The life of the legless

Grael

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ok ive just brought some small meal worms ready for when my new slings come.

i was wondering how do you keep them alive? what can i give them to eat and i know they like to burrow and stuff what should i put in there so they can fatten up a bit and still alive?

thanks for replies :D
 

Lopez

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Mine come in a cricket tub half full of some sort of bran/meal.
The worms eat this, and eventually pupate and turn into beetles (My T's like the beetles too)
When they become beetles I lob in half a potato every week or so for them to eat.
They mate like crazy, so I should get some eggs soon and hopefully the whole cycle will begin again :)
 

jwb121377

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All you need to do is put them in the proper substrate, and give them a piece of apple for moisture and they will do the rest. I started with 500 melworms and ended up with 1000s before I knew it.
 

kellygirl

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Do they smell as bad as crickets? If not, then I'm thinking I might get into this mealworm raising thing... feeding my *several* tarantulas is starting to get slightly expensive.

kellygirl
 

jwb121377

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Well I find them to have a oder but it is no where near as strong as crickets.
 

MizM

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My pet store told me to put them in an cardboard oatmeal holder... with the oatmeal still in it!
 

Grael

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Originally posted by MizM
My pet store told me to put them in an cardboard oatmeal holder... with the oatmeal still in it!
oatmeal? hmmmm problem is they give me no subsrate or anything in the tub just the meal worms.....
 

Arachnopuppy

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Just put some dirt into a container of some kind and put in a cut up apple, or anything in that matter, and they should be fine. You can actually keep them in a tank and keep them as a colony. The beatle counterpart of the worms make great food for your tarantulas.
 

Grael

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ok my friend of mine told them to put them in the fridge, it makes them retarded or something and stops them turning into beetles???
 

jwb121377

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Your friend is right, but it will also stop them from breeding. I guess it all depends on what you want to with them.
 

SoCalKyle

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Ive always fed the mealworms and superworms ceral. I used to work at a petshope where the owner would be more than willing (if you asked) to eat one himself. Said they taste like the cearal they were kept in. Wheaties i think it was.
 

Weapon-X

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re

i feed all my slings primalrly on mealworms, i still buy crickets for them once a week also, i started with around 700 mealworms i now have around 2000, i keep them in plastic tubs with no lid for plenty of ventilation, for substrate i 'm using a mix of oatmeal mostly with some cruched corn flakes seems to work very well, i give them a slice of an apple or potatoe every 3-4 days funny thing is i see tiny baby worms, never seen any beetles yet?, also i'm not sure if its good to feed just mealworms thats why i mix in crickets once a week also, well i also feed em mothsand grasshoppers when i can too:)--JEFF
 

Beth-Tex

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We keep/raise mealworms because we also have Sugar Gliders who love their mealies.

For substrate we use Wheat Bran & Oat Bran & also mix in some Mixed Baby Cereal & add powdered vitamins. The mealies love this mixture & do well in it. We also use carrots for moisture because it is more nutritious than potatoes. Apples will work also. We get our Wheat Bran & Oat Bran from a Health Food Store to ensure that the Bran is pest free.

We have to have healthy mealies in order to feed our Gliders. The Ts also benefit, of course. :D

As far as smell........our mealies do not smell as I keep the mealies clean by removing their sheds & do not get the substrate damp. If the substrate is too damp, the mealies do not do well & it does kill them eventually........and......yes.....then it would smell. Using potatoes can get smelly if you do not remove the potato when it starts to mold. Also be sure to sift through the stuff to remove any dead mealies.

We also have different containers for the mealies, the beatles & the pupae. That's easiest for us & helps with the cleaning process. For the beatles, we have been using the Flukers cricket water with calcium for moisture.......works great for us. The pupae need nothing until they turn into beatles........so the only ones that need the most care (changing/adding of substrate & food) are the mealies.

Anywhooooooo.........that's what we do......others have ways that work for them.:D Sorry this was so long.:8o :)
 
Last edited:

Grael

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Originally posted by Beth-Tex
Anywhooooooo.........that's what we do......others have ways that work for them.:D Sorry this was so long.:8o :)
no its great :D thanks very educational :) so guess ill chuck them in a apple and some of that horrible oatmeal crap lol
 

Grael

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Originally posted by Beth-Tex
:D That'll work!
oh one more question is it just dry oatmeal? or like cooked oatmeal just to make sure lol
 

Weapon-X

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re

Originally posted by Grael
oh one more question is it just dry oatmeal? or like cooked oatmeal just to make sure lol


dry oatmeal:)
 

Grael

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Re: re

Originally posted by Weapon-X
dry oatmeal:)
ok thanks :D

they in some now and sliced a few apples for the little lunches.....^_^ but my new babies didnt come today should b here 2morro so they got thier meals waiting
 

Beth-Tex

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If you're going to use Oatmeal.........then be sure it is the uncooked kind.......the kind you have to cook & NOT the instant kind that has all kinds of sugar n' stuff in it, otherwise you will have a sticky mess with the juice of the apples & will have problems with mold in no time. Only use the plain Oatmeal with no additives if you want to use that as a substrate.:)

You also do not have to have a constant supply of apple slices in the mix.........need to let the surface of the stuff dry out a bit at times. Mealworms do not do well in a moist substrate.

I usually put in a carrot & leave it in for a couple of days, then take it out when almost eaten or if the carrot looks a bit peaked, then I skip a day or so, then put in another carrot. In between, I stir up the substrate GENTLY in order to get that part where the carrot has been all dried out. :)

Works the same with apples.:)
 
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