# Mealworms not breeding!



## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

I am hopeing someone could give me a little help. I have had Mealworms for about 2 months and i have about 90 or so beetles. Yesterday i decided to scoop out all the dust and such in the the bottom and put into a different container in the hope of some tiny mealies. But there is none, am i jumping the gun and they could still be at egg stage or just not happening lol.

I have them in a fairly large tub.
Wheatabix,Oatabix and Porrige oats as substrate.
Every few days i put in some carrot for a day then remove.

Also i am going to keep the tub of dust stuff for a while to see if anything comes from it but i think its not looking good.

Has this happend to anyone else or could anyone offer advise?


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

After only 2 months they would be so tiny you probably wouldn't see them. Try putting a pinch of the dust in the palm of your hand & watching it, if there are any tiny mealies in there then it will move :2thumb:. I used to just leave mine & then all of a sudden you could see the substrate moving & the mealies were really small :whistling2:.


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks for the quick reply, i have stared at the tub now for about 5 mins and i am certain theres no movement lol, should i just keep looking every week or so in the hope. Also in an other month if theres still no sign of life should i dump the old stuff and fill the tub again with the new dusty stuff or just keep adding to it?


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Swain86 said:


> Thanks for the quick reply, i have stared at the tub now for about 5 mins and i am certain theres no movement lol, should i just keep looking every week or so in the hope. Also in an other month if theres still no sign of life should i dump the old stuff and fill the tub again with the new dusty stuff or just keep adding to it?



What i used to do was have 2 small faunariums, one had mealies in that i used as feeders & the other i would put aliens in (which then hatched into beetles). Once the beetles died off i would take them out & just keep adding new ones to it. Oh the one with the beetles in needs a deep substrate as they won't lay eggs unless it's deep :2thumb:. After a couple of months you should be able to see slight movement in the substrate when you put a pinch in your hand (hard to see with naked eye as very very tiny at this stage). Just add some bran or porridge for them to feed on & they'll soon grow.


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## ARMS87 (Jul 21, 2010)

It's funny, I first had success with a dozen beetles by accident, now I try, I find I'm unsuccessful!


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## jonnyboy86 (Jul 7, 2009)

how long your mealies been on the beetle stage dude? can take a while but your see them in the end. also i heard they lay alot of there eggs near moisure so you coud be throwing away some of the eggs every time you remove the carrots. try putting small bits of carrot they can finish in a day or 2.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Try popping them somewhere a little warmer (on top of the hot end of a viv, or next to a tank with a heatmat on the side etc), give it a few weeks and see what happens. Also try and avoid taking veg out as above, just grate some carrot sparingly into the tub and it'll either get eaten or dry up before it has time to go mouldy. 

I wish mine would stop breeding!! :lol2:


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the replys everone : victory:

Its been about a month that i have had a good number of beatles.
How deep would you say it needs to be mines is about an inch and a half just now.
Do you think they just need more time to do there stuff.
I shall start gratings of carrot now, before i cut cut bits and stuck them in


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## quizicalkat (Jul 7, 2007)

Mine took a while to get going too. I use bran in mine to a 2-3 inch depth then I just top it up when needed. I also add fish flakes every week. Mine are at arond 22*c as that is the ambient temperature. I also added a bottom of an egg box on the top of the bran which I think has helped.
I only give carrott or apple once a week or so and only enough for them to finish it in a day or two.

Hope this helps


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Swain86 said:


> Thanks for all the replys everone : victory:
> 
> Its been about a month that i have had a good number of beatles.
> How deep would you say it needs to be mines is about an inch and a half just now.
> ...


Definitely give it a couple more months then! They take a while before it seems like you're getting anywhere, then they explode in numbers. An inch and a half of substrate should be fine, you can add more if you want but unless the substrate is _full_ of mealies, there's not much point.


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

LoveForLizards said:


> Definitely give it a couple more months then! They take a while before it seems like you're getting anywhere, then they explode in numbers. An inch and a half of substrate should be fine, you can add more if you want but unless the substrate is _full_ of mealies, there's not much point.


Should i continue to clean out the dusty stuff and collect it in the dust tub. or just leave them all together to get on with it


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Swain86 said:


> Should i continue to clean out the dusty stuff and collect it in the dust tub. or just leave them all together to get on with it



I would just leave it, you may be taking out eggs if you clean them :whistling2:.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Swain86 said:


> Should i continue to clean out the dusty stuff and collect it in the dust tub. or just leave them all together to get on with it


I leave it all together and don't have issues unless their food/moisture source gets sparce. The only time I interfere with them is if I am starting off a small colony in a separate tub, in which case I will remove the visible pupae to avoid them getting eaten by the beetles (granted, that usually only happens if they don't have a regular source of moisture), I have yet to have any issues with mine.


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

thanks everybody


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

Finally i have baby mealworms :2thumb:


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## andy140365 (Jul 26, 2010)

LoveForLizards said:


> Definitely give it a couple more months then! They take a while before it seems like you're getting anywhere, then they explode in numbers. An inch and a half of substrate should be fine, you can add more if you want but unless the substrate is _full_ of mealies, there's not much point.


 sorry to but in im in the same boat here can i ask what substrate your using cheers anmd sorry for jumping in


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

hey no problem, they are in oatabix and wheatabix with a little porige oats lol

as you see i made this thread a couple of months ago, so thats how long it takes to get anywhere


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## GeckoD (May 30, 2010)

You will need a magnifying glass to see them right 
after hatching...


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

:lol2: oh yes 
i saw mine by luck i just sived a little into a new tub and stared at it looking for movement then i saw the tiniest little worm


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