Hey Botar, which sp. of mealworm are you raising, and is it easy?Originally posted by Botar
Yes. You can find more info about them on the insect forum, but I'll give you a quick rundown of what I've got.
Blaberus giganteus - Giant cave roaches. I keep them on dry substrate, with verticle hides, at room temp in my spider room... 74-80 F. I feed them ground kitten food and hamster mix and occasional pieces of apple, cucumber, banana, etc. Water is provided with a shallow dish filled with the polymer water crystals. The grow large (over 3") and can't climb glass. Since I've only had them for a short time, I can't attest to their growth/breeding rates.
Unk sci name - Lobster roaches. I got these from Galeogirl and she is the expert, IMO. I feed them the same, water them the same, and temp is the same as the cave roaches. The don't seem to grow very quickly, but multiply rapidly. I've got hundreds of nymphs. I dare to say I'm just a few months away from never having to buy feeder insects again. They are glass climbers and must be contained with a band of vaseline.
Code Monkey is raising a third variety and posted a picture of his set-up in the insect forum. I built a hide in a similar fashion to his for my cave roaches. For the lobsters, I just put a couple of pieces of egg crate in their enclosure.
I also raise mealworms, which make a great alternative and excellent sling food. (you can cut them up to size) I feed all three stages of the mealworm. (worm, pupae, and beetle)
Botar
thanks Botar!Originally posted by Botar
Here is the thread with the picture and more info.
http://www.arachnopets.com/arachnoboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2869&highlight=mealworms
Botar
Good question. I couldn't give you a scientific answer, but I can tell you that they look meaty enough to me. As far as that goes, my mealworms appear fairly meaty (although it's mostly juice) also. I don't want to go with anything as a sole source of food though. That is why I keep a variety of feeders and feed them well.Originally posted by danread
Thanks botar. The thought of not having to buy any more feeder insect definitely appeals to me, and cockroaches sound ideal as they are fast breeding. One thought though, what is the flesh to chitin ratio like in roaches? I've heard people say that mealworms shouldn't be used as the only source of food as there is a high proportion of undigestable chitin in the exoskeleton. Is this the same for cockroaches?