Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how many people here breed mealworms...if so...how often do u change the substrate of the beetles without losing any of the eggs...or do u keep the substrate...and if u keep the substrate does it stink?
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"you won't know success if you haven't failed..."-eric chen
1.1.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard Geckoes
0.0.2 Blizzards (ON THEIR WAY )
0.1.0 Western (Plains) Hognose Snake
0.1 Boxer Dog

i breed mealworms (i've only done it through 1 generation so far) and i haven't changed my substrate yet. i bought 2000 mealworms, fed a lot to my leos, then a lot changed to aliens, then i got depressed cuz i didn't see any action goin on, then they all changed to beetles, then i got depressed again cuz there were so many stinkin beetles, then after over a month i noticed tiny mealworms, and now i have a TON of NICE, FAT, and JUICY mealies perfect to be fed to my leos. but yeah, i haven't changed my substrate yet. and yeah, it smells a bit, but not too bad. they're in my room, so i'd do something about it if it smelled real bad. hope this helps

-chip

thanks for the info...also..how long did it take you to get that first generation.?
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"you won't know success if you haven't failed..."-eric chen
1.1.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard Geckoes
0.0.2 Blizzards (ON THEIR WAY )
0.1.0 Western (Plains) Hognose Snake
0.1 Boxer Dog

If your interested I have a whole care sheet on my website that tells you how I breed mine.

When the beetles lay eggs I keep that substrate and pour it into the "baby mealworm" box. I just keep adding substrate to the baby mealworm box until it gets full.

The gut-load never goes bad, because I have so many geckos that will eat all the mealworms in due time. But my mealworm colony produces like crazy.

Its really easy.

Oh and when you take the beetles out of the box to dump the substrate into another box that has all the eggs in it, the best way to get the beetles out is to mist a paper towel and they will cling onto that and drink the water and they will come right with it. If there are a few extras, just pick them out.

I hope you find that my caresheet will be helpful.
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Shayna
www.LeoLoversLizardLounge.com

Hi Leo Lover, in need of your adivce. Now i've moved my colony to a large three drawer unit i'm starting to have a problem. The top and bottom drawers currently hold baby worms but the lower drawer has very very very tiny worms while the top drawer has larger ones. I want to be able to put my beetles and aliens into the bottom drawer so is it safe to combine the two differign sized worm drawers? Will the larger worms eat the smaller worms?

They are in a gutload/bedding like you suggested minus a few things i couldn't find and i provide carrots as a staple moisture source with other veggies as get them (scraps resulting in the preparation of dinner, raw of course).

I'd like to have drawers with baby worms-top, feeder worms-middle and beetles/aliens-bottom. I put my aliens in a cup with a stick so they can climb out once they become beetles and so the beetles that are out in the drawer can't get in to it.

Thanks
Red

>>If your interested I have a whole care sheet on my website that tells you how I breed mine.
>>
>>When the beetles lay eggs I keep that substrate and pour it into the "baby mealworm" box. I just keep adding substrate to the baby mealworm box until it gets full.
>>
>>The gut-load never goes bad, because I have so many geckos that will eat all the mealworms in due time. But my mealworm colony produces like crazy.
>>
>>Its really easy.
>>
>>Oh and when you take the beetles out of the box to dump the substrate into another box that has all the eggs in it, the best way to get the beetles out is to mist a paper towel and they will cling onto that and drink the water and they will come right with it. If there are a few extras, just pick them out.
>>
>>I hope you find that my caresheet will be helpful.
>>-----
>>Shayna
>>www.LeoLoversLizardLounge.com
>>
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0, Ziggy and Zeus
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
New Girls: Flame, Karma, Bubbles and Bell pics coming soon
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

I dont think that the bigger worms will eat the smaller ones. I never notice that in my colony at least by the way they produce. I have all sizes, from big, to medium, to small, and even very small. Its better for me this way to breed my own so I know my leos are eating healthy worms and I can also feed the smaller worms to my baby geckos when they start eating.

I was going to mention to keep pupae (aliens) and the beetles seperate cuz I know the beetles will chew on the aliens, but you already have that covered. You have a pretty nifty idea with the cup and the stick! I dont think I would have thought of that myself.
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Shayna
www.LeoLoversLizardLounge.com

Thankyou I'll be working on the mealworms bins today As for the aliens.......i kinda feel sorry for them actually. If left in with worms or beetles they end up becoming food. Poor things have really no defences at that point of development.

My colony isn't growing as fast as i thought they would. The smaller worms take what seems like forever to get large. But having a good supply of small ones is good in that ican feed them to my tiny aft's and not worry about then choking

Thanks again
Red
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0, Ziggy and Zeus
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
New Girls: Flame, Karma, Bubbles and Bell pics coming soon
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

wow...great advice shayna! thanks for everything...i have 5 geckos right now...how many should i start with *mealies*...
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"you won't know success if you haven't failed..."-eric chen
1.1.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard Geckoes
0.0.2 Blizzards (ON THEIR WAY )
0.1.0 Western (Plains) Hognose Snake
0.1 Boxer Dog