Mealworm colony troubles

[Alex G]

Been trying to set up a mealworm colony for a few months now. First I tried them on oatmeal, and had slow progress. Then I was recommended to put them on chick feed, but that molded quickly and I had to trash that colony since I couldn't risk getting my geckos sick. Then I put them on corn meal and had slow progress, and was told that they were not nutritionally sound, either. Then at the suggestion of a friend I put them on peat moss, hoping the more natural medium would make them more prolific, but that molded within a day or two. I am extremely frustrated with having to trash another colony of mealworms. I had been feeding them carrots and fruit scraps every 3 or 4 days, and removing dried up food immediately. I change their bedding about monthly. They are kept in an ambient temp of 80-85 degrees. What could I be doing wrong that's making these supposedly easy to breed feeders consistently mold or grow slowly?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I've never had an issue using wheat bran from the feed store.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I use wheat bran too and having good luck. Ive heard good things about the pro gutload from progeckos too

 

[Alex G]

Thank you for the fast responses. I will try wheat bran. I don't think I have a feed store nearby, is this something I could buy from the grocery store?

 

[animeavatar]

yes

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I get mine from the grocery store. Its in the cereal aisle usually by the oatmeal section.

 

[acpart]

I do use the progeckos gutload and have never had a mold problem. One thing to look at is where you're keeping them. I imagine AZ is pretty dry, but if you're keeping them tightly covered, the humidity may build up. I keep mine mostly in those plastic kritter keepers with the colored ventilated tops.

Aliza

 

[sunshinegeckos]

i have mine in a 6 qt tub with no lid but I am in Florida where the humidity can be high

 

[rickmoss95]

i keep mine in a 28qt tub with no lid. so far i am keeping them on oats and they are doing great. they are in my gecko room at 75 degrees F. i feed them carrots, apple slices, and oranges. i have had them pupate, and turn into beetles that are breeding like crazy. maybe the lid is causing too high of humidity like stated above??? i also read that they do the absolute BEST at 77 degrees F. i am guessing if you lower the temps a bit and use no lid(or a highly ventilated top)...you may have better luck. good luck and i hope you succeed!

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I have about 100 aliens right now and about 25 beetles lol I am going to have a ton of mealies lol

 

[fl_orchidslave]

None of my superworm colonies have lids on them. I use a sterlite 12" cube 3 drawer for mealworms and leave drawers open 2-4". Lizard room is close to 85 degrees in the summer so I have to be careful of any moisture buildup. Chicken mash will mold fast, if you use that at all.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Thank you for the fast responses. I will try wheat bran. I don't think I have a feed store nearby, is this something I could buy from the grocery store?

If you buy it at Schnuck's, it's about $1.99 per bag. Don't buy it at a pet store, or you'll pay 6-7 bucks. You can lay some fresh potato slices on top for moisture. They like that. If they mold, take them out. Most likely, they'll just dry up.

Chrissy

 

[Alex G]

I will try keeping them on wheat bran without a lid. Thank you!

 

[moonlitegram]

Apparantly I'm keeping my mealies completely wrong. I bought a 50 ct container which says to keep refridgerated. That's all I do - keep them in the stuff they came in in the fridge.

Im guessing I can't do this for any extended period of time? Any idea on how long they'll be ok to feed keeping them this way? I hope I havent fed bad meal worms to my gecko already =/

(I did add flukefarms orange cubes which I use for my crickets as well)

 

[doublet74]

Apparantly I'm keeping my mealies completely wrong. I bought a 50 ct container which says to keep refridgerated. That's all I do - keep them in the stuff they came in in the fridge.

Im guessing I can't do this for any extended period of time? Any idea on how long they'll be ok to feed keeping them this way? I hope I havent fed bad meal worms to my gecko already =/

(I did add flukefarms orange cubes which I use for my crickets as well)

Putting mealworms in the fridge is fine. Just take the whole container out once a week and add someething for them to get moisture. Leave them out for 24hrs. to rehydrate themselves then remove whatever you gave them for moisture and put them back in the fridge. Doing this my mealworms last about 3 months or more.

 

[NinjaDuo]

None of my superworm colonies have lids on them. I use a sterlite 12" cube 3 drawer for mealworms and leave drawers open 2-4". Lizard room is close to 85 degrees in the summer so I have to be careful of any moisture buildup. Chicken mash will mold fast, if you use that at all.

How easy is it to breed supers?

 

[animeavatar]

Should I put superworms in my 10 gallon, mealies or another pet?

 

[xanderville]

I have used turkey mash for years. I have never had a problem with mold. I keep mine in Sterilite drawers and the meal worms thrive in that setup. I do lay a layer of paper towels on top of the mash and then I put the carrots, potatoes or fruits on top of that. Maybe that is why i don't ever have mold or maybe cause it is pretty dry here in Utah

 

[fl_orchidslave]

How easy is it to breed supers?

It takes a good 6 months to have a decent superworm colony that can be fed from. Mealworms are much easier.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I lay my veggies and fruit right on the bran but I also change it out every day. Mealworms have been easy for me to breed I am going to try my hand at Supers next.