# Easiest feeders to breed



## Jerry (Jul 13, 2016)

I have three female and two male hissers they seem content to hangout eat and chill now baby's so is it easter to breed dubias I need something that will do well in temps between 70 and 80 degreed prefer something that doesn't stink like crickets I have started a mealworm colony but as of yesterday all my worms are now beetles and I'm waiting for them to get going


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## TownesVanZandt (Jul 13, 2016)

Mealworms are the easiest. Just feed them and put them in the fridge when they have reached the size you want.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## skar (Jul 13, 2016)

Dubia roaches are easy as well, and for large specimens they are a good feeder to use especially after a molt.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## EulersK (Jul 13, 2016)

Dubias. They breed like roaches. 

Hisses are terrible feeders simply because they day forever and a day to go from hatching to producing an ootheca themselves.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Ran (Jul 13, 2016)

I am currently raising 3 different species of roaches and dubias and lobster roaches breed the fastest.


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## Jerry (Jul 13, 2016)

Well I got the hissers because I always wanted some and I thought hay if they breed I can use them for feeders but now I'm looking to save the money I spend on feeders by raising my own just trying to figure what will work out beat for what I need


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## cold blood (Jul 13, 2016)

Ran said:


> lobster roaches breed the fastest.


that's a double edged sword....as they can easily infest your house.

Reactions: Agree 6


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## EulersK (Jul 13, 2016)

Jerry said:


> Well I got the hissers because I always wanted some and I thought hay if they breed I can use them for feeders but now I'm looking to save the money I spend on feeders by raising my own just trying to figure what will work out beat for what I need


It will work of you're in it for the long haul, just don't expect to be using that colony any time soon. 



cold blood said:


> that's a double edged sword....as they can easily infest your house.


Best advice so far. The three characteristics of good feeders are: fast maturation, short gestation, inability to infest. Things like ease of care and smell are personal preferences.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## shining (Jul 13, 2016)

Blaptica dubia ftw again!


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## Jerry (Jul 13, 2016)

Well I've been leaning towards dubias and like I said I have the mealworms started I just have to get them producing


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## Trenor (Jul 13, 2016)

Depending on how many Ts you have to feed them all of these options can balloon out of control. I have reptiles eating my Dubias as well as a lot of Ts and I still have to cut the heat off to my breeding bin to slow down the production. Lots of these feeders are good at lasting a long time so you might still be better off buying feeders rather then breeding your own.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Jerry (Jul 13, 2016)

Cool might have to look in to that just tired of the large die off with crickets


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## louise f (Jul 13, 2016)

Meal worms are easy and fast.. Dubias take forever, dead head roaches are faster than dubias, to make new babies. 

I keep all three of them

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Ziad ElGuneid (Jul 13, 2016)

if your Ts are small go for meal worms, if they're large dubias are easy.


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## Darkwing (Jul 13, 2016)

Jerry said:


> Cool might have to look in to that just tired of the large die off with crickets


I keep a variety of feeders for my 2 reptiles and 30 Ts, 
A very variety of sizes of Dubia (which require very little maintenance..

Kingworms(easy), mealworms(easy), and horned worms(difficult) 

I'd say for you circumstances, just learn to breed the worms as efficiently as possible and they will come around soon!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Jerry (Jul 13, 2016)

What are kingworms


Darkwing said:


> I keep a variety of feeders for my 2 reptiles and 30 Ts,
> A very variety of sizes of Dubia (which require very little maintenance..
> 
> Kingworms(easy), mealworms(easy), and horned worms(difficult)
> ...


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## beaker41 (Jul 14, 2016)

Trenor said:


> rather then breading your own.


You made me think of roaches rolled in egg yolk and breaded, ready for the deep fat frier.. Ugh why

Dubais are great feeders and breeders but they like it hot , I try to keep mine close to the bulb at 90-100 and they reproduce like mad. There are actually thousands of different species of roaches and only a small percentage are pest species. Check out roachcrossing it's an amazing database of roach species with a wealth of information about pet and feeder species ! Personally I was amazed by the variety of stuff out there people keep as pets .

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Jerry (Jul 14, 2016)

beaker41 said:


> You made me think of roaches rolled in egg yolk and breaded, ready for the deep fat frier.. Ugh why
> 
> Dubais are great feeders and breeders but they like it hot , I try to keep mine close to the bulb at 90-100 and they reproduce like mad. There are actually thousands of different species of roaches and only a small percentage are pest species. Check out roachcrossing it's an amazing database of roach species with a wealth of information about pet and feeder species ! Personally I was amazed by the variety of stuff out there people keep as pets .


 thanks I'll have to check that out and roaches aren't to bad not a fan of grass hoppers thou they have a bad after taste


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## Jones0911 (Jul 15, 2016)

Trenor said:


> Depending on how many Ts you have to feed them all of these options can balloon out of control. I have reptiles eating my Dubias as well as a lot of Ts and I still have to cut the heat off to my breeding bin to slow down the production. Lots of these feeders are good at lasting a long time so you might still be better off buying feeders rather then breeding your own.



Can you breed  dubias freeze then defrost as needed like with mammal feeders?


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## Haksilence (Jul 15, 2016)

Dubai's are definitely  your best bet. Easy to maintain and control reproduction (via heat) the fresh offspring are small enough for just about the smallest slings. Not to mention they are nature's garbage disposal, you could feed them just about anything, I was eating an apple while doing some maintenance in my t room and just thought "ehh why not?" And placed it in the dubia collony and now tonight there is next to nothing left. 

All this being said, I don't like Dubai's as a feeder, especially for arboreals. Dubai's have too much of a tendency to freeze and be missed by the tarantula or go straight down and hide under whatever they can wedge their body into. So feeding anything but mature males to my arboreals has been a straight nightmare.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Trenor (Jul 15, 2016)

Jones0911 said:


> Can you breed  dubias freeze then defrost as needed like with mammal feeders?


I have froze B.lats before when I started out with some tiny slings. I bought some Ts from a guy at a show and he gave me some small B.lats to feed them with. Having 50 with just two slings I froze 5 to see how it would go. I put them in a vial and into the freezer. Shake one out and let it thaw and the Ts ate them like they would any pre-killed prey. 

I've never tried to freeze Dubias. With just basic care you can keep them alive for a long time so I don't think there is a need. I can however throw one in the freezer and let you know how it goes if you want.



Haksilence said:


> All this being said, I don't like Dubai's as a feeder, especially for arboreals. Dubai's have too much of a tendency to freeze and be missed by the tarantula or go straight down and hide under whatever they can wedge their body into. So feeding anything but mature males to my arboreals has been a straight nightmare.


I just crush the heads before putting them in. They will move around till they are snatched up by the T. It also keeps the from hoping down the burrows. If the T doesn't eat and you have crushed the head you can't put it back in the colony and use it later. Though, that's not too big a concern for me as I have a ton of them. Once you get used to the eating schedule of your Ts you'll have less leftovers.

When I fed the P.Cam last night I picked the right size, crushed it's head, and placed it near the entrance to her corkbark hide. It walked up and around a bit till she came and snatched it up.


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## Jerry (Jul 15, 2016)

Anyone out there sell dubias in Nebraska I would rather not have them shipped if I don't have to


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## Andromalius (Jul 15, 2016)

Blatta lateralis, really fast exponential growth. Faster than Dubias I think. Can't climb smooth surfaces, lays eggs. More elusive than Dubias tho, and can easily infest a house once they escape, if the escape.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1 | Helpful 1


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## louise f (Jul 15, 2016)

Andromalius said:


> Blatta lateralis, really fast exponential growth. Faster than Dubias I think. Can't climb smooth surfaces, lays eggs. More elusive than Dubias tho, and can easily infest a house once they escape, if the escape.


They are faster than dubias, but i would simply never use those, they are great escapists and true can easily infest your house. Once i knew someone who had them all over the apartment.

Reactions: Agree 3 | Helpful 1


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## crlovel (Jul 15, 2016)

I keep a colony of Orange Head roaches (Eublaberus prosticus). The Ts all love them.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Jul 15, 2016)

All of those roaches, _B.dubia_ especially: they love to f... like rats and hedgehogs combined together.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Andromalius (Jul 15, 2016)

louise f said:


> They are faster than dubias, but i would simply never use those, they are great escapists and true can easily infest your house. Once i knew someone who had them all over the apartment.


I accidentally dropped one whole bin of em in my Exo room. Fortunately, I sealed all corners and openings of the room earlier in the month because of ants. Moved every piece of furniture inside and caught all (OH GOD I HOPE). Few weeks now and so far, no sign of em anywhere. Wife was surprisingly forgiving and bought me 2 colonies after. Heh.

So yes, infestation wise, theyre prolific breeders and infestors (infestators? infestationers?)

Reactions: Funny 2


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## louise f (Jul 15, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> All of those roaches, _B.dubia_ especially: they love to f... like rats and hedgehogs combined together.



Yep they do. They just need some orange fruit, that set the males on fire like that.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Jul 15, 2016)

louise f said:


> Yep they do. They just need some orange fruit, that set the males on fire like that.


I gave them carrots and that cricket _steroids _I love to use

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Trenor (Jul 15, 2016)

Andromalius said:


> Moved every piece of furniture inside and caught all (OH GOD I HOPE).


You never get them all. Good luck though man.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 22, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> All of those roaches, _B.dubia_ especially: they love to f... like rats and hedgehogs combined together.


like Italians ?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 22, 2016)

REEFSPIDER said:


> like Italians ?


Eh 
I doubt my man... judging from recent years the rate of little Italian babies went skyrocketing down. _B.dubia_ females on the other hand keeps pooping out little roaches for the cause :-s

Reactions: Like 1


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 22, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Eh
> I doubt my man... judging from recent years the rate of little Italian babies went skyrocketing down. _B.dubia_ females on the other hand keeps pooping out little roaches for the cause :-s


I joke, I dated an Italian girl once. Quite a handful.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 22, 2016)

REEFSPIDER said:


> I joke, I dated an Italian girl once. Quite a handful.


Italian or Italian/American btw? 

Yeah, they are cool, but *jealous *as F-Word :-s


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 22, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Italian or Italian/American btw?
> 
> Yeah, they are cool, but *jealous *as F-Word :-s


Italian American. Her grandmother was the coolest though, thick accent full Italian. And old. I just like old people I think because I'm fascinated with the past. But anyway she was a bad**s Italian grandmother. I miss her pasta more than my Ex.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 22, 2016)

REEFSPIDER said:


> I'm fascinated with the past.


High Five man. Same here 



REEFSPIDER said:


> I miss her pasta more than my Ex.


I know well therefore I understand your pain my friend

Reactions: Like 1


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## Najakeeper (Aug 22, 2016)

Dubias breed fast and are a decent size assuming that they are kept warm and well fed so I keep a colony of those. But I hate their survival habits.

S.lateralis are great feeders for smaller Ts. They run a lot as well, which initiates a good feeding response.

If I see some lobster roaches around my house, I will come with a torch. Can't deal with glass climbers.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## crlovel (Aug 22, 2016)

Since this, I now have a breeding colony of dubias and a colony of B. peruvians that have a few young running about, as well as the orange heads. I'm actually giving the orange head colony a break.

Reactions: Like 1


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## hennibbale (Aug 27, 2016)

REEFSPIDER said:


> Italian American. Her grandmother was the coolest though, thick accent full Italian. And old. I just like old people I think because I'm fascinated with the past. But anyway she was a bad**s Italian grandmother. I miss her pasta more than my Ex.


When Italians go to America they usually find it pretty traumatic eating your pasta.

Reactions: Like 1


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 27, 2016)

hennibbale said:


> When Italians go to America they usually find it pretty traumatic eating your pasta.


What do you mean? This pre made dry and flavorless variety is not Italian enough. Lol. you mean to tell me that putting this blasphemous pasta into a bag with a stereotypical Italian woman plastered on the front does not make it authentic?


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## hennibbale (Aug 27, 2016)

REEFSPIDER said:


> What do you mean? This pre made dry and flavorless variety is not Italian enough. Lol. you mean to tell me that putting this blasphemous pasta into a bag with a stereotypical Italian woman plastered on the front does not make it authentic?


Well, fresh pasta isn't the best pasta.
Even the best Italian chefs use Barilla, that's a dry and in a plastic bag.
You guys just... overcook it.
Pasta al dente is THE pasta.
And please.... DON'T. PUT. KETCHUP. ON. YOUR. PASTA.
Everytime you do that, an Italian dies.

Reactions: Funny 3


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## Jerry (Aug 27, 2016)

Haha we'll we don't eat the best pasta but my wife and I are very stricked about making a home mad tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes garlic and herbs no ketchup or canned sauces here


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 27, 2016)

hennibbale said:


> Well, fresh pasta isn't the best pasta.
> Even the best Italian chefs use Barilla, that's a dry and in a plastic bag.
> You guys just... overcook it.
> Pasta al dente is THE pasta.
> ...


Idk who you know who does this or where you got the idea it's a thing. "Ketchup on pasta" must be something I don't know. As far as barilla being the only thing pro chefs use, I find that a bit laughable honestly. Your basically saying every decent Italian chef uses one brand only. But ok. I'm out of this thread now though.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## EulersK (Aug 27, 2016)

I've literally never heard of people putting ketchup on pasta, and I've lived all over this country. I will say though, pasta al dente is gross. No thank you.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## JumpingSpiderLady (Aug 27, 2016)

EulersK said:


> I've literally never heard of people putting ketchup on pasta, and I've lived all over this country. I will say though, pasta al dente is gross. No thank you.


This is the only part of this conversation I read.  But I ALWAYS cook my pasta al dente.  Not crunchy, just a little firm.  Perfect!  Also, what nut puts ketchup on pasta?  I've never heard of that.


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 27, 2016)

Ketchup goes on French fries.
Although in Europe they prefer the mayonnaise. Ketchup packets were not free in Munich McDonald's but the mayonnaise flows free.


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## EulersK (Aug 27, 2016)

REEFSPIDER said:


> Ketchup goes on French fries.
> Although in Europe they prefer the mayonnaise. Ketchup packets were not free in Munich McDonald's but the mayonnaise flows free.


Mix ketchup and mayo, 50-50. Nectar of the gods.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Love 1


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## REEFSPIDER (Aug 27, 2016)

EulersK said:


> Mix ketchup and mayo, 50-50. Nectar of the gods.


Bro they called that fry sauce up in Idaho. And yes it is quite heavenly!!!!!
I came back to California and went to a sonic(quite popular in Idaho and has their own branded fry sauce cups)  
And the managers didn't have a clue what I was asking for.


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## ratluvr76 (Aug 27, 2016)

hennibbale said:


> Well, fresh pasta isn't the best pasta.
> Even the best Italian chefs use Barilla, that's a dry and in a plastic bag.
> You guys just... overcook it.
> Pasta al dente is THE pasta.
> ...


Eeww ketchup on pasta? Well, I put ketchup in my Mac and cheese, but that's a personal preference and Mac and cheese isn't pasta in my books. Tortellini, spaghetti bolognese, Fettuccini..... that's pasta! 



EulersK said:


> Mix ketchup and mayo, 50-50. Nectar of the gods.


Agreed!! If you add enough black pepper to it too you get a nice kick with it too. Yum yum. 

And I didn't quote the al dente pasta being nasty comment but I don't understand. You like your pasta mushy?? :?

Reactions: Like 1


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## ratluvr76 (Aug 27, 2016)

Also, I just realised how far off topic this thread got. My apologies OP. I will try to add to THAT topic now instead. 

IMO, the easiest feeders to breed would have to be mealworms. Get a hundred or so, stick them in a contaimer with some oats and cornmeal, put them somewhere and let them alone for a month or two. Just have to put a piece of carrot in it every couple of days for the water they need and voilà. You will soon have darkling beetles, which will lay eggs and you will quickly have a container full of mealworms in every life stage.

The next easiest is the Blaptica dubia cockroach. You can find dozens of videos on YouTube on how to set up a roach bin.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## hennibbale (Aug 27, 2016)

Grow mealworms to spaghetti size!

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## EulersK (Aug 27, 2016)

ratluvr76 said:


> You like your pasta mushy?? :?


I only have three teeth, so yeah

Reactions: Funny 1


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## ratluvr76 (Aug 27, 2016)

EulersK said:


> I only have three teeth, so yeah


Well that's different.  I understand. My husband has bad teeth too.


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## sschind (Aug 27, 2016)

beaker41 said:


> You made me think of roaches rolled in egg yolk and breaded, ready for the deep fat frier.. Ugh why


I live in Wisconsin.  If we can deep fry it it's a thing.



hennibbale said:


> And please.... DON'T. PUT. KETCHUP. ON. YOUR. PASTA.
> Everytime you do that, an Italian dies.


Where the heck did I put that ketchup bottle now.  just kidding.  




REEFSPIDER said:


> Ketchup goes on French fries.
> Although in Europe they prefer the mayonnaise. Ketchup packets were not free in Munich McDonald's but the mayonnaise flows free.


Whenever I get McD fries I ask for mayo in a cup, the stuff they squirt on the sandwiches.  I don't know what kind it is but its so much better than the packets.  Although the Burger King hash rounds dipped in whatever mayo packets they have is pretty good.




EulersK said:


> Mix ketchup and mayo, 50-50. Nectar of the gods.


Ketchup, Mayo, a little soy sauce, a touch of liquid smoke, a splash of Louisiana style hot sauce (like franks but I buy the cheaper version)  and some juice from pickled jalapenos and you have yourself some good dipping sauce.  Every now and then I'll throw in some course ground horseradish mustard.

Now I'm hungry. Time to throw some tater tots into the pizza oven and overcook me some pasghetti.


to keep the post on topic though, my thoughts on feeders.  Mealworms are easy and fairly prolific but harder to feed if your animals don't pounce on the immediately as they tend to burrow quickly.  I use MWs for my slings that scavenge though. I just chop them to the appropriate size and drop them in the cup and go back the next day and remove the remains. I tried it with frozen crickets before and it was a mess.  Freezing breaks down the cells in the food so they turn into mush when they thaw out.  Its OK if the spider eats it but if they don't it is a real PITA to remove the leftovers.  

Dubia are easy but most of my T's won't take them anymore for reasons I don't quite understand.  They used to pounce on them as soon as I dropped them in but now they have lower feeding responses so the dubias tend to burrow or freeze and the T's don't go for them.

Crickets are a pain.  They stink and don't live very long if you get adults. I still get the best feeding response from my T's with crickets though and I really wish they would go back to the roaches.  If you need very tiny feeders though, like i need for my baby P. reddelli scorpions I think pinhead crickets can be the way to go.  It is very easy to get pinheads, I just have a problem getting them through the first couple of molts.  I lose about 90% of them.  Of course flightless fruit flies also work for the very tiny babies

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Trenor (Aug 27, 2016)

hennibbale said:


> And please.... DON'T. PUT. KETCHUP. ON. YOUR. PASTA.
> Everytime you do that, an Italian dies.


How are there any left? 

Overcooked pasta is a thing here. A lot of people do cook it right, though. I find it's like meats, a lot pf people over cook them.


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## hennibbale (Aug 28, 2016)

Trenor said:


> How are there any left?
> 
> Overcooked pasta is a thing here. A lot of people do cook it right, though. I find it's like meats, a lot pf people over cook them.


[Offtopic]
Yeah but... ok, quick tutorial.
If pasta says 10 mins cook it for 9.
1. Boil water, throw in salt (remember the 1,10,100 rule: 1 liter of water for 100g of pasta and  10g of salt.
2. As soon as the 9 mins passed you pull out the pasta and put it in a spaghetti drier.
3. Put it with the sauce you've been cooking.

Buon appetito!
[/offtopic]

I just bought mealworms. Let's see how it goes.
I'm pretty sure I won't buy crickets again.

I put the mealworms in a box full of oatmeal, with various pieces of carrots here and there. And put them in the fridge? Is everything right?


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## hennibbale (Aug 28, 2016)

Update: F-bomb.
I tried to feed a mw to my genic, didn't want to eat and now the worm is burrowed somewhere.


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## ratluvr76 (Aug 28, 2016)

hennibbale said:


> I just bought mealworms. Let's see how it goes.
> I'm pretty sure I won't buy crickets again.
> 
> I put the mealworms in a box full of oatmeal, with various pieces of carrots here and there. And put them in the fridge? Is everything right?


If you want them to reproduce, you should keep them in at least room temperature.  no need for carrots if they're in the fridge either, they are dormant when cooled. If you want to keep them in the fridge that's fine but take them out once per week. put a carrot or potato piece in for them for about 24 hours, remove vegetable piece and put them back in the fridge.  Don't use cardboard box. you will need to put them in a tupperware or glass container. no lid, or at least vented lid. They can eat cardboard.


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## EulersK (Aug 28, 2016)

hennibbale said:


> [Offtopic]
> Yeah but... ok, quick tutorial.
> If pasta says 10 mins cook it for 9.
> 1. Boil water, throw in salt (remember the 1,10,100 rule: 1 liter of water for 100g of pasta and  10g of salt.
> ...


You lost me when you started using metric.

I'm American. They did a terrible job of assimilating us into the rest of the world, didn't they?

Mealworms are better than crickets, just gotta crush the head first  Although it sounds like you just learned that.


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## hennibbale (Aug 28, 2016)

ratluvr76 said:


> Don't use cardboard box. you will need to put them in a tupperware or glass container. no lid, or at least vented lid. They can eat cardboard.


I've got one of those little plastic square boxes used to sell crickets.
Thank you very much for your advice!

Reactions: Like 1


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## hennibbale (Aug 28, 2016)

EulersK said:


> You lost me when you started using metric.
> 
> I'm American. They did a terrible job of assimilating us into the rest of the world, didn't they?
> 
> Mealworms are better than crickets, just gotta crush the head first  Although it sounds like you just learned that.

Reactions: Agree 1


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