A few questions about superworms

[LythSalicaria]

Hey there everyone, I'm new to Arachnoboards and the hobby. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum, but I have a few questions pertaining to superworms and a search didn't seem to yield anything directly related to what I want to know.

First off - Do superworms bite? When the little buggers get writhing in my hand I'm always afraid one is going to twist around and latch on to my finger. Not like it's going to kill me or anything, I know, but I'd just as soon avoid the experience if I can.

Second - I've been doing some research on breeding them as well as crickets once my T collection grows, and it was through said research that I found out about darkling beetles. Based on what I've read, the worms need to be separated and stressed out to metamorphose. Is this always true? At the moment I've got a little under 50 superworms in a small kritter keeper with ample food and water supply. As long as I keep them in there (tightly sealed *shudder*), will they remain in their current form?

Third - Based on personal experience, how long can superworms survive without being allowed to metamorphose? I'll be setting up breeding boxes for them and my crickets soon, but I don't want to set them up -too- soon and end up biting off more than I can chew. I'm expecting a b. vagans sling from Tarantula Canada on Tuesday, I'm looking at ordering b. albiceps, LP and/or LD slings next month as well as liberating a mystery Avic from my favorite LPS, and I intend to add even more to my collection come the Toronto Reptile Expo in September. Think I'm hooked yet? LOL!

I think that's all I need to know at the moment. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and sincere apologies if any of these questions seem foolish. Like I said, I'm a n00b.

 

[cold blood]

Superworms bite HARD. I only handle them with a tweezers. Please do avoid being bit...lol. Many people crush their heads before feeding, especially when feeding to to smaller t's. They contunie to move enough for a while and they don't burrow out of the way either, so you don't have to worry about ones not taken quickly.

I bought a dozen in mid February. I feed them nothing but wood and still have one left, alive and healthy...and still a superworm...Fed the 2nd last one to a turtle last night. I just add a little moisture when it gets really dry. I add potato as well for moisture, but have never seen a mark on it, so they don't eat it.

From what I have read here, some have had success feeding the beetles, but it seems like a lot don't really like them.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

First off - Do superworms bite?

Second - ...and stressed out to metamorphose....as long as I keep them in there (tightly sealed *shudder*), will they remain in their current form?

Third - Based on personal experience, how long can superworms survive without being allowed to metamorphose?

First: as suggested by cold blood, yes they bite. And HARD. If you were to drop one onto hard packed substrate, it'd burrow incredibly quickly. They have powerful jaws, and I avoid them at all costs.

Second and third: I find that as long as the larval stage is kept in groups, they'll stay larval for as long as possible. They are highly cannibalistic and will eat clean through other worms if not fed regularly. When in pupae form, they are almost entirely defenseless, and thus they also avoid those jaws at all costs.

My setup is an open tall plastic container (lidless 1L butter container) filled 1/3 with wheat bran or oats, toss in chopped carrots/potato/watery veg every few days. Remove the old shrivelled veg before adding new. I've had my box of worms for around 6 months and have had very little cannibalisation, and no pupation.

Breeding is easy: move the biggest worms to film canisters (or equivalent size) and wait for pupation. Then toss all pupas into a similar container that they came from. They'll breed, deposit eggs, they eat the eggs. Oh, remove the beetles before they get the last part.


If you're looking for smaller, easier to breed creatures, Tenebrio molitor (mealworms, whereas superworms are Zophobas morio) will live and breed their entire cycle in one box, without al the messy cannibalism. But, they're ¼ the size of supers.

 

[LythSalicaria]

Thanks for the help guys, I ended up setting up my superworms in a three-level set of plastic drawers; the kind you can get for your desk from WalMart and dollar stores. I also escape-proofed it with duct tape and cardboard to prevent a darkling beetle infestation in my house. LOL! To pupate my superworms I've isolated 14 of them in an AM/PM medication organizer. Pictures to come if anyone is interested.

Beetles will go in the top level, decent-sized worms in the middle, and babies/eggs/pupae(sp?) at the bottom. For substrate I've used straight up Quaker oats and high quality cat food. This method came highly recommended when I was looking at superworm breeding videos on Youtube.