mealworm syndrome

[just1moreT]

Yeah my T's have that dreaded disease where they caint seem to pack enough of them little worms in there mouth.I think I get the biggest kick out of feeding time feeding meal worms to my 5 inch and bigger T's there just so darn greedy.of course that's not only food they get,I just like watching them pick them up one after another,and trying keep a hold of 4 or 5 worms.I especially like it when they pick them up from under the substrate now that's entertainment

 

[Ellenantula]

I was gonna try to breed my own, but I didn't put the screen thingie at the bottom of the tank for the little ones to fall/crawl through so I imagine the beetles have eaten their young.
My OBT never let one hit the ground. I don't tong feed but I tong drop -- and he can catch the thing before it lands (hence using tongs - a lunging OBT is bit too thrilling for my old heart!). Ts may have bad eye sight by they sure know when a meal worm is being offered.
I can't imagine, as long as roaches and crix are also fed, that mealworms would be too unhealthy a part of their diet.
I hope others will jump in -- I am concerned about the 'superworm' thingie where they can't mature; and if th would really be safe to feed.

 

[just1moreT]

Those old super worms got some tuff jaws I don't use them, as for mealworms I feed mine what my roaches eat and crickets get ,matter of fact there is a big colony In my roach bin there good clean up crews and they get good food to so just goes down the chain I would reckon

 

[Ellenantula]

Those old super worms got some tuff jaws I don't use them, as for mealworms I feed mine what my roaches eat and crickets get ,matter of fact there is a big colony In my roach bin there good clean up crews and they get good food to so just goes down the chain I would reckon

'Splain. Are your mealworms in with the roaches?
I may be slow tonight.Actually, the older I get, the slower my synapses fire. lol
I do feed my mealworms the same veggies as the crix/roaches, with some cat food thrown in for good measure.
(I have less than 5 mealworms left, all have matured into beetles, maybe 2 or 3 pupae -- I haven't peeked in today -- I may have no mealworms left).

 

[just1moreT]

Yes tons of them in with the roaches all living in a insect utopia

 

[Ellenantula]

Yes tons of them in with the roaches all living in a insect utopia

Wow! I had no idea they could co-exist like that!
My mealworms are all in oatmeal substrate -- separated into multiple containers at that.
You have taught me something I didn't know today -- thanks!

 

[just1moreT]

I do have coca substrate in the roach bin ,I let my dubia ,red racers ,and some hissers all live together don't take up much space that way and when there is roach deaths the meal worms clean it up,not a stink that way either I figure there couple hundred each type of roach except hisser in bin all livin happily

 

[Ellenantula]

Man am I doing this feeder thing all wrong!

I don't use substrate with crix or roaches. I clean adult bins weekly; 1 week I simply sweep up frass/food debris and remove it; alternate weeks I remove egg cartons and place all critters in new identical container for fresh start (and wash the old one). Baby containers just get spot cleaning!
I have 9 containers going! Sheeesh!
(1)The crix hatchery which has no food/water -- just the cups in which the crix were laid and which they hatch out of; (2), the baby crix enclosure which has lettuce leaves for water and ground up catfood/wheat/oats -- I dump the new hatchings into this one twice a day; (3) the crix juvie enclosure (4), the adult crix enclosure; (5) the mealworm container with mealworms and pupae; (6) the darkling beetles container which I am trying to breed; (7) adult b lat container (8) pinhead b lat container (9) for an experiment, I have some b lat egg cases in a deli cup with wet papertowel at top. This is an experiment to see if egg cases in with the adults do better than b lat nymphs without the adults (just letting them hatch out into their own container -- none have hatched out yet).
I need to visit the other forums on here for some advice on feeder keeping. I am doing this WAY WRONG. No wonder I spend so much time feeding them all and watering them.
On the plus size, I can fairly easily catch exactly the right size of anything for my Ts, from tiny sling, mid-size sling, sub adult or fully grown.
I am exhausted thinking about all these container -- and Sunday is clean up day. (sigh)

 

[just1moreT]

Hey I might be to doing all wrong to but I'm not trying raise thousands of roaches lol

---------- Post added 01-10-2015 at 09:05 PM ----------

Also I just the meal worms and isopods do the cleaning it maintains itself the feeder bin, I don't keep it moist but there is water supplie available

---------- Post added 01-10-2015 at 09:07 PM ----------

When I raise crickets from eggs I put a wet paper towel in corner for moisture and some ground up catfish food In one corner so they can drink and eat they need water

 

[RomanBuck]

For roaches, I wouldnt house hissers together with any other roaches as the hissers will pretty much destroy the other species. For my dubia, I dont do anything with them other than look at them, feed them, and eat them... Well maybe not eat them I have dermestid beetles for cleaning the dead. I even keep the nymphs in with the adults! I have seen better results with leaving them in.

 

[Ellenantula]

You've been a big help, because I realize now I am probably definitely doing everything the hard way. I will research. Yours has been so enlightening that I forgive myself for the tangent on methods.
I realize you really just shared how Ts really love their mealworms. I know I am addicted to Starbucks mocha frappaccinos & McDonald's mocha frappes. Well, Ts get addicted to mealworms. .My OBT would eat them exclusively if I'd let him.
Thanks a million -- I am going to do some serious research!
Please -- someone else post about their Ts loving their mealworms so this thread can get back on track. Sorry for hijacking your thread.

 

[just1moreT]

Glad to help don't let those feeders stress you out they will take over if you let them ha ha

 

[RomanBuck]

To kinda get on topic, my old rosie LOVED superworms. She wouldnt touch mealworms for some reason. I remember I had fed her 3 superworms and she took them and hid in her cave

 

[Formerphobe]

I have some Ts who will eat anything offered and others who are picky eaters. A few prefer meal or superworms over anything else. I have a picture somewhere of my first P metallica with a maw full of meal worms. I'd poke them through one of the vent holes to him. He was always checking vent holes for goodies. Lol

I keep hissers, dubia and another species of roach whose name escapes me all together and all are reproducing fine since I got the errant superworms out of the bin. The superworms were getting fat on baby roaches. Now I have some errant crickets reproducing in there as well. Sort of a one stop shopping bin.

 

[Rowdy Hotel]

I feed my spiders a lot of mealworms and have raised many herps and invertebrates on mealworms and superworms almost exclusively with no apparent ill effects.

I think the only thing you need to avoid is what a lot of people do with mealworms, keep them in the fridge with some bran substrate where the mealworms cannot eat or drink only to take the container out for a few moments to get a few emaciated and dehydrated mealworms to feed to your animals. I can see having deficiencies when all you have to eat are malnourished, dehydrated mealworms perhaps more so with herps than with invertebrates but still best avoided. I never store mealworms in the fridge, I keep them out at room temperature with an array of foods and you still get several weeks before they turn into beetles, which also happen to make good food. Perhaps not as calorie-dense as larvae due to a higher protein to fat ratio, but still good food.

I don't usually feed the beetles themselves to tarantulas because I worry they will break a fang on the tough exoskeleton which may seem implausible to some but true spiders get them all the time since they're good at finding a chink in the armor to inject digestive enzymes once they've been caught in their web.

Nowadays I have several roach species to mix it up a bit.

 

[just1moreT]

Yeah that is way I keep my meal worms as well, I consider them excellent food for tarantulas,even the pickiest sling will take a baby meal worm and they are small when hatched out I got a tubb full meal worms all sizes.I really don't see what good dried up mealworms are but I guess there something to them.kinda like jerky I guess lol

 

[Sana]

I've never fed meal worms before, but I was thinking about grabbing some to add to the variety diet that I give my tarantulas. I feel silly a little silly asking, but how do you keep them and what do you feed them?

 

[Rowdy Hotel]

I've never fed meal worms before, but I was thinking about grabbing some to add to the variety diet that I give my tarantulas. I feel silly a little silly asking, but how do you keep them and what do you feed them?

They are very easy to keep. Simply place them in a container they can't climb out of, such as a deli cup or other plastic container with smooth sides. In here place a shallow layer of substrate, perhaps half an inch to an inch, of something they can eat. I will use whatever I have handy, such as rolled oats, bran, breakfast cereal, bread crumbs, mashed potato flakes, among others. To increase the protein content for faster growth I'll often add some aquarium fish flakes or pellets or use unmedicated chicken or gamebird feed from a feed store instead, this may be the most cost effective approach for higher protein feeds. I don't worry too much about the fastest growth possible so a pinch of fish flakes or pellets will do the job. You also need to give the mealworms a source of water and for that you can use a variety of fruits and veggies. I use a chunk of potato or carrot and other greens and fruits.

I've also used a small amount of cricket water in the form of gel and cricket feed for media but don't buy it as it is insanely overpriced. Be careful not to moisten the substrate too much, it will mold if it becomes damp. Make sure there is adequate ventilation, if there is not enough the humidity will build and also cause mold.

You can raise superworms in the same exact manner. Mealworms will start to pupate and turn into beetles when they reach a certain size, superworms are little more tricky. Once the superworms are full grown, place them in individual film canisters or use those art and craft boxes with all the little compartments to place a worm in each. Then just place the box in the dark and wait 2-3 weeks. Some worms will die and this is OK since you don't need all of them to pupate, those that curl into a semi circle will pupate into beetles. House the beetles in the same manner as the larvae. For faster growth, you can add higher protein feeds into the substrate the adult beetles have been living in for a week or two and then place that container in an incubator at 90 degrees.

This is just one way to do it, others may have other ways.