[Noob] Mealworm-only Diet bad?

[Trenor]

Tropical roaches being illegal in CND.... (insert eyes rolling)!

Global warming.

 

[EulersK]

Ah nice, I've not thought about using them for fertilizer but they will work for that.

Your going to cringe when I tell you this, but I gave a guy I know a ton for two colonies a while back. He is starting to get mature male dubias in large amounts now. He is looking to get about 4 or so large colonies going. He is using them as a feeder for his chickens. They go nuts when he tosses them out.

I've got a customer that does that too! I think it's adorable, I'd love to see that. I give my schnauzer a mature male every couple of days as a treat. She spends the better part of an hour batting it around and chasing it. Best smart toy on the market, I tell you

 

[ratluvr76]

That's great to hear, I'll look into moving up to Superworms then.

Thanks so much for all the input folks, really loving the community here on Arachnobaords.

just remember if you're going to breeding them yourself, super worms are different than meal worms in that super worms have to be by themselves to pupate.

Ha, a great point. I actually live just inside the national park where live bait isn't allowed for fishing, so I don't have a huge amount of options in the immediate vicinity. I was across the mountains in western NC last weekend and stopped by a pet store I frequented when I lived there for some roaches, but they don't sell them anymore!

I guess I'll just have to get enough Ts to warrant having my own roach colony...

now THAT's the soundest play I've ever heard! No sarcasm, seriously, I did this!! hahahahaha

Tropical roaches being illegal in CND.... (insert eyes rolling)!

I know right? and just as an added little tidbit of information on us crazy canucks, I'm not sure about the rest of Canada, but in Alberta, rats are illegal too if I'm not mistaken.

I've got a customer that does that too! I think it's adorable, I'd love to see that. I give my schnauzer a mature male every couple of days as a treat. She spends the better part of an hour batting it around and chasing it. Best smart toy on the market, I tell you

my pug, (passed away in July) loved meal worms. I would feed him a small handful of them every week or so. He also loved roly-poly bugs. (some people call them pill bugs). Once my roach colony starts producing properly, I'll be feeding some to my cat once in a while too. haha.

 

[Leeum]

just remember if you're going to breeding them yourself, super worms are different than meal worms in that super worms have to be by themselves to pupate.

Noted. I will keep them separate for sure.

Anyone know of any simple breeding guides for meal/super worms? Room temperature + oats + fruit pieces for moisture once a week? Anything else?

 

[ratluvr76]

I think you've pretty much got it. Good luck! Meal worms are probably the simplest feeder to breed.

 

[Leeum]

Does anyone have any guides/ideas on how to control/limit the meal worm population during breeding?

As I only plan to have 1 T at a time (for now anyway) I want to breed meal worms without the numbers getting out of hand as I obviously do not need hundreds or thousands of meal worms at any given time. Should I be reducing the population of beetles as they emerge?

 

[cold blood]

Hi, noobie here,

I recently got my first T (beautiful 1" LP) and I have been primarily feeding it young crickets however after giving it some thought, I would be unable to breed the crickets and because of how out of the way the crickets are to buy I was wondering if moving to meal worms (I would breed them as well) would be okay diet-wise?

I've read that the nutritional value of mealworms is slightly less than that of a cricket, but has anyone experienced any issues by strictly feeding meal worms only? What about other species of worms?

Thank you for any advice!

I raise terrestrial slings almost exclusively on diced up mealworms. I get fantastic growth as fattier mealies plump them quickly. Terrestrial slings love them, and if they're not eaten, I don't have to search for and catch a tiny feeder in a sling enclosure, I just pick it back out with a tweezers.

Hi Trenor,

Thanks for the feedback.

So would moving to bigger mealworms/superworms be ideal as the T grows? Or by 'bigger feeder' do you mean large crickets etc?

As I live in Ontario Canada, roaches are illegal so I don't feel comfortable purchasing those.

Thanks again for any info.

If you go the mealie route, I'd just grab crickets the few times a year that it happens to be convenient for a change of pace. When ts get big, they take several at a time, and some just stop eating them all the time, or altogether.....some ts just love them though. I have an AF P. vitatta that shows a clear preference for mealworms to anything else, and they're so tiny compared to her I'm always surprised she shows as much interest as she does. I give her 2 or 3 at a time. Many of the other pokies show little interest in them. All my avics and Psalms eat them readily.

I also have to go pretty far to purchase crickets, so I recently started a mealworm colony again. I've noticed my slings getting much plumper more quickly now than they did with just crickets. My ~1" LP seems pretty content--I imagine yours will be too.

I notice this as well. Its gotta be the significantly higher fat content.

I would just start with super worms.. At one inch a lp can eat them if you cut them up into chunks..

At 5- 6 inch she will be able to eat 30-40 meal worms at a time compared to 3-4 super worms..LPs are great feeders!

I've never had luck with diced up supers for some reason.


30-40, that's a gross exaggeration. But I do know where you were going...its way more convenient to feed a single large superworm. These might be worth breeding as well if its really that inconvenient to attain other feeders regularly.

You can't tell me you live in TN and can't find a local bait shop. They make a great source for crickets if you don't have a close LPS.

Bait shops can be a good source, red worms and even earth worms (in parts, they're a HUGE meal and actually battle strongly) are readily available...

But the best is wax worms. I have yet to find a t that turns one down. Buying large quantities (they will only last a few weeks) will also give you moths once they pupate. All ts love moths...all of them. Bait shops carry them all winter as they're great for ice fishing.

As strange as it sounds, many larger ts will actually eat small fish, too.

I know that @Poec54 only feeds crickets, and he's owned dozens of adult T. stirmi throughout the years. If I recall, he just tosses in something like 12 crickets at a time.

Every t, at every size, will take crickets, they're the best universal feeder for this reason.

I think you've pretty much got it. Good luck! Meal worms are probably the simplest feeder to breed.

No doubt, just leave them...I like to feed the pupating mealies...I have no idea why I don't breed them myself.

 

[cold blood]

Does anyone have any guides/ideas on how to control/limit the meal worm population during breeding?

As I only plan to have 1 T at a time (for now anyway) I want to breed meal worms without the numbers getting out of hand as I obviously do not need hundreds or thousands of meal worms at any given time. Should I be reducing the population of beetles as they emerge?

Keep them refrigerated.

 

[Leeum]

Keep them refrigerated.

If i were to keep them refrigerated at all times they would still breed? I'm surprised they wouldn't die! I've read that putting them in the fridge is good to slow their metabolism but wasn't sure if it was be a health hazard for them to be kept in there at all times.

 

[cold blood]

If i were to keep them refrigerated at all times they would still breed? I'm surprised they wouldn't die! I've read that putting them in the fridge is good to slow their metabolism but wasn't sure if it was be a health hazard for them.

No, you asked how to slow or stop breeding. They go dormant in a fridge, but they last many many months in the fridge.

Just keep any you want breeding out of the fridge.

 

[ratluvr76]

If i were to keep them refrigerated at all times they would still breed? I'm surprised they wouldn't die! I've read that putting them in the fridge is good to slow their metabolism but wasn't sure if it was be a health hazard for them to be kept in there at all times.

If you just want to keep them and not breed them then yes you can safely store them in the refrigerator. Put them in the warmest spot of you fridge. Take them out once a week or so and leave them at room temperature for about 24 hours with a slice of potatoes or a carrot. After 24 hours take out the vegetable and pop them back in the fridge.

 

[tetracerus]

Oh hm, I had no idea you were supposed to take the mealworms out for so long. I've had mine stay alive for many months in the fridge and I only took them out for about 15 minutes a week. Never fed them. I'll try the 24 hrs + vegetable method next time to compare.

 

[ratluvr76]

Oh hm, I had no idea you were supposed to take the mealworms out for so long. I've had mine stay alive for many months in the fridge and I only took them out for about 15 minutes a week. Never fed them. I'll try the 24 hrs + vegetable method next time to compare.

you could probably take them out for 12 hours, the vegetable really is just for them to get some hydration. Over time, even though their metabolisms slow drastically with cooling, they still can become desiccated and die from that as well.