Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As I said before - a few days ago - I cannot breed mealworms. And a member of this site (sorry can't find the post and can't remember who) said that I could just put them in a fridge so they won't turn into beetles (they go into hibernation)

Question(s):

1. How many will last my leo a month or so?
2. How long can I keep the mealworms in the fridge without them turning into beetles or dying?
3. How much will they cost? Are they cheap?

Thanks

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If being obsessed with animals was an occupation, I'd be rich!

There are three steps to caring for animals:

Feed, Clean, Handle, Nuture...
Love, Love, Love!

see how much they charge. I can get 100 mealies for a couple bucks, I never put mine in the fridge but I feed some to my bds as a treat now and again so they dont last very long maybe a week and they are gone..If I do have to put them in the fridge this summer I just put them on the door and tell the kids not to eat them..If you have to order them online they will be more expensive because of shipping and you will probably want to get alot more. I am no expert on mealies so maybe someone else has better advice..Someone told me they eat around 10-15 mealies a day 100 should last around 7-10 days of course thats for little juviniles, adults probably eat alot more...Anyway Ive only had my babies since Saturday so Im not sure how much they eat yet....HTH -Sila

1. How many will last my leo a month or so?

My young leos are eating 10-15 each a day
I wouldn't reccommend planning on keeping mealworms for over 2-3 weeks
If you order from a reputable insect breeder (reccommended) I would order 250-300 (for 2-3 weeks)

2. How long can I keep the mealworms in the fridge without them turning into beetles or dying?

It depends on where you get your mealworms. I have noticed since I started getting my bugs from a breeder rather than a pet store, they last at least twice as long.
You could keep them in the fridge until they die. However you have to keep them dry.
What I have been doing with mine is taking them out of the fridge overnight twice a week. During this time I give them some moisture (fruits, veggies, or water gel). This also allows them to eat the substrate that you are keeping them on. The substrate should be a good gutload. You can make it yourself or buy it, my insect supplier uses chicken mash which is very cheap. Then the next day I change the substrate and put them back in the fridge.

3. How much will they cost? Are they cheap?

When bought in bulk they are pretty cheap. I just paid $6 Canadian for 500. However, shipping is very expencive. At my pet store they cost $.05 each and usually last only a week.

Hope this helped. I just started using mealworms myself so I am sure others will tell you different.

Lisa

I heard something about chicken mash, or something similar containing corn...and as a result higher levels of chitin. I think this is what I heard, but im not sure. Maybe someone else could fill in the blank spots, as I do not remember all of the details about this. But I have heard many breeders mention that they will not order their worms from companies that feed them corn based gutloads. But I do know that corn is high in phosphorus (my gliders love it as an occasional treat), and I believe carrots are too..if im correct.

Another thought, I am also a member of the Sugar Glider community...so I think this might also be where I heard this (I have heard some things about it in the Leopard Gecko community as well) but im not sure if its more harmful to Gliders than to Leo's..or about the same.

Perhaps someone with more info on this could explain about this more.

Just something I thought id bring up! Dont take my word for it, as im not completely sure how it goes!

~Crystal Light
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Crystal Light (Yes..that's my real name)

*Whenever you lose a gecko, just think of it as God building on his own Leopard Gecko collection

The Gecko Barn

I'll have to look into that.

I LOVE sugar gliders!!! Do you have pictures in your profile? I really want one, but I don't think I should with my dogs.

I only have Pinky and Maggie now, 6 just got to be too much, and I sold 4 of them I miss them so much, but its so much easier now to take care of the last 2.

But here are some pics of Pinky, Maggie, Sage, Sydney, Ginger, and Oliver http://www.sugarglider.net/gallery/album104

~Crystal Light
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Crystal Light (Yes..that's my real name)

*Whenever you lose a gecko, just think of it as God building on his own Leopard Gecko collection

The Gecko Barn

now I want one even more

Everything that was said above is right...

Except the expensive shipping part.. Compared to shipping leos, these guys are really cheap in shipping

Buying in bulk is much cheaper than buying a little at a time from the petstores.

For example, sila said she get 100 mealies for a couple of bucks - I'm gonna estimate that to be about $2.00 So if you went in a pet store to buy 1,000 mealies (they don't do bulk prices, at least I've never heard of that happening), then you're going to be buying 10 sets of 100 mealies. At $2.00 a pop, that's going to cost you $20.00 total for 1,000 mealies.

Now, go to a mealie breeder - I am going to use www.grubco.com/ as my example here, since they're least expensive breeder (and still excellent). If you wanted to buy 1,000 mealworms, it'll cost you a base price of $5.00 - $15.00 cheaper than the petstore. Of course, I have to add shipping on to that. Shipping will be an extra flat rate of $4.75.
So, for 1,000 mealworms, I'm going to pay $5.00 for the mealies and $4.75 for shipping. That comes out to $9.75 total for 1,000 mealies.

Petstore - 1,000 mealies for $20.00
Breeder - 1,000 mealies for $9.75

You save $10.25 by going to the breeder. I like that savings And that's WITH shipping.

Okay, I'm doing Math for day lol

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

Wow, shipping is so much cheaper in the states. I just paid $21 in shipping for an order that only cost $30 .

*jaw hits the floor*

How much did your package weigh? Where were they sending it from and to? If it gets sent internationally, then it'll be always be more expensive (even from the USA to Canada or Mexico).

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

Nope Ontario to Alberta Canada. The package probably only weighs a few pounds at most. It was sent express post (3 day shipping) and they need a signature (which costs more I think).

However, I did order a package from an american website (I'm not going to mention). The shiping cost $27 american (what was I thinking). I ordered it a month ago and it is still not here. They said they sent it the wrong way, parcel post instead of express post I think. Still, four weeks, I'm getting very frustrated. They said they would refund me the extra shipping charges. I'm sure if I hadn't noticed they wouldn't have said anything.

I think I'm getting screwed in shipping fees.

I do get a 50% discount on leos shipped through Air Canada which is a plus. My mom worked there for 25 plus years. My little guys almost cost me $120 in shipping, with my mom they were only $60.

*Jaw hits the floor AGAIN*

My GOD girl, maybe you should just move to the USA! I think it might be cheaper in the end!!!!

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