# breeding mealworms?



## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

Hi,

What is the best way to breed mealworms?, How would i get a large culture going to stop me having buy all time and have a culture for him all time?

How long does it take before you can use some to feed to your reptile without it intrupting the breeding?

It would be normal sized ones i need, the babies would be too small to feed?

Please much info as possible please so i can start up, and wheres the best place to keep them to stop any nasties and to stop smells?

Thanks,
Louise

:2thumb:


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

The mealies my GF bought for our leo started breeding like crazy unintentionally. We just put oats in the cricket tub they where in and they started to pupate. Before we knew we had lots of beetles. A few weeks later we had babies. I think they take a few months to get a to a decent size to feed off. But at the rate these things multiply I would imagine you would have plenty in supply once your collony gets going.

Ours are now in a plasic tub with air holes in the top, oats for substrate and the odd bit of veg in there. They do the rest themselves. You can't really smell them that much unless you get in close.


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## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

thanks alot, if anyone else has more info please post below, would love everyones ideas :whistling2:

and if anyone has photos so i get an idea would be great too, do they need sep beetles from mealies or will they be fine left to do there thing all time?

And will it be better to start with mealworms or beetles?

Thanks


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

I've heard some people say they seperate their beetles and some say they seperate their pupate. I started off seperating mine but then the next day there where loads more.
:lol2: 
Now they are all kept in the same tub and are breeding fine. It would probably be a lot easier for you to get a hold of mealies than the beetles.

Here's a youtube vid
YouTube - How To Raise Mealworms


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

iv had my mealies for 2 years now, started off with 2 boxes of reg' meal worms, now have about 2000+, i removed the FIRST "aliens" to increase the beetle count since i started really low on mealies. now im over run with them, put it this way the beetles have started to escape because i have that many. but i dont need another coloney setting up because if im over run with these having 2 going will be hell.. my lizards eat and eat then turn there noses up and im begging them to eat them lol


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

I've just started my own collony off. I only need a small colony so am leaving the remander of mealys in a tub I bought last week to pupate. Mean time I'll feed my Lizard Bobbie on a new tub I baught today.

I ground weetabix down till it was really fine and placed it in the bottom of the container so the bettles can lay there eggs there but you can use bran if you want. On top of that I just chucked three different types of other cerials I had in the house in until it filled to 2 inches.

When the mealys pupate I'll put them in a container of their own to stop them from being eaten. When they turn into bettles I'll put them into another container with food for 2 days while their shells turn strong. After that I'll stick them into the original tub with the mealys in. I might need to top up with shop bought mealys a few times before the colony gets established.


When the collony is big enough I'll just leave everything in the same container.


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## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

Ok thanks alot everyone,


one more thing, if breeding in a plastic tubawear with lid and small holes?

Will the beetles climb out at all? or fly out when lids taken off?

Has will have beetles everywhere if they fly out when open tub to get mealies, add veg etc etc.

Anyone help on that please? :whistling2:


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

I've never ever seen any of the beetles fly they just scurry around on the surface of the substrate, they also dont climb up the sides.


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

im going to be honest, iv kept my colony in a cat litter looking tray, have have found about 7 escaped beetles and a meal worm in the back room. there out of the way in the kitchen ontop of a warm fish tank and theve managed to get out. im in the process of feeding them all off completly as cant risk them breeding in the carpets and everywhere else.

must admit thats not bad for 2 years its been going.


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## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

Hmmmm, but if i used a tubawear with a secure lid and small holes, they wont be able to escape/climb out?

Or is there a chance off this happening? Or will it be fine in a deep tubawear with secure lid?

Thanks


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## geks (May 18, 2010)

*help!!*

hiya guys i read a great sheet on breeding mealies and ive got my aliens in a seperate tub but they all dying any advice?ty


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

louize1986 said:


> Hmmmm, but if i used a tubawear with a secure lid and small holes, they wont be able to escape/climb out?
> 
> Or is there a chance off this happening? Or will it be fine in a deep tubawear with secure lid?
> 
> Thanks


They will be fine with a sealed top, I used a compass to make the holes in my tub and the beetles are much, much bigger than the holes. Just make sure your substrate is a few inches below the top rim of the tub. Another option would be to cut a hole in the lid and glue some tights over the hole. But thats kinda a lot of effort to go to when you can just make small holes in the lid.


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

geks said:


> hiya guys i read a great sheet on breeding mealies and ive got my aliens in a seperate tub but they all dying any advice?ty


My only guess would be that they are too hot or too humid?


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## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

re posted below


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## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

Catfud said:


> They will be fine with a sealed top, I used a compass to make the holes in my tub and the beetles are much, much bigger than the holes. Just make sure your substrate is a few inches below the top rim of the tub. Another option would be to cut a hole in the lid and glue some tights over the hole. But thats kinda a lot of effort to go to when you can just make small holes in the lid.



thanks alot , So the oats need to be quite deep???

Has its a big tubawear ( the plastic ones with palstic lids ) and yes will use somthiong to punchure small holes.

Will it be ok to have substrate that deep? and will none escape out?

thanks again
louise


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

You can have your substrate as deep as you like, as long as there is enough to cover all your mealies. This is my mealworm tub (top) and superworm tub (bottom)











I only have about a 1.5 cm of substrate in with these guys as you can see from the pic below. But thats enough for them to all hide. The more you have the more substrate you want.


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

And nope they wont get out


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## louize1986 (Mar 28, 2010)

Catfud said:


> And nope they wont get out



Thankyou very much, going to get a culture started sunday :no1:


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

Your welcome and good luck :2thumb:


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

I found my first aliens last night, around 8 of them and then found another 16 today. :2thumb:

I read a tutorial on breading mealworms and the person said to put Bettles into a tub of their own and keep sifting all the substare into a new tub every few days and then putting that into another tub. It's to stop the bettles eating the eggs. 

Is that too much hassle. If I put them back into the mealworms tub wont they lay their eggs in the mealworms waste instead and then eat the substrate that's on top of that?


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

I guess it depends how quickly you want you your collony to grow and weighing that up against how much work you want to put into breeding them. The beetles will eat some of the eggs but not all of them.

I've gone for the super lazy option and slung them all in one tub, I have loads of baby mealies in there.


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

And congrats on your first Alien :no1:


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## geks (May 18, 2010)

*ty*

wats best substrate?CHEERS


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

Lots of people use oats, I use sainsburys basic oats 74p a bag does the job a treat.


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

I have my first beatles, yay. That was quick, only took a week. I have an exo terra terranium with mesh top and sit my mealworms on top of it. It's really speeded everything up.


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## Tkohlbre (Jul 8, 2010)

So it looks like everyone is doing fine breeding their worms except me..:censor:

I've had my colony for about 2 months now,

I keep my worms/pupae/beetles in this mediums sized plastic organizer i got from Target. I keep the worms on one drawer, pupae in another one, and the beetles in the last one. I Keep them (mealies/beetles) on a diet of cricket gut-load (those wet food blocks) and any old vegetable I have laying around

The beetles are mating and laying eggs (I'm assuming since I catch a lot of them with the back end of their abdomens in the bran). They have been doing this for about a month and a half and I am still not seeing any baby meal worms! They're kept at the temp of 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit. (Which is the temp of my room.)

Am I being impatient? Or is there something wrong?

Btw im sorry if this looks like im trying to hijack your thread, im not! I just don't wanna make another thread about mealworms.


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

Are you sure there isn't any really tiny ones? There were a post on a different forum about breading these, it went on for months. A lot of people commented about not having any after a few months but around the third month they started to see them.


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