Breeding feeders

[Venom1080]

All kinds of info wanted.

Crickets, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, roaches, etc.

I breed mealworms with some success. But I imagine it could be more efficient. I guess supers would be similar if not the same.

Don't really use waxworms, but I'd still like to know.

Crickets I hear are a massive pain, but in case I want to try one day...

Roaches... Just in case I find a colony of dubia in my backyard. You never know.

Appreciate all help.


(Mealworms)

 

[BoyFromLA]

Unlike mealworms, superworms need to be kept seperately to become pupas, so it’s a bit annoying.

I rather find easy to keep roach colony going on, since I don’t actually need to do anything, but feeding dog foods once awhile.

 

[Bree24]

I have no advice, but I do have a question. From your setup, it looks as though you keep all your stages together in one enclosure. Do you find the beetles cannibalizing a lot, or do they more or less leave the eggs and small larvae alone. How often do you clean the frass?

 

[Venom1080]

I have no advice, but I do have a question. From your setup, it looks as though you keep all your stages together in one enclosure. Do you find the beetles cannibalizing a lot, or do they more or less leave the eggs and small larvae alone. How often do you clean the frass?

I don't clean anything. I only touch the cage to add more oatmeal once in a great while.

Can't say. Don't know what goes on in there too much. All I know is I have small feeders on hand for slings. And I've never really ran out. Does take a while to find them sometimes.

 

[MetalMan2004]

Crickets suck. I’ve bought 500 at a time but never tried to keep the colony going. They’re noisy and smelly.

I bought 500 superworms and they are obviously much easier to keep and don’t stink. Not all of my Ts sould eat them though and those beetles are ruthless. If you give a superworm the chance to dig, it’ll be a beetle the next time you see it.

I just started a B lateralus colony about a month ago. Very little maintenance and I’ve seen tons of gravid females and plenty of egg cases being laid. I’m just waiting for the colony to take off before I really start feeding them off. They don’t dig or play dead when you give them to Ts.

 

[InvertAddiction]

I breed red runners for the simple fact dubia like to play dead and bury themselves in the enclosures and red runners are the opposite (plus they can't fly nor climb. Males will flutter their wings but that's it). I keep mine in a regular clear tote with those fold over lids that split in the middle (I don't have the lid flaps on so the top remains fully open). I keep a few egg flats stacked side ways together leaned up against one side of the tote. In one corner I have an old tupperware container with a section cut out and have it filled with sphagnum moss that remains damp to help their breeding. In another corner opposite their egg flats, I have a shallow big lid that stays full of the water gel and an old rock water dish (it leaks water so it's of no use for anything else) that I keep full of dry oats. I keep mine at room temp (summer temps have been perfect for breeding). The rest of the tote is kept bare (easier clean up, which is another reason I only use dry food). Currently have over 2k roaches. I try to keep my adult ratio around 80% females and 20% males or else I get flooded with males instead of females. When the colder seasons hit, I'll put the lid flaps back on and keep temps around 70 degrees F (I have several vent holes around the top edges of the tote).

 

[Beedrill]

It is my personal opinion that roaches are the superior feeder to all others. Not because of nutrition, but because of ease. Currently, I'm breeding both B. lateralis (Turkistan Red Runners) and B. Dubia (Guyana Spotted Roach) Their care is very similar until you get to the breeding aspect. All you need to do is set up a row of egg flats in a tub and feed them vegetable matter and fruits every two days or so. I also keep a tray of protein rich fish food and calcium mix in the enclosure to prevent them from nibbling on each other for protein. Now Dubias are ovoviviparous, meaning that the female incubates the eggs inside her body until they hatch and she gives birth to live young. Temperature should be kept around 80F to avoid aborted ootheca (roach eggs). Red Runners are different in that they are oviparous, meaning that they lay the eggs and they develop on their own outside the body. For this the temp is not as important as humidity. You have to keep the humidity up to prevent the ootheca from drying out.

Next best, I would say are meal and superworms. For mealworms, your setup is honestly fine for the most part, but you can increase productivity by keeping temps around 80F and placing egg flats over the top of the oats so that adults will have greater surface area to walk about and will spend less time digging through the substrate and potentially eating young. For Superworms, a similar setup but with a twist. It would be best to have at least four inches of substrate and to supplement the oats with leafy greens such as collard greens, turnip greens, or kale. This will keep the much more aggressive superworms at bay from eating each other. Mostly.... Anyway, again egg flats and temps in the 80's will give all the different life stages the maximum chance. Now the twist I mentioned is that superworms will take a very VERY long time to pupate while they are not alone. The best way to get them to pupate is to isolate each individual once they have reached their maximum size and keep them somewhere dark. Otherwise you may get pupating individuals, but they are a lot more likely to get eaten by their siblings.

As for waxworms, I've heard that it is as simple as mixing honey with Cherios and letting the worms go in it, and eventually they will turn into moths and give birth to the next round of caterpillars. I've never kept them though, so I do not know the specific temps and such.

Crickets suck, but it can be done. A similar setup to roaches is necessary, but you also have to include a place for females to lay their eggs. Most people use a small plastic flower pot with four inches of substrate in it. Temps in the 80's and regular feeding of fruits, vegatables and fish food. They smell really bad and make all kinds of noise.

 

[Venom1080]

It is my personal opinion that roaches are the superior feeder to all others. Not because of nutrition, but because of ease. Currently, I'm breeding both B. lateralis (Turkistan Red Runners) and B. Dubia (Guyana Spotted Roach) Their care is very similar until you get to the breeding aspect. All you need to do is set up a row of egg flats in a tub and feed them vegetable matter and fruits every two days or so. I also keep a tray of protein rich fish food and calcium mix in the enclosure to prevent them from nibbling on each other for protein. Now Dubias are ovoviviparous, meaning that the female incubates the eggs inside her body until they hatch and she gives birth to live young. Temperature should be kept around 80F to avoid aborted ootheca (roach eggs). Red Runners are different in that they are oviparous, meaning that they lay the eggs and they develop on their own outside the body. For this the temp is not as important as humidity. You have to keep the humidity up to prevent the ootheca from drying out.

Next best, I would say are meal and superworms. For mealworms, your setup is honestly fine for the most part, but you can increase productivity by keeping temps around 80F and placing egg flats over the top of the oats so that adults will have greater surface area to walk about and will spend less time digging through the substrate and potentially eating young. For Superworms, a similar setup but with a twist. It would be best to have at least four inches of substrate and to supplement the oats with leafy greens such as collard greens, turnip greens, or kale. This will keep the much more aggressive superworms at bay from eating each other. Mostly.... Anyway, again egg flats and temps in the 80's will give all the different life stages the maximum chance. Now the twist I mentioned is that superworms will take a very VERY long time to pupate while they are not alone. The best way to get them to pupate is to isolate each individual once they have reached their maximum size and keep them somewhere dark. Otherwise you may get pupating individuals, but they are a lot more likely to get eaten by their siblings.

As for waxworms, I've heard that it is as simple as mixing honey with Cherios and letting the worms go in it, and eventually they will turn into moths and give birth to the next round of caterpillars. I've never kept them though, so I do not know the specific temps and such.

Crickets suck, but it can be done. A similar setup to roaches is necessary, but you also have to include a place for females to lay their eggs. Most people use a small plastic flower pot with four inches of substrate in it. Temps in the 80's and regular feeding of fruits, vegatables and fish food. They smell really bad and make all kinds of noise.

Very thorough. Thanks.