Growing mealworms for Squirrels, please help

[CrazySquirrelLady]

OK ordered 2,000 large mealworms for the boyz and the birds.

So I read online how to feed them and stuff. Don't know a lot about it still could use some tips please.

After I order them, I research here in nutrition, and Oh boy, looks like mealworms are a treat. I see they are full of phosphorus. I see mealworms are needing calcium.

So is there a way to add calcium or something to their feed to make them a better nutritional choice?

Could I sprinkle calcium in the wheat bran mealworms live in or something that they eat?

Did I kill my squirrels? I think they ate about 20 mealworms apiece today, at least the greys did. ooops. They just loved them so, I thought they were good for them... then I researched too late. I saw someone said like one mealworm a week is ok. shoot fuzzy.

and they are out of their Henry's Blocks, so I wanted to give them some good protein food today... guess I overdid it again. ooops I did it again.


So I think I will post some pics of the mealworms when they come in the mail and show if someone can really raise these critters at home.

One web site said only needed 3-500 mealworms to raise some, but the dude at the mealworm place told me I needed 2000 hahahahaha.

so if 2000 mealworms lay 20 eggs a piece every 6 weeks then how many mealworms will I have in 8 weeks when some new ones hatch out? lol.

anyways guess no one gets worms tomorrow after 25 today? is that right?

[kastillo]

Yes, please feed sparingly. And you can dust them with calcium before feeding for good measure.

I wish I knew how to raise em myself, my flyer would love that.
Oh yea, my mouse really likes em too.

[Squirrelis]

I don't know about growing them- I just bought some yesterday at the pet store for my prairie dog-CSL sounds like your going to have some great stories coming up with all those worms:eek: :eek: I'm laughing already:rotfl

[CrazySquirrelLady]

so sparingly and 25 mealworms are not compatible I take it ?

they were tiny things. tiny.

OK so far you dump some wheat flour in a plastic bin and then you throw in the worms you get.

For drinking water, slice a raw tater and lay pieces on top of the wheat flour.

Change tater slices daily. That is water, wheat flour is food for them.

Then they hang out, turn into beetles and make more mealworms by laying eggs. Then you take out the beetles and let eggs hatch into mealworms.

This supposedly takes 6 weeks.

I take it I will have an endless supply of worms! ??

if all goes well. I tried raising some giant mealworms and that did not go well. But hope these regular mealworms will be easier.

EDIT: Ok just looked online one mealworm can lay 275 eggs. so I have 2,000 so that would be 550,000. OMy! I think that dude online was nuts! half a million? oh mhy!

[Little Red]

I raised meal worms once for a manicou gros oeil. You can feed use oats and bran and cover it with damp tissues. They are easy to raise but you have to make sure the moths don't get in. Their larvae make a kind or cobweby mess in the oats/flour.

BTW I gave the little manicou as much as he wanted and he got diarrhoea for a few days and stopped eating. When he started back eating, he wouldn't touch the meal worms. Turns out they are very high in fat. So if your fuzzers aren't accustomed to them, start off with a few at a time.

[TinyPaws]

To bulk them up, feed raw potatoes, carrots, apple and lettuce...Cut the potaoes and carrots long way and place it around their container..Potatoes one day, carrots another and so on..It takes a long time for babies to grow..I'm still working on mine..The mealworm will turn into a puba (sp?), little legless wiggle things..Take those out and place them into another container..Those wigglers turn morph into a beetles who will then spend their time mating..male on top of female..the female will lay the eggs which are so tiny you won't be able to see them..after a few weeks or so you may see very tiny mealworms..If you want to control the amount then leave them in with the beetles..They will eat some of them but will leave many more to grow..as they get bigger you can put them into the mealworm container...and the cycle continues..

The beetles live and mate for over a couple to a few months so they will constantly be making babies..

The beetles also need food and moisture..They like raw potaotes, carrots, lettuce and apple...One food per feeding..leave it in the container with them, they will drain all the liquid out of the food..After 2 days change the food..The beetles are pretty cool and do not bite so don't be squeemish about handling them..

The bedding will need to be changed when it becomes dusty and darker in color..take the beetles and put them into a clean container with new bedding but don't throw out the old bedding as there may be baby worms in that so just set that aside and wait till they grow enough to see them..The containers do not need to be covered but if they are make sure there are enough holes for them to get oxygen..I use a fish tank with a screen cover..I need to cover them otherwise as I've found out, Dylan loves to go in there and dig around..

Wheat bran is good but I also mix in crushed oatmeal..If I think of anything else I'll post it, if you have more questions you can PM me..

[CrazySquirrelLady]

neat. thanks for the tips.

[pappy1264]

I raised mealies for years (I have alot of sugar gliders...lol) What I did, I took one of those plastic three drawer things. The top draw, I cut the bottom out of and replaced with very small screen. The top are for the beetles and aliens (as we call them. they are white, legless critters that the mealies turn into then turn from that into beetles.) The draw below that, keep the way it it. As the beetles breed, and then lay eggs, they will fall to the drawer below. The bottom draw is where I keep the mealies I will be feeding (and as the mealies in the second drawer grow, they are moved to the bottom drawer. As any 'aliens' appear in the bottom (larger) mealies, they are moved up to the top drawer. Beetles and mealies are feed. I feed carrots, potatoes, and greens. I wash them all and leave slightly damp when I feed. I also put mayonnaise lids with some wheat germ in it. Many use it as bedding in the whole container. I did use to do that, but you have to be very careful as any moisture in that bedding can cause mold to grow. So I like keeping the wheat germ in small containers so you can control any moisture from getting into it. Mealies and beetles can and will climb in and out of it to eat it. I would get a very fine screen strainer so you can strain the drawers and get rid of the waste the bugs will pass. It isn't hard, just take a while to get going, but once you do, you will have mealies and more mealies.

As far as making the mealies better for your critters, you can also sprinkle powdered calcium on the greens and veggies to help gut load them (and can roll them in the powder before you feed them as well.)

If you don't like handling them, you can get some tweezers sold at Petco in the reptile section made specifically for handling and feeding bugs!

Hope that help(btw, use a hot glue gun to attach the screen to the drawer you cut.)

Here is a link for raising them, as well, with pics. http://mealwormstore.com/raising_mealworms.php

[CrazySquirrelLady]

nice tips! I really like how you say to do it. I have a 3 drawer deal already! AND a hot glue gun.. i love that hot glue gun, lol.

[pappy1264]

This site says to move the pupa out from the beetles, so you can put them in the second drawer, and then they turn to beetles, then back up into the
top bunk'....lol

[TinyPaws]

[QUOTE=pappy1264]I raised mealies for years (I have alot of sugar gliders...lol) What I did, I took one of those plastic three drawer things. The top draw, I cut the bottom out of and replaced with very small screen. The top are for the beetles and aliens (as we call them. they are white, legless critters that the mealies turn into then turn from that into beetles.) The draw below that, keep the way it it. As the beetles breed, and then lay eggs, they will fall to the drawer below.

Do you put any bedding in with the beetles?

[pappy1264]

Not directly under them, I feed them the wheat germ in lids, which they crawl in and out of, but no bedding in the actual draw. The screen is so eggs will fall down into the draw below. I used to use wheat germ (bought it 25 lbs at a time) but had a bad mold issue that killed a farm I had had going for a year and a half. I stopped using it in the whole drawers after that, but started putting it in lids, so they could still eat it, but the wetness from the veggies did not come into contact with it (which will grow mold). Plus it was easier to clean, so I did it more often, as I could see the 'dirt' (or silt or flass).

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

Whoa. I should not have read this post. Now I'm not sure whether I'm going to throw up or pee my pants. :flush

Actually, I have no idea why I'm so squeamish about worms and gurbs and maggots . . . shudder . . . I was raised on a farm for heaven's sake! :thinking

[pappy1264]

Have no problem with the worms, heck will stick my hand in the bag and pull out a handfull, but OMG if ONE beetle even touches me, I swear I feel like I will faint! lol Its the legs!!!! UGH!!!!

[CrazySquirrelLady]

My worms got eaten, but not before a bunch turned into adult beetles.

They got busy! I think there must be about 20,000 baby mealworms now! lol

They are not big enough to feed yet, but they are coming right along.

I have been feeding them Cream of Wheat (extra calcium ) and they are drinking their potato slices.

This has been pretty fun.

Tonite I got all the adult beetles out and gave them a new box of cream of wheat and oat flour to live in, maybe get them to lay a few more thousand eggs?

How long does it take the little worms to get big?

[CrazySquirrelLady]

Little worms are getting bigger. finally big enough to feed a few. Still more to growing!



i will have millions of mealworms if this keeps up. oh boy! I can freeze them and feed them all winter to the birds too!