# mealworm lost in substrate



## Darox (Jun 20, 2010)

my 2 inch p. irminia has decided to burrow under a fake plant rather than be arboreal, and i went to give it a little mealworm today, but the little bugger dug into the sub before my irminia knew it was there. i tried to dig it out right away with tongs, but its nowhere to be found. is there any chance that this escaped little mealworm could cause any harm to my T, if it doesnt re-surface and get eaten before the T decides to molt? has any one else ever lost mealworms out there?


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## J.huff23 (Jun 20, 2010)

Darox said:


> my 2 inch p. irminia has decided to burrow under a fake plant rather than be arboreal, and i went to give it a little mealworm today, but the little bugger dug into the sub before my irminia knew it was there. i tried to dig it out right away with tongs, but its nowhere to be found. is there any chance that this escaped little mealworm could cause any harm to my T, if it doesnt re-surface and get eaten before the T decides to molt? has any one else ever lost mealworms out there?


I lose mealworms in enclosures every once in a while. The Ts get them later most of the time. Sometimes they either die in there or molt into beetles. They are removed at that point.


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## Chris_Skeleton (Jun 20, 2010)

You need to find it. The mealworm will burrow and pupate in the substrate and then emerge later as a beetle that could harm your T during a molt. I have had plenty of mealworms turn into beetles in a short time and just living in the container I got them in. So you really need to find it or wait until it emerges as a beetle and remove it.


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## Darox (Jun 20, 2010)

in my experience though, every mealworm that turns into beatles in the mealworm tub does so on the surface. ive never seen a mealworm pupate under the surface. i m pretty shure the T isnt in premolt now, so maybe i have enough time for the meaworm to resurface and either get eaten, or removed by myself. i would rather not have to remove my irminia and tear apart the enclosure to find it. but if it could really pose an immediate risk i might have to.


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## Chris_Skeleton (Jun 20, 2010)

Darox said:


> in my experience though, every mealworm that turns into beatles in the mealworm tub does so on the surface. ive never seen a mealworm pupate under the surface. i m pretty shure the T isnt in premolt now, so maybe i have enough time for the meaworm to resurface and either get eaten, or removed by myself. i would rather not have to remove my irminia and tear apart the enclosure to find it. but if it could really pose an immediate risk i might have to.


I bought a container of mealworms once and all of them burrowed down and I never saw them again until they were coming out as beetles. And even after they were beetles they were burrowing around. I dont know, I didnt pay that much attention to them.


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## Darox (Jun 20, 2010)

im pretty shure shes got it now, shes in her burrow doing something. she usually sits with her front legs out of the opening, and only goes completly in the burrow after she has caught food. i will keep an eye out for movement in the sub over the next few day to be shure thought. thanks for all advice.


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## smallara98 (Jun 21, 2010)

Wait . Wait . Meal worms turn into beetles ? ? Thats why I end up with beetles in my meal worm container lol .

Reactions: Funny 1


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## MichiganReptiles (Jun 21, 2010)

Op was answered but for the rest that have them turning into beetles in the tub, keep the tub in the fridge. It slows them way down. I keep mealworms at all times for my reptiles and have never had them turn into beetles.


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## AmbushArachnids (Jun 21, 2010)

*depends how much substrate and size of cage*

i would give it a couple days and if it doesnt come out and the T doesnt dig it up then i guess just go in and find it. how big is your cage? how much substrate are we talkin here. if its alot of sub then id just dig it out now. i read a thread about a dubia that burrowed into the sub in a T. blondi cage. T dug it up pretty quick.


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## Darox (Jun 21, 2010)

yeah the T is good at digging them up when theyre near the surface. ive seen her grab arm fulls of sub trying to dig them out before they get in too deep. the sub is about 3" deep, i might take her out and re-arrange her little tank soon anyways, so i will check if its still in there then. i know i have at least a week from when the mealworms pupate into those weird alien looking things to when they actually turn into beatles.


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