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Breeding mealworms

Clint

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I'm breeding mealworms to feed to the hedgehog, birds, and also for my Dionaea while I'm at it. I've got a 10 gallon aquarium with like half an inch of oat meal in there, and tomorrow I'll add wheat germ, wheat bran, and corn meal so I'll have about three inches of substrate. I wet a piece of paper bag about the size of my falm, squeezed most of the water out and put it in there. I'm worried that the environment will be too damp? How do I know if they get too much/too little water? I was also going to let them eat a piece of potato or carrot every now and then and I'm going to sprinkle topical fish flakes in the media, too.

I've got a 10 gallon aquarium and 200 worms (100 large, 100 small) so far. Everything sound good? Any tips? I'm mainly worried about the water issue.
 
I would not add corn meal. (grain mites will eat this)
I just use oat meal from the grocery store for my bedding.

I used to use chicken feed. I would place carrots on top the bedding once a week. This made the bedding damp enough that I got grain mites. The bedding did not look or seem damp at all, but it must have been. Grain mites like damp places.
Once you get grain mites the cultures need to be destroyed. I had to toss 12 cultures of mealworms. The grain mites cause the mealworm production to about stop.

Now I still use carrots, not as often, and I place it in a plastic lid. Like a Gatorade lid so the bedding does not get damp.
I had to restart all my cultures and purchase 3000 mealworms. Then I got an additional 2000 large and 1000 small. I really need to order another 2000 large as the cultures are starting to produce tiny mealworms, but I'm out of big ones and the Leopard Geckos are hungry. LOL
 
I have a barely damp sponge in their and surprisingly they all went to it! I didn't know they were smart enough to do that. I've got it on a small saucer like you'd put a teacup on. It's also in my dark bedroom, so 18 watt fluorescent light over them or not? I guess it keeps them warmer, I dunno.

Do the adults eat the larvae, can they fly or crawl up the glass, and do they need special food? So far they all look... as happy as a mealworm can look I guess :)
 
They will reproduce faster with lights and warmth.
Adults will eat larvae if they need water.
The beetles do not fly or able to crawl up sides. I have mine in open top plastic rubbermaid containers that are not very high at all.
 
Well so far I have two pupae! I guess they like my conditions.


EDIT:
Now four! I feel like a total dork lmao. My media ended up being 50/50 bran/oatmeal and then I added a healthy amount of fish flakes and koi pellets. I thought they were goners a few times since they were on their sides or backs not moving, but I piled them up and put a sponge over then and they are OK now.
 
I want to use mealworms to feed my ants. How many should I get?
 
i use superworms to feed my bearded dragon.....breeding isnt the same as for mealworms but i have found as long as i dont use a lid that i never have to much moisture......i keep them in a 1 gal jar hald full of whole wheat four, oatmeal and the like. use pieces of carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes for moisture/food....they LOVE sweet potatoes. doesnt matter on the size of the pieces of vegi's, aslong as i leave the lid off it never gets to damp.
 
I have some mealworms breeding in my roach colonies. So basically any dry substrate with a moist food source will work.
 
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