# Mealworm problem?



## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Hi,
We get our mini mealworms from a well known mainstream pet store(not naming and shaming)and they are mostly pupae or too big, I was wondering if the size and pupae rate of the mini mealworms can't be controlled or if it is just the store? Do you think this will be the same wherever we go or we should use a different supplier?
-chels


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

ChelsNLuke said:


> Hi,
> We get our mini mealworms from a well known mainstream pet store(not naming and shaming)and they are mostly pupae or too big, I was wondering if the size and pupae rate of the mini mealworms can't be controlled or if it is just the store? Do you think this will be the same wherever we go or we should use a different supplier?
> -chels


hi all mini meal worms are is younger meal worms if your are pupae then i would keep them start a meal worm farm google it , get yourself some fresh one i just got 1kg of meal worms off here very good Ricks Livefood your save loads on them 

Hope this helps 

Paul


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Thanks ,should the minimealworms be just slightly under the size of standard mealworms when purchased or is it just the store?
I'll try rick's live food thanks again
-chels


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

ChelsNLuke said:


> Thanks ,should the minimealworms be just slightly under the size of standard mealworms when purchased or is it just the store?
> I'll try rick's live food thanks again
> -chels


i never get mini meal worms but it would depend on how long they have them if there in a hot shop there pupae i keep mine in a 3 draw plastic tub thing lol on bran flakes ground down to a powder and veg last ages i have 20 lizards to feed go use loads lol


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Thanks a lot, the store I get them from is really hot, we'll look at online retailers and take it from there 

Thanks


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

ChelsNLuke said:


> Thanks ,should the minimealworms be just slightly under the size of standard mealworms when purchased or is it just the store?
> I'll try rick's live food thanks again
> -chels


It sounds like that you were sold mealworms and not mini mealworms.
I have a mealworm farm which i started from mini mealworms about a month ago and i have only just got 30 pupa recently and have 5 of them as beetles now.

Mini mealworms are supposed to be 3 times smaller than ones that are ready to pupate.
The rate at which mealworms grow can be controlled only by refridgerating them which i do and let them out for a day every week to feed them.
Generally what i do is i get the ones to feed to gary out of the fridge the night before (so i get out 40 on the first night and 20 every night after that) and gutload them ready for the following night.
Sometimes however the ones i get out for feeding by the next morning they have pupated.
This is not too much of a concern as i found out recently from Vgorst that leos can eat all stages of the mealworm life cycle they jsut have different nutritional value at each stage (even the beetles can be fed)


I posted in the feeder section (under Livefood Farms) on how i started up my mealworm farm in about 4 statements. As long as you keep the substrate dry (I use tesco own brand rolled oats) and seperate each stage so they dont eat each other then mealworm fars are easy.

If you wanted those pupa to turn into beetles to make a farm then what i found increased the speed of it was putting the pupa in a container and sat it above the back of my pc to keep warm 

Hope this helps and sorry for the wall of text


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Cheers Dramen, could you link us to the post you put in the feeding section? Would be much appreciated


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## MichaelT (Jan 14, 2012)

Where abouts are you from I have a Draw full off minis about 5mm for anyone intrested in starting up breeding mealworms, I dont want anything for them just want them gone, I dont have the space and heatmats(for making the minis grow quicker) available as I have a Dubia roach colony, i have quite alot of them, Maybe a 1000 or more, the beetles lay loads of eggs and i had alot of beetles so could be more then a 1000 lol


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

We're from Bangor in North Wales, but we're in Aberystwyth in Mid Wales at the moment =P
Cheers


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## MichaelT (Jan 14, 2012)

Ooo bit far from Not so great essex haha


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

Guys you dont need a heatmat or thermostat for breeding mealworms.

I'll basically write what i did and what i used here.
I place all tubs near the rear of my pc but any warmer than room temperature areas seem to speed up the process.

Items
B&Q plastic rectangular paint tub with clip on lid(Washed and disinfected)
Pair of tights (you'll see but i had to steal a pair off my mum and i am 35!)

Instructions.

Take the lid and cut out two large rectangles at either end on the thin plastic. Do not cut though the seal. 
Slide the lid inside a leg of the tights.
Tie a Knot in tights at open end leaving enough play to be able to push it onto the tub.
Place 1/2 to 1 inch of rolled oats in the tub.

You eventually will need 3 of these and you can use larger containers.

The process.

Tray 1 
Mealworm growing tray

Add the mealworms and feed daily.
Remove pupa so mealworms dont eat them

Tray 2
Pupa hatching tray
Same as mealworm tray only no need to feed.
Remove beetles so they dont eat the pupa

Tray 3.
Beetle tray.
Add beetles and feed daily.
When mealworms are visable in tray 3 move them out to another tray or back to tray 1.

I cant confirm they last stage with the mealworm eggs being laid or hatching as i only have 5 beetles at the moment but its getting there.

Good luck
Marc

(Yes its longer than 4 lines  But my original post was just how to get to the pupa stage)


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## MichaelT (Jan 14, 2012)

The heat mat speeds up the process the baby mealworms take ages to grow also ive been told its good to add Some toilet roll (obviously with out the paper )  or egg boxes, as they lay the eggs on them


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

I've actually been following a you tube guide that i can no longer find and they successfully had baby mealworms without them as they lay them in the oats.
The beetles burrow rather than stay on the surface so i am not saying that your wrong with the toilet rolls but i cant see how it works personally.
If they dont lay though i will be putting some in as you may be right 

They babies do take ages to grow which is why i have only allowed some of mine to grow to pupa and then to beetles. 

I did forget to mention i only allowed a certain amount of mealworms in tray 1 to reach pupa stage and then they went to the fridge for hibernation.
That tray 1 is removed for 1 day a week to feed them and to take off the mealworms for the next daily feed to be gutloaded.
As long as tray 1 always has about a 2 month supply of mealworms in it then it should be just running out when the baby mealworms in tray 3 are ready to start the next line of colony.

Obviously you will want fresh mealworms added to the colony every 2-3 months just to add fresh blood in there


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## MichaelT (Jan 14, 2012)

Yeah they do they lay in the oats i think they lay more if theres somewhere to lay but im not to sure


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

MichaelT said:


> Yeah they do they lay in the oats i think they lay more if theres somewhere to lay but im not to sure


I'll definatly let you know on that as even if you are not making a mealworm farm its useful to know which way is best


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## MichaelT (Jan 14, 2012)

I have one and it worked but the Babys are taking to long to grow so im now offering them to who ever wants them lol


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

Oh btw i forgot to mention as well. My beetle container is not the B&Q paint tub.
I ran out of those as the others still have paint in lol but wilkensons have containers like the ones in this video for £2.50 and they have 4 clips on each side to keep the lid on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIMp-eNkyJs


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## MichaelT (Jan 14, 2012)

The Deep Plastic Draw Stacks are ideal aswell there about £8 if you know what im on about


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## annie.davis (Feb 18, 2009)

I'd never even thought of asking the question until coming across this post...


But I go through 1.5kg of regular mealworms every 10-14days and although that is a short time frame by the time I get to the last tub they have pretty much gone to mush and stuck together at the bottom! 

I used to gut load with bug grub but it seemed that only made it worse, so now I only use calcium powder & multi vit which has helped dry it up but can you mealworm farming experts help me out


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Sounds like they're dying early or you've got too high humidity. Add some extra ventilation and feed them fresh fruit/veg and occasionally the bug grub (otherwise the moisture will make it mouldy). Only providing them with powder will not mean that they're gutloaded properly


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## annie.davis (Feb 18, 2009)

vgorst said:


> Sounds like they're dying early or you've got too high humidity. Add some extra ventilation and feed them fresh fruit/veg and occasionally the bug grub (otherwise the moisture will make it mouldy). Only providing them with powder will not mean that they're gutloaded properly



They do seem to be dying early, and then they dont get eaten :|
I'll try providing more ventilation & feeding veg as well as bug grub.

Thank you for your advice :2thumb:


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

annie.davis said:


> I'd never even thought of asking the question until coming across this post...
> 
> 
> But I go through 1.5kg of regular mealworms every 10-14days and although that is a short time frame by the time I get to the last tub they have pretty much gone to mush and stuck together at the bottom!
> ...


You havent said what you are giving them for food?
I use carrot and brocolli as it holds it moisture a lot better. Potato is an absolute nightmare and i wont use it with the mealworm farms.

I agree with vorgst that whats happening is the high humidity.
I realised at the stage your at now that holes in the top of the box arent enough so i changed to slicing two large rectangular slots out of the center of the lid and using a tight sock.
This allow much more moisture to escape and not condense on the lid to soak the substrate.

Hope this helps


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## annie.davis (Feb 18, 2009)

dramen said:


> You havent said what you are giving them for food?
> I use carrot and brocolli as it holds it moisture a lot better. Potato is an absolute nightmare and i wont use it with the mealworm farms.
> 
> I agree with vorgst that whats happening is the high humidity.
> ...


I used to use pea's and carrots but thought this was contributing to the problem so didnt use anything.
Now it does make sense that the high humidity is the problem.

Thank you, I'll try using the sock and hope it isnt just an easier way for my little monkeys to get into them :lol2:


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Thank you all for the help and advice 
The information on breeding the mealworms is really useful we are going to look into starting a colony when we get our beardie
-chels  thanks again


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

MichaelT said:


> The Deep Plastic Draw Stacks are ideal aswell there about £8 if you know what im on about


I think i know the ones you mean but i couldnt find any cheaper than £20-£30 :/


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