public post, and if you were as concerned as you claim to be, an email to her expressing your concern would have been more proper, and I know she would have replied in a timely and courteous manner. To insinuate that Robin's animals would or should be taken away from her is just preposterous. In fact, it is laughable!
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Peace-
Kelli Hammack
H.I.S.S.
email me

Thankyou so much. I'm not turning the bedding so that is most likely the problem. I'm also using smaller containers so that might be adding to it. I love the setup you have in your room...

Thanks again
Red

>>ok red i took this pic just for you...
>>in a 12 QT sterilite i put in rough twqo inches of bedding... wheat germ, oatmeal (the old fashioned kind not quick cook) and gerber baby ceirial in the can with grain and fruit added .... its a powedered mixture.....
>>a couple times a week i put in potatoe chunks, carrot chunks and oramge slices or squash.... i keep roughtly 5000 mealies per container.... a couple times a week as well we get out the food processor and grind up kale and squash,carrots apples,pears sweet potatoes.. whatever is on sale basiclly LOL but it in a cup and place the cup of processed foods on its side so they go in and eat but much moistenb or mold up the bedding... the chunk stuff generally doesnt mold on me nor does my bedding but daily i turn the bedding and pull all the vegies out to the top and any damp or cool bedding rotates to the top to keep from molding.... here is a pic
>>
>>-----
>>-robin struck
>> Geckoheads And Geeks
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

Just "plop" the potatos and carrots in there. If they mealworms drag them down to the bottom and they get "icky," that's okay. That's what they do. You don't need to worry about taking them out and, trust me - the worms aren't worried about it being icky, as long as it's there.

I think if you put it on a lid, many won't know it's there. If you just put it on top, they go straight for it!

~~Dusty
_

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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Everytime i've tried the lid thing they haven't clued in (except for the beetles....i use lids for them and they all find it).
Thanks for responding I appreciate the feedback

Red

>>Just "plop" the potatos and carrots in there. If they mealworms drag them down to the bottom and they get "icky," that's okay. That's what they do. You don't need to worry about taking them out and, trust me - the worms aren't worried about it being icky, as long as it's there.
>>
>>I think if you put it on a lid, many won't know it's there. If you just put it on top, they go straight for it!
>>
>>~~Dusty
>>_
>>
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>> So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
>>@
>>~~The Gecko Barn~~
-----
Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

I'd be concerned about mold on your moisture source, though. I noticed in roi3in's veggies, they looked molded. There have been posts before about crickets eating moldy food, which doesn't hurt the crix, but will eventually cause organ failure in your leos as their bodies try to filter out the mold. Please be careful to remove any moldy food immediately.
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1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn snake Fuzzy
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
3 Hermit crabs Cletus, Jethro & Bubba
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

none of them are moldy... the potatoes dry out and the mealies use them i believe to lay edds..... so i dont throw out the dry potatoes til no more bugs are using them. trust me no mold in here.. i am extremely careful also the substrate gets the taters and stuff a bit dirty and oxidation take place.... might want to ask me before assuming they are moldy or maybe try it out sometime.... ie experience
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks

Have you ever colonized mealworms? Well, if you haven't, or even if you have, you should know that leaving the old potatoes and orange peels in the container is actually the best way to get a colony going? Why, you ask? Well, because the beetles lay their eggs in the "shells" of the old food items. I found this out firsthand, as I used to be fastidious about removing the old food items each time I replaced with new. And guess what? My colonies were crappy and I didn't produce many mealworms. After speaking with a professor of herpetology at Texas Christian University about my problem, he suggested that I leave old food itmes in the containers and just keep adding new in. Well, I followed his advice and now my mealie colonies are producing like mad. It just goes to show that we can all learn from others with more experience in these areas than us. Oh, by the way, that is not mold on the potatoes etc, they are long since dried up and mold does not grow on arid surfaces. LOL you would gross out if you saw my mealie colonies, as they aren't pretty! I will spare us all from posting a picture here though! Yuck!
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Peace-
Kelli Hammack
H.I.S.S.
email me

No offense was intended, you needn't get snippy. I was just concerned about the health of your leos & was not aware of the egg laying thing w/ the old veggies. My mealie colony took forever to start & that may be why. I appreciate the corrected information.
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1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn snake Fuzzy
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
3 Hermit crabs Cletus, Jethro & Bubba
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

Why are you concerned about the health of my leos? I'm not sure I understand where you are coming from on that. I apologize if you took my post to be snippy, I did not mean it to be. Go reread it if you need to, but I was only trying to explain to you some of what I have learned over the years about mealworm colonizing. I swear sometimes I feel like I cannot even post on the forum anymore without someone getting offended by what I have to offer. It's really a shame because I feel I have a lot of knowledge and I am always more than willing to openly discuss everything concerning leopard gecko and related husbandry, breeding, whatever. I just don't get it.
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Peace-
Kelli Hammack
H.I.S.S.
email me

Kelly, I was actually replying to roi3in's post, not yours. Sorry for the mix-up, it just posted in that order. I appreciate the help w/ mealworms colonies.
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1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn snake Fuzzy
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
3 Hermit crabs Cletus, Jethro & Bubba
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

as I thought you were addressing me. I won't speak for Robin, but I will say that at times I get frustrated when posting on the internet sometimes, as it is so hard to convey our emotions through the "written" word. Even though some may consider me a "big breeder" (I'm not, just a VERY enthusiastic hobbiest!), I truly love my leopard geckos and would never knowingly do anything to cause them harm. It can be difficult to take criticism from others when you feel you are doing things the "right way" for you. Although I also truly believe that constructive criticism can be very instrumental to learning new and improved ways of doing things. i guess bottom line is we ALL can learn something from each other. I appreciate your polite reply to my post
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Peace-
Kelli Hammack
H.I.S.S.
email me

I went to their house, Robin and Kelli. I seen all of their Collection, they was so fat and massive. I use some method that are simliar to their for last 3 years and I seen no problems. So, why you would worry while they are fat and massive?
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Preston Berry
www.freewebs.com/coolgeckoUnder Construction
restonberry@austin.rr.com" target="_blank">Prestonberry@austin.rr.com

why? because while spouting out that my stuff is moldy when in fact it wasnt, first you could have asked, second it implies that i am feeding my geckos moldy food and in essence it reflects on the health and quality of my animals.. let me just say that my animals are imaculate and extremely well taken care of and i would never knowingly do ANYthing to harm them....... see asking simple questions is better than assuming....... i would suggest asking... asumptions if based on false info, which could have been cleared up if you asked my why are the taters dark..... and wew wouldnt be here... i wouldnt be angry and i wouldnt have had to be nastey
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-robin struck
Geckoheads And Geeks