# Breeding mealies



## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Hey,

I want to start breeding my own mealies...

Can anyone tell me how to go about this etc?

Thanks,

Nav


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi

Here is a few good care sheets that i used.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/feeder/309321-how-breed-mealworms.html

Breeding mealworms

Guide to Raising and Breeding Mealworms

I am breeding mealies now, i have hundreds of tiny mico mealies, about a hundred beetles, and 200 odd adult worms ready to pupate. If you have any other questions just ask.

Bill


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> Hi
> 
> Here is a few good care sheets that i used.
> 
> ...


Thank you!

Nav


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> Hi
> 
> Here is a few good care sheets that i used.
> 
> ...


Hi i put a base of bran about and inch thick. Plopped all my existing mealies in there. I put slices of potato on the top but none was eaten...lol.

Will they eat the bran? Further to that the potato seemed to make the bran stick to it, would carrots be better to use?

Thanks,

Nav


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

nsn89 said:


> Hi i put a base of bran about and inch thick. Plopped all my existing mealies in there. I put slices of potato on the top but none was eaten...lol.
> 
> Will they eat the bran? Further to that the potato seemed to make the bran stick to it, would carrots be better to use?
> 
> ...


 
Hi Nav, 

Yes they will eat the bran, but it's better to give them something with more nutrition. Do you have any weeabix or poridge oats (or any cereal really)? I use weetabix, cornflakes, shredded wheat, bug grub, day gecko dust (because i had some lying around), milkpowder, a little nutobaal, and a few dog buiscuts. I mix it all together and this becomes the mealies main food source. Obviously you dont have to go this far, but a block or two of weetabix or some porrige oats would grow them much quicker and be much more nutritious for your animals in the long run.

Then you can add pretty much any veg/fruit to the top to provide moisture (i only do this twice a week and remove after 12 hours), carrots are taken more eagerly than potatoes and i find and the sustrate sticks to it less. You could wash the veg and then dry with kitchen roll before giving it to the mealies. 

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any more questions should you have any: victory:

Bill


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> Hi Nav,
> 
> Yes they will eat the bran, but it's better to give them something with more nutrition. Do you have any weeabix or poridge oats (or any cereal really)? I use weetabix, cornflakes, shredded wheat, bug grub, day gecko dust (because i had some lying around), milkpowder, a little nutobaal, and a few dog buiscuts. I mix it all together and this becomes the mealies main food source. Obviously you dont have to go this far, but a block or two of weetabix or some porrige oats would grow them much quicker and be much more nutritious for your animals in the long run.
> 
> ...


Thanks. Oh so you just mash up the wetabix etc and put it all together to about an inch high? 

In my set up the mealies that are near the surface are just static and seem to be dead already lol.

Il post a pic of what mine looks like at the moment 










Nav x


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## Dragon7777 (May 27, 2011)

could you feed them muesli? I'm the only one who like it in my home so I was thinking it might be good for these worms too


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

nsn89 said:


> Thanks. Oh so you just mash up the wetabix etc and put it all together to about an inch high?
> 
> In my set up the mealies that are near the surface are just static and seem to be dead already lol.
> 
> ...


Yes I just crumble the weetabix up into the enclosure, an inch or 2 sounds fine (you wont need too much weetaix if you add it to the bran). How warm is the room they are in and do they have any heat source? I only ask because they are much more active when they are warm. If the room is cold a heatmat under one side would make them much more active and grow quicker.

Btw my gf eats bananas and the mealies seem to love the skins. Just a suggestion for an alternative to potatoes.



Dragon7777 said:


> could you feed them muesli? I'm the only one who like it in my home so I was thinking it might be good for these worms too


Yes muesli sounds fine, but the more variety the better: victory:

Bill


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> Yes I just crumble the weetabix up into the enclosure, an inch or 2 sounds fine (you wont need too much weetaix if you add it to the bran). How warm is the room they are in and do they have any heat source? I only ask because they are much more active when they are warm. If the room is cold a heatmat under one side would make them much more active and grow quicker.
> 
> Btw my gf eats bananas and the mealies seem to love the skins. Just a suggestion for an alternative to potatoes.
> 
> ...


Ok thanks dude.

Um yeah they are just at room temp without a heat mat..? Should I get a heatmat for them?

Nav x


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

nsn89 said:


> Ok thanks dude.
> 
> Um yeah they are just at room temp without a heat mat..? Should I get a heatmat for them?
> 
> Nav x


 
No room temp sounds fine and they should grow fairly quickly, people use heatmats and other heating equipment to grow them as quickly as possile to get best production rate, but if your only producing a limited amount room temp is probably ideal.:2thumb:

Bill


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> No room temp sounds fine and they should grow fairly quickly, people use heatmats and other heating equipment to grow them as quickly as possile to get best production rate, but if your only producing a limited amount room temp is probably ideal.:2thumb:
> 
> Bill


Hey i bought some mealies from pets at home and there is quite a few pre-beetles (can't remember what they are called) in there. How do i get these babies to hatch? And can they fly? lol.

Nav x


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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Hey i bought some mealies from pets at home and there is quite a few pre-beetles (can't remember what they are called) in there. How do i get these babies to hatch? And can they fly? lol.
> 
> Nav x


I just put them into another container and leave until they devolope. You do mean the 'alien' thingys don't you?


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

what do you put in the container with the larvae?


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

melee79 said:


> I just put them into another container and leave until they devolope. You do mean the 'alien' thingys don't you?


Yep lol.

I've also got about 6 beetles in there anyway so how do I get them to mate? And do I put them in the same container as my worms with an egg crate for them to hide? 

Nav x


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

emmilllyyy said:


> what do you put in the container with the larvae?


Just tissue I think...


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## Smigsy (Jul 30, 2009)

Do morio worms need the same condition? xx


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

ive also got some weird little wiggly things in there too! i cant find any beetles but there are these little white wiggly things...
are the larger things the beetle larvae? and what are the little wormy things?!:L


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

emmilllyyy said:


> ive also got some weird little wiggly things in there too! i cant find any beetles but there are these little white wiggly things...
> are the larger things the beetle larvae? and what are the little wormy things?!:L
> image


Little wormy things not sure what they are :s lol. But the big things will turn into beetles  I've picked out like 30 lol...

Nav x


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

same ive picked out a shedload :lol2: its only from one box of mealies aswell!


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Lol umm
Confuse though I got a box of standard mealies there was none in there but there was in the mini mealies :s I thought they get big and fat first then turn into beetles?


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

i dont have a clue to be honest :lolsign: its vile though when i picked up a few of those alien things they wiggled! :lol2:


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

Yeah, I just put them into small take-away containers, with kitchen roll or whatever til they're ready to be moved into another container to mate.

As for mating they get on with it by themselves so no problem there.

In this other container I just put all the same things in as with the mealie tub and this will be my new colony. Also, as this is my first time also it will give me a good idea of what numbers to expect in the future.


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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

emmilllyyy said:


> i dont have a clue to be honest :lolsign: its vile though when i picked up a few of those alien things they wiggled! :lol2:


Yeah, that caught me off guard the first time :lol2:


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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

You can see them change shape as they form into beetles and soon will have light brown beetles about 15mm long.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

melee79 said:


> You can see them change shape as they form into beetles and soon will have light brown beetles about 15mm long.


Do the mealies get massive then form aliens? Annnnd I've got a White Beatle :s do they shed too? Lol.

So I just put an inch thick bran layer put the beetles in there and kaboom il get babies? Lol.

Nav x


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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

I'm not too sure as I put some reasonable sized ones in with my leo that turned into aliens over night. However, there are some yet to change that are far larger.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

melee79 said:


> I hope so with all the time we spend picking out the aliens til wating for them to change. Not too big, I've got a blurred photo below lol
> image


Ok cheers dude 

Nav x


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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Ok cheers dude
> 
> Nav x
> 
> ...


Removed the image-it was hurting my eyes :lol2: and added some more info.


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi Nav, hows the mealies coming

The mealies get big and then turn in to the pupae, some get bigger than others though. I dont kno why you got pupae in with the mini mealies, probably human error on the shops part. 

Iv now got loads of really mini mealworms, and Iv still got mealies turning into aliens and beetles hatching daily.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> Hi Nav, hows the mealies coming
> 
> The mealies get big and then turn in to the pupae, some get bigger than others though. I dont kno why you got pupae in with the mini mealies, probably human error on the shops part.
> 
> Iv now got loads of really mini mealworms, and Iv still got mealies turning into aliens and beetles hatching daily.


Yeah i guess so, I've got about 40 beetles waiting to hatch, and 4 actual beetles. So hopefully they start producing some baby mealies.

All ive done is in another tub put a layer of wheatabix and cut in half a toilet roll and placed the two halves in there for them to hide in...And give them carrot's. Is that sufficient?

Nav x


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

nsn89 said:


> Yeah i guess so, I've got about 40 beetles waiting to hatch, and 4 actual beetles. So hopefully they start producing some baby mealies.
> 
> All ive done is in another tub put a layer of wheatabix and cut in half a toilet roll and placed the two halves in there for them to hide in...And give them carrot's. Is that sufficient?
> 
> Nav x


Yeah mate that will do, I have also put some stale bread in my enclosures because I have heard they will lay eggs on there too, but they also lay eggs in the substrate so I dont think the bread is necessary.
　
Here are some pics of my enclosures, as you can see they love carrots :lol2:. I have them in the larger enclosure now (2nd pic), but I’m aiming at thousands of mealies.

Beetles




























Mealworms










Bill: victory:


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

bw89 said:


> Yeah mate that will do, I have also put some stale bread in my enclosures because I have heard they will lay eggs on there too, but they also lay eggs in the substrate so I dont think the bread is necessary.
> 
> Here are some pics of my enclosures, as you can see they love carrots :lol2:. I have them in the larger enclosure now (2nd pic), but I’m aiming at thousands of mealies.
> 
> ...


Awesome! Thanks a lot dude :2thumb:

Nav


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

Happy to help: victory:


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

bw89, your pics look great although I'd just like to point out that it looks difficult to harvest from when the time comes. 

Its a bit complicated at first but in the long-run this method works out much better - and thats putting the beetles in an tub that has the bottom cut out and replaced with fine mesh, then putting this tub on top of another tub to 'catch' the eggs and mealworms that fall through. This means you arent faffing around moving the beetles to another tub when things need to be cleaned/so baby mealies dont get eaten and such. 

Both the tubs are set up normally - about an inch of cereals and maybe half a tube of kitchen roll with the occasional moisture source (carrot etc).

This has worked out a LOT easier and more efficient for me, so I encourage you both to try it too!

Hope this helps a little. : victory:


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> bw89, your pics look great although I'd just like to point out that it looks difficult to harvest from when the time comes.
> 
> Its a bit complicated at first but in the long-run this method works out much better - and thats putting the beetles in an tub that has the bottom cut out and replaced with fine mesh, then putting this tub on top of another tub to 'catch' the eggs and mealworms that fall through. This means you arent faffing around moving the beetles to another tub when things need to be cleaned/so baby mealies dont get eaten and such.
> 
> ...


Any pic's? 

Nav


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

.:KayLee:. said:


> bw89, your pics look great although I'd just like to point out that it looks difficult to harvest from when the time comes.
> 
> Its a bit complicated at first but in the long-run this method works out much better - and thats putting the beetles in an tub that has the bottom cut out and replaced with fine mesh, then putting this tub on top of another tub to 'catch' the eggs and mealworms that fall through. This means you arent faffing around moving the beetles to another tub when things need to be cleaned/so baby mealies dont get eaten and such.
> 
> ...


Great idea KayLee

Im going to get some 6mm mesh for my meece Monday, so I will have a look at something a little finer for the mealies too.

Yeah it is a bit of a pain to seperate. At the moment I have let the baby mealies grow up in with the beetles (at the risk of cannibalism) pending a better solution, and you seem to have produced it, thanks:2thumb:.


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

nsn89 said:


> Any pic's?
> 
> Nav


Mines a rather shabby mess whilst I locate some decent sized tubs so I'm embarrassed to post! :blush: Although I will include a link from youtube that explains it in more detail - ‪THE MEALWORM FILTER SYSTEM IDEA FOR 2010‬‏ - YouTube





bw89 said:


> Great idea KayLee
> 
> Im going to get some 6mm mesh for my meece Monday, so I will have a look at something a little finer for the mealies too.
> 
> Yeah it is a bit of a pain to seperate. At the moment I have let the baby mealies grow up in with the beetles (at the risk of cannibalism) pending a better solution, and you seem to have produced it, thanks:2thumb:.


I'd love to say the idea was mine, but unfortunately, its something I spotted on youtube a long while ago! Just too much of a good idea not to share. 

The mesh you use should be the same sort of sizes as a household flour seive - anything as long as the bugs cant squeeze through.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> Mines a rather shabby mess whilst I locate some decent sized tubs so I'm embarrassed to post! :blush: Although I will include a link from youtube that explains it in more detail - ‪THE MEALWORM FILTER SYSTEM IDEA FOR 2010‬


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Hi, can someone help me to make my mealies stop pupating so quickly!!! lol.

The big ones are so annoying, my Adult Leo doesn't eat every day, so currently at room temp they seem to be active and then 2 days later they aren't moving and are ready to pupate.

Whst happens if i put them in the fridge?lol.

Nav


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

Putting them in the fridge is the best idea, it slows them down a lot and stops them pupating, but take them out 10mins before feeding to your leo then they'll be wriggly.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> Putting them in the fridge is the best idea, it slows them down a lot and stops them pupating, but take them out 10mins before feeding to your leo then they'll be wriggly.


Ok thanks. 

Not sure if you breed mealies, but if not ignore this question lol. But if you doooo, then i've got about 30 beetles with about 30 aliens on the production line:lol2:

Do you know how long it takes for them to start producing eggs? 

Nav x


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

nsn89 said:


> Ok thanks.
> 
> Not sure if you breed mealies, but if not ignore this question lol. But if you doooo, then i've got about 30 beetles with about 30 aliens on the production line:lol2:
> 
> ...


I do.  They start laying eggs almost as soon as they've bred (which doesn't take long at all), but they take about 7 days to hatch and bear in mind they're so tiny when they do hatch you fail to see them for a few weeks. I have about 400 beetles at the moment with about 20 aliens at a time - this is all from one lot of 500g mealworms I bought. I now get enough to feed 12 reptiles with them!

Hope this helps!


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## Guest (Aug 9, 2011)

Just thought I'd throw out this guide to how to breed em, dunno if its useful to folk but its one I wrote years ago (I think I was 17 at the time and seemed to enjoy breeding live food as much as I enjoyed keeping the pets that ate said live food...)

Breeding mealworms


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> I do.  They start laying eggs almost as soon as they've bred (which doesn't take long at all), but they take about 7 days to hatch and bear in mind they're so tiny when they do hatch you fail to see them for a few weeks. I have about 400 beetles at the moment with about 20 aliens at a time - this is all from one lot of 500g mealworms I bought. I now get enough to feed 12 reptiles with them!
> 
> Hope this helps!


400? woaaaah haha. What size container have you got them in? 

I've got them in wetabix will the little tiny babies eat this? As i don't know if they will be able to reach the carrot/apple up top lol. 

Nav x


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Moonleh said:


> Just thought I'd throw out this guide to how to breed em, dunno if its useful to folk but its one I wrote years ago (I think I was 17 at the time and seemed to enjoy breeding live food as much as I enjoyed keeping the pets that ate said live food...)
> 
> Breeding mealworms


Haha, thank you i will read through it 

Nav x


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

nsn89 said:


> 400? woaaaah haha. What size container have you got them in?
> 
> I've got them in wetabix will the little tiny babies eat this? As i don't know if they will be able to reach the carrot/apple up top lol.
> 
> Nav x


Yeah, seems to take forever to get them going (Im just impatient!) but then they just explode! I have them in those plastic storage boxes now but when I first started I had them in ice cream tubs (both in the filter method I mentioned earlier in the thread)

I feed mine on porridge oats, just seems cheaper to me, but its all the same really. I occasionally put some leafies in for the minute babies, once a week or maybe a little longer - not too often because I dont want mould to start (very hard to separate tiny mealies from mouldy subs!) but they do well even on little moisture!


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> Yeah, seems to take forever to get them going (Im just impatient!) but then they just explode! I have them in those plastic storage boxes now but when I first started I had them in ice cream tubs (both in the filter method I mentioned earlier in the thread)
> 
> I feed mine on porridge oats, just seems cheaper to me, but its all the same really. I occasionally put some leafies in for the minute babies, once a week or maybe a little longer - not too often because I dont want mould to start (very hard to separate tiny mealies from mouldy subs!) but they do well even on little moisture!


Ok thank you 

Nav x


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## melee79 (Feb 28, 2011)

Just noticed my first baby mealie last night :2thumb:
They are small, that's for sure.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Looking at my beetles, do they fight each other? As I found a couple decapitated lol...

And a few dead :s there is plenty of food wetabix and carrots! Am I doing something wrong? Hopefully see some babies soon, think I've got around 80-100 beetles!

Nav


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

nsn89 said:


> Looking at my beetles, do they fight each other? As I found a couple decapitated lol...
> 
> And a few dead :s there is plenty of food wetabix and carrots! Am I doing something wrong? Hopefully see some babies soon, think I've got around 80-100 beetles!
> 
> Nav


Good timing, I just came on!

I find some of mine dead and decapitated somtimes but I never see them fighting. My theory is when they die the others eat the 'fleshier' part of the beetle going from the weakest point of the shell - the "neck". They then probably eat the brain and insides etc which results in the decapitated beetle.

Maybe they do fight - I've just never ever seen them do it.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> Good timing, I just came on!
> 
> I find some of mine dead and decapitated somtimes but I never see them fighting. My theory is when they die the others eat the 'fleshier' part of the beetle going from the weakest point of the shell - the "neck". They then probably eat the brain and insides etc which results in the decapitated beetle.
> 
> Maybe they do fight - I've just never ever seen them do it.


Lol. Yeah I guess the males must fight..but I doubt they could decapitate one another lol. 

I have caught a few of them in the act of 'love making/mealie making' lol, so hopefully will start to get some little worms though!!


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Lol. Yeah I guess the males must fight..but I doubt they could decapitate one another lol.
> 
> I have caught a few of them in the act of 'love making/mealie making' lol, so hopefully will start to get some little worms though!!


You'll be waiting a fair while before you to start to see anything : victory: the mealies like to take their time growing up :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Stephen17 said:


> You'll be waiting a fair while before you to start to see anything : victory: the mealies like to take their time growing up :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Damn it! Lol.

Oh well not bothered if I have to buy, doesn't cost much, just makes it easier, especially when I'm getting four more Leo's in a month...lol!


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Damn it! Lol.
> 
> Oh well not bothered if I have to buy, doesn't cost much, just makes it easier, especially when I'm getting four more Leo's in a month...lol!


All the beetles you have at the moment.. after 2 weeks of them being in one tub (whatever you put them in) place them in another as people say they tend to eat the babies. 
Other than that the mealies will definitely take more than a month to be at any size for a Leo to eat :devil: so you will be best off breeding as many as you can so that you never need to buy them again :2thumb:


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Stephen17 said:


> All the beetles you have at the moment.. after 2 weeks of them being in one tub (whatever you put them in) place them in another as people say they tend to eat the babies.
> Other than that the mealies will definitely take more than a month to be at any size for a Leo to eat :devil: so you will be best off breeding as many as you can so that you never need to buy them again :2thumb:


Oh ok cool! How many eggs will they lay 'generally'? 

And will the tiny mealies eat the wetabix then? And should I still put carrot in there for them? Lol.


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Oh ok cool! How many eggs will they lay 'generally'?
> 
> And will the tiny mealies eat the wetabix then? And should I still put carrot in there for them? Lol.


I have heard each beetle can lay up to 500-800 I think it was, not sure as to how true this is although I guess they must lay quite a few :2thumb:

The tiny mealies will eat the exact same as the adult mealies :2thumb: potatoes carrots anything like that should be fine :no1:

Ahh it was actually between 250-500 :lol2:


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Stephen17 said:


> I have heard each beetle can lay up to 500-800 I think it was, not sure as to how true this is although I guess they must lay quite a few :2thumb:
> 
> The tiny mealies will eat the exact same as the adult mealies :2thumb: potatoes carrots anything like that should be fine :no1:
> 
> Ahh it was actually between 250-500 :lol2:


Haha! That's still insane. I think il give them another week and half, then move them out.

Thanks!


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Haha! That's still insane. I think il give them another week and half, then move them out.
> 
> Thanks!


Sounds fine :2thumb: put them into another tub for a couple weeks then you can just throw both substrates into the same tub and all the littlens will grow together :2thumb: 

I think the beetles only live for like 1-2 months anyway


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

How do I know If I have mites in my actual mealie feeder box? As either I missed a bit of apple or they dried fruit from the porridge (sultanas) has let out too much moisture.

But the porridge has gone all soggy at the bottom? Should I change them to a new box now? 

Nav


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> How do I know If I have mites in my actual mealie feeder box? As either I missed a bit of apple or they dried fruit from the porridge (sultanas) has let out too much moisture.
> 
> But the porridge has gone all soggy at the bottom? Should I change them to a new box now?
> 
> Nav


If you had mites you would most likely be able to see them, change the container and get rid of the wet oats.


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

Stephen17 said:


> If you had mites you would most likely be able to see them, change the container and get rid of the wet oats.


I agree : victory:


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> I agree : victory:


Great minds and all that


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Haha thanks!

But how often do you guys provide moisture? Maybe I'm doing it too often! And seems to get really soggy with Apple! Lol.


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Haha thanks!
> 
> But how often do you guys provide moisture? Maybe I'm doing it too often! And seems to get really soggy with Apple! Lol.


Use a carrot twice a week and put it in there in the morning and take it out before you go to sleep. They will be more than happy with that :2thumb: never tried apples but I guess you could put the apple on top of a piece of paper or something?


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

Avoid anything that rots quickly or wont be eaten quickly. I use scraps of lettuce and carrot shavings and only add once or twice a week.


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> Avoid anything that rots quickly or wont be eaten quickly. I use scraps of lettuce and carrot shavings and only add once or twice a week.


Lettuce :gasp: too posh for my mealies


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Won't lettuce release loadsssss of water? Lol


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

No it never has done for me, then again its only cheapo tesco lettuce..:lol2:
I just take maybe half an outside leaf (make sure you wash and dry thoroughly - in case of pesticides!) Tear it up into strips and place in the tubs. It gets eaten too quickly to become soggy.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> No it never has done for me, then again its only cheapo tesco lettuce..:lol2:
> I just take maybe half an outside leaf (make sure you wash and dry thoroughly - in case of pesticides!) Tear it up into strips and place in the tubs. It gets eaten too quickly to become soggy.


Awesome  thanks!

Nav


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## PaulUK2011 (Apr 30, 2011)

*What to feed baby mealies?*

Hi, Ive been breeding mealworms for a couple of months now, so im at the stage of having lots of baby mealies, ranging from 3mm to about 6mm in length.. They are in a bedding of oats, and i add potatoes and carrots to them every couple of days.. they dont seam to be growing very quickly?

Is there something else i can feed them to get them to grow faster?

I have 2 tubs of babies which are about 3 weeks apart and they all seam about the same size.. my 40 odd beetles have produced 1000`s of baby mealies so far and they are still going strong..

just need to know if there missing out on something? to make them grow bigger

Thanks Paul

:whip: Grow you Mealies!! grow!!


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

PaulUK2011 said:


> Hi, Ive been breeding mealworms for a couple of months now, so im at the stage of having lots of baby mealies, ranging from 3mm to about 6mm in length.. They are in a bedding of oats, and i add potatoes and carrots to them every couple of days.. they dont seam to be growing very quickly?
> 
> Is there something else i can feed them to get them to grow faster?
> 
> ...


Heat :2thumb:


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## PaulUK2011 (Apr 30, 2011)

Stephen17 said:


> Heat :2thumb:


They are in my airing cupboard which can get very warm during the day time

:2thumb:


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

PaulUK2011 said:


> They are in my airing cupboard which can get very warm during the day time
> 
> :2thumb:


Then I guess the only thing I can think of is patience :2thumb: they seem to be quite slow at growing, if you didn't keep them in the airing cupboard they would probably not be as big by now.


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## PaulUK2011 (Apr 30, 2011)

Stephen17 said:


> Then I guess the only thing I can think of is patience :2thumb: they seem to be quite slow at growing, if you didn't keep them in the airing cupboard they would probably not be as big by now.


Yeah i guess so... i guess looking at them 3 times a day.. i`ll not really notice them growing lol..

So apart from carrots / potatoes could i give them anything else?

Paul


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

PaulUK2011 said:


> Yeah i guess so... i guess looking at them 3 times a day.. i`ll not really notice them growing lol..
> 
> So apart from carrots / potatoes could i give them anything else?
> 
> Paul


I would stick with the carrots and potatoes : victory:


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

Beat me to it again!! :devil:


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> Beat me to it again!! :devil:


I shall let you have the next one :flrt:


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

Stephen17 said:


> I shall let you have the next one :flrt:


No, no. I like competition. :Na_Na_Na_Na:

:no1:


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## PaulUK2011 (Apr 30, 2011)

Cheers Forumites 

Paul


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

PaulUK2011 said:


> Cheers Fella`s
> 
> Paul


No problems, although I thought the name Kaylee might of indicated female presence :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

Stephen17 said:


> No problems, although I thought the name Kaylee might of indicated female presence :Na_Na_Na_Na:


He did edit it I noticed, you're just replying too quick :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Stephen17 (Jun 14, 2011)

.:KayLee:. said:


> He did edit it I noticed, you're just replying too quick :Na_Na_Na_Na:


My sincerest apologies to you both :notworthy:


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## PaulUK2011 (Apr 30, 2011)

Stephen17 said:


> No problems, although I thought the name Kaylee might of indicated female presence :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Sorry didnt look at your name til i posted it, and then thought id better see who it was in case.. and yup saw the name and though id better change it immediately..

Thanks Boys and girls 

Paul


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

PaulUK2011 said:


> Sorry didnt look at your name til i posted it, and then thought id better see who it was in case.. and yup saw the name and though id better change it immediately..
> 
> Thanks Boys and girls
> 
> Paul


Not a problem. :2thumb:


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