Time to rethink Superworms

[Lulu2010]

If you go through a lot of worms, it is much cheaper (and easy) to just start a colony. The beetles don't fly. I have a mealworm colony here at home that I started some months back. I have already saved so much money. They breed up a storm and once you start the colony you just have to maintain it by spot cleaning, gut loading, and topping off the oat food/bedding.

[JLM27]

I think invertebrates are God's creatures too. Some of them are even cute. Try to control your phobias, and remember that some people feel yuck about squirrels, too. Here's a pic of one that I think is sorta cute:

[Scooterzmom]

If you go through a lot of worms, it is much cheaper (and easy) to just start a colony. The beetles don't fly. I have a mealworm colony here at home that I started some months back. I have already saved so much money. They breed up a storm and once you start the colony you just have to maintain it by spot cleaning, gut loading, and topping off the oat food/bedding.

Wow! How do you start your own colony? I've been thinking about doing that but have no idea how.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W50fQYKN34

squirrel eats wasp larva!!

[Scooterzmom]

I think invertebrates are God's creatures too. Some of them are even cute. Try to control your phobias, and remember that some people feel yuck about squirrels, too. Here's a pic of one that I think is sorta cute:

Oh don't get me wrong.. I do love all creatures, in some way. I mean mealworms make me feel creepy but I wouldn't want to hurt them either. I just don't care about handling them... kinda like, as the opposite I find bees gorgeous, but I wouldn't go playing with one - got stung too many times, learned my lesson

[MsOakley]

What a timely thread. A fellow rehabber convinced me to try the supers with my flyers.She brought them over this p.m. and I haven't offered them yet. I fear my flyers will be afraid of them. They're almost as big as they are . More later...after dinner.

[chickenmom]

Oh yeah.. I had 2 beardies and we had quite a few large black beetles appear from the superworms. The best was when Mrs. Wuffles (my beardy) was puffing her beard and facing off with one once!!! Bearded Dragons are hysterical!

The beetles are kinda cute! MUCH cuter than the HUGE roaches we had in downtown LA!

[MsOakley]

As I suspected only 2 of the 7 were brave enough to tackle the superworms. Even though I smashed the heads for them they were still wigglin' enough to intimidate the kids. I think we'll stick to mealworms. Yum!

[Lulu2010]

Wow! How do you start your own colony? I've been thinking about doing that but have no idea how.

The below information is what I copied from a reptile forum I am on. It was easier than writing it up myself so I hope that is ok that I did that. Hope that helps. It really is easy. I throw fresh veggies on mine every morning to keep them gut loaded with healthy stuff and provide them a way to stay hydrated.

Breeding Mealworms

Breeding Mealworms is extremely simple to do and can save you time and money. It is also an often discussed topic on various reptile forums and keepers are consistently trying to find the best ways to rear these insects at home. This guide, if followed, will help you start a successful mealworm culture.

Mealworms, also known as Tenebrio molitor, aren't worms at all. They are actually the larval stage of the Darkling Beetle. The darkling beetle and its larvae are often found harboring in flour, cornmeal, and other grain products. They are considered a pest by agricultural farms that deal in these industries.

Mealworms make excellent feeders for reptiles. (As well as birds, small mammals, sugar gliders, and fish.) They are very easy to breed in captive environments. I have been breeding them now for almost 8 years.

The darkling beetle has 4 stages of life that they will go through. Those are the egg, larvae, pupae, and beetle. It's during the larval stage that we feed these insects, and this is the stage that we aim to produce.

How It Works - Breeding Mealworms

The mealworms you start with will eat the substrate that you will provide as described below. As they eat and grow, they will shed their exoskeleton and increase in size. The shed exoskeleton will be visible and often sits on the top of the substrate. When the larval stage is complete, the larvae will become dormant and will often be found semi-curled in the corner of the container, on the surface.

During this dormancy, they will stop eating and begin the metamorphism into the pupae. This is when they are transforming into the darkling beetle. Once the pupae has matured, and the beetle has emerged, you will be presented with the only stage of this critters life that can reproduce. These beetles can often be seen breeding in plain site. Once copulation has transpired, the female will lay eggs in the substrate or on "cage furniture" that you may have provided. The female will lay hundreds of eggs at a time, but they are extremely difficult to see as they normally become consumed within the substrate.

Darkling Beetle Life Cycle




1. Egg
2. Larvae
3. Pupa
4. Beetle

Materials Required - Breeding Mealworms

Breeding Containers

Just about any smooth sided container will work. I currently have a colony going using 4 ten gallon aquariums. In the past I have used sterilite and rubbermaid containers with great success.

So long as the container can provide a decent amount of ventilation (to prevent molding), has smooth sides so the mealworms and beetles can't climb out, and you have a modified cover (ventilation), it can potentially work.

You want to have at least 2-3 containers prepared. This will allow you to keep the mealworms, pupa, and beetles separate. Doing this will help you yield the most mealworms from your colony.

I am currently using a 4 container system and intend on adding a 5th container. If you have a large collection of reptiles to feed, you too may want to consider additional containers.

Breeding Containers Screen Mesh

Most containers are going to require some screen mesh to allow for proper ventilation while still containing the mealworms and beetles. I myself have altered the covers of my aquariums to use a customized screen cover I have built. If you would like instructions for this, have a look here: Custom Screen Tops

Substrate

I use a mixture consisting of powdered milk, multi grain (dry) baby food , oatmeal, and cornmeal. I don't just toss them in. Instead, I prefer to blend it all into a fine powder with a blender. This is not a required step, but retrieving the mealworms is much easier when I do this.

The items I use for my substrate are not what you need to use. Instead, any variety of bran flakes, cornmeal, cheerios, etc. can be used. You want to make sure that the mealworms have a substrate that contains grains as this is a normal diet for them, and it also provides a valuable amount of nutrition.

If you live near a feed store, any whole grain mixture they sell would be excellent, and preferred over the diet I currently use.

Heating Device

This is actually an optional piece of the puzzle. If you are seeking maximum output from your colony, and do not have a room in your home that is a fairly consistent 75-77 degrees, you will want to use a heating device.

I use an undertank heater to maintain my colonies. I measure the temperature of the substrate, opposed to the air, and have found that temperatures between 75 and 77 degrees do extremely well.

Mealworms

Mealworms are required to get the colony going. To begin a successful colony, I suggest starting with no less than 150 mealworms. This will provide you with a large number of beetles to be bred. I prefer to start new colonies with 500 mealworms.

Breeding Container Preparation - Breeding Mealworms

The first thing I do is clean the container thoroughly. I do this to ensure that my colony is going to start out in the most sanitized of conditions. I then proceed to mix the substrate and spread it on the bottom of the container. I like to have a layer that is at least 3 inches thick.

Watering - Breeding Mealworms

I offer my mealworms moisture by way of carrots and potatoes. I prefer carrots over the potatoes as they don't mold. Instead, they get rubbery until they dry out. Potatoes slices do work extremely well as a means to transfer moisture.

Heating - Breeding Mealworms

My mealworms are kept at a consistent 75-77 degrees, though they can be maintained at room temperature, which I have done in the past. Heating the mealworm colony will yield more mealworms, at a faster rate than those kept at the average 70 degrees.

Feeding - Breeding Mealworms

The substrate you have chosen is also the diet you are feeding to your mealworms. For this very reason, you should aim to use the highest quality bedding that you can. What you put into your mealworms for nutrition is what you will ultimately be putting into your reptiles as well.

Gut Loading - Breeding Mealworms

Gut loading is the process by which your insects are fed nutritious foods before being offered to your reptile. Gut loading is usually done with high nutrient foods for a period of 24-48 hours prior to being offered to your pet. This ensures that your reptile is being given the most nutritious mealworms you can offer.

General Maintenance - Breeding Mealworms

You want to check your containers daily. If your mealworms have no moisture source, add one. If you see dead mealworms or beetles, remove them. Transfer any beetles you come across to the breeding container. Ensure that you have an adequate amount of food in with the mealworms. If you find that the food level is scarce, you should use that opportunity to empty the container completely, disinfect it, re-add fresh substrate, and then re-add the mealworms.

If you are vigilant and maintain your colony, it will continuously produce mealworms for you.

Final Notes - Breeding Mealworms

The entire process of a mealworm going from egg to beetle takes between 10-12 weeks. Those that do not use supplemental heating may experience longer time frames however.

When you start your colony, expect it to take 4-6 weeks before any visible babies are present. Just be consistent and before you know it, the petstore will become a thing of the past. Use the money you have saved to get another reptile!

[Lulu2010]

All of the information is great, but you do not have to separate your beetles and mealies to have a colony. You will have a more thriving colony in doing so, but if you don't have a ton of animals to feed then I would not worry about. I have one colony and never separate...only clean....and mine is doing wonderfully. I have lots and lots of mealies.

[Charley Chuckles]

I always give Charley the small meal worms I just pic them up one at a time and hand them to him ....he eats them like a piece of licorice
Once I made the mistake and bought bigger ones and they had black stripes and when I handed it to him he was all happy then he squealed and threw it so guess they taste awful ...so my friend tried to give them to her released squirrels who love meal worms and they did the same thing ....so now I just went to Petco bought a large container of the small worms he is a happy camper .............I was once going to raise them but now Petco has them fairly cheap

[2ndHandRanchRescue]

OMG you guys in Florida have crazy critters down there - here I'm looking at a bag of boring old freeze dried meal worms.

[CritterMom]

I buy wax worms for my little deer mouse, Nate, and give them to Mister P occasionally. He LOVES them but OMG it grosses me out - he smacks his lips when he eats them...I basically hand him one and run so I don't have to LISTEN.

[Nancy in New York]

I always give Charley the small meal worms I just pic them up one at a time and hand them to him ....he eats them like a piece of licorice
Once I made the mistake and bought bigger ones and they had black stripes and when I handed it to him he was all happy then he squealed and threw it so guess they taste awful ...so my friend tried to give them to her released squirrels who love meal worms and they did the same thing ....so now I just went to Petco bought a large container of the small worms he is a happy camper .............I was once going to raise them but now Petco has them fairly cheap

Abby, the mealworms can pinch/bite believe it or not, wonder if Charley got pinched...

[Cleo_13]

I think invertebrates are God's creatures too. Some of them are even cute. Try to control your phobias, and remember that some people feel yuck about squirrels, too.

In my opinion, dead bugs are a lot grosser than live ones. When they are alive, I find them fascinating, and often cute (especially caterpillars and grub type larvae.) That being said, I could never feed a live anything to another creature, whether it be a mouse to a snake or a mealworm to a flyer. I tried once to feed a live spider to my venus fly trap, and felt so awful about it that I'm never trying it again.

Just out of curiosity, as I don't have anything that would eat them, I've seen already dead (I think freeze dried) mealworms by the bird food at the hardware store. Would flyers (and mice or other rodents) eat those or would they completely turn up their nose at them?

[Twi_prime]

Don't know about the superworms but the meal worms sorta get shorter and wider/fatter, whitish too, and begin growing tiny short legs (at that point they sorta look like a coma and my sqs love them at that stage for being nice and juicy YUCK!!!! ) and the next step is the beetle. At least this is how I've seen it happen in that little plastic cup they come in. Like I said blehhhh... & brrrr... & yuck... I tell ya, it's really just because I love my squees that I even handle them

Wow. Sounds very freaky.

[Twi_prime]

The superworms get short flat and fat before they morph. They usually bury themselves somewhere too.

This is all pretty creepy, imho. Not to mention the biting??

[iwonka]

Wow! How do you start your own colony? I've been thinking about doing that but have no idea how.

Do this M. !!! I will be one of your best customer!

[Scooterzmom]

Do this M. !!! I will be one of your best customer!

Erhhhh... I wouldn't quite hold my breath if i were you

[cuteascnb]

Oh My flyers Bandit and Sadie LOVE LOVE LOVE superworms!!! HOW DO YOU START A COLONY...It would be so much cheaper then buying them every couple weeks!