# Sticky  How To Breed: Waxworms



## mad baboon

I have found a very successful way to breed waxworms. so i made a tutorial on here for all you guys that dont want to spend £2.50 for a small number of waxies.

*you should get around 300 - 500 waxies this way.*


items You will need:

tall container (with the middle of the lid cut out)
Honey
water
wheatabix
foot from a pair of tights
small amount of corigated cardboard
and
a tissue

total cost*with waxworms*: £4.40 (tesco prices)

Note: *the total cost is for the whole items not just the bits you use. i will not ad the price for things like tissue, carboard, tights and the container.*










Step one:

get all of the items above ready.

*clean out the continer first!*cut a hole in the lid of your container. its best to have a tall one for the moths to fly about in it(I got mine from costco it had honey coated nuts in).

Step two:

ok now we start to make the culture (the food for the waxies/baby waxies)
Put your wheatabix in a bowl (make sure its a strong bowl) in this tutorial im using mini fruit and nut wheatabix because its all i had. try and get the normal stuff.

ok you need to crush the wheatabix up like so:










Step three:

now we shall add the water and the honey. you need hardly any water just put it under the tap and turn it on and off so there is a little bit just to bind the weatabix together.










now add 1 - 2 spoons of honey. this will be what they get there energy from. you can even put honeycomb in aswell.










now mix them both together and it should stick together but not wet and soggy, it should look like this.










Step four:

now wrap up your mixture and leave it in the fridge to harden/ dry out a little bit. then break it up and put it in the bottem of the container.










Step five:

now while your waiting for it to harden you can start by making things to go in your container.

this is a very simple step all you need to do is scrunch up your tissue in small bits, about four like so:










now get your cardboard and cut a thin long strip and two small squares. these will help your moths cling onto somthing to help them mate, and lay there eggs. then strip the outer layer of brown paper away to reveal the corrigated bit. this isnt as slippery for them.

like so:










step six:

now to make the lid so the moths dont escape!:devil:

ok get your tights and cut the foot off. and grab the lid you cut the middle out of and see if it fits. mine looks like this.










if it fits then screw the lid on or tie on with an elastic band...










step seven:

now to put it together. get the culture from the fridge or where ever you put it and crumble it in the bottem then add the cardboard and then put the tissue in. 

and here it is the finished product.

















there it is all done now place in a warm room (in your reptile room or another room) and leave for a few months then have a look. you may need to break up the culture before you see any.

a couple more things to know:

the paper is to help them lay there eggs
the tights for a lid helps the air flow (you need this dont put air holes they will most likely die)
moths dont eat anything and are alive for about 10-15 days


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## freekygeeky

i had a go at this a while back and it all wrent wrong, did that too.. i think my mixture was too soggy!


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## mad baboon

freekygeeky said:


> i had a go at this a while back and it all wrent wrong, did that too.. i think my mixture was too soggy!


yh, you need to add the water and honey slowley and that shouldnt happen  : victory:


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## buzzybee1992

*does it not smell a bit after a while? *

*also can this be done for mealies?*


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## thecricketkiller

how many wax worms should be put in? sorry if its there and i missed it:2thumb:


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## mad baboon

buzzybee1992 said:


> *does it not smell a bit after a while? *
> 
> *also can this be done for mealies?*



*does it not smell a bit after a while? um it does first of all then the smell normaly goes away. or you just get used to it? :S im not to sure. i just keep mine in my room and i cant smell it anymore.

**also can this be done for mealies? no, not the same mixture. they can be kept in bins with wheat/oat bran and fresh vegtbles ie. a slice of potato every other day.*


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## mad baboon

thecricketkiller said:


> how many wax worms should be put in? sorry if its there and i missed it:2thumb:


as many as you want should be a minimum of 10 to have a fair number of babies. i normaly put a whole tub in. (about 35-40) and i have around 400-600 babies (this is a guestimate there to small to tell yet)


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## sparkle

Im goinig to ask this be made a sticky.. its really infomative : victory:


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## jadeyydoe

hey you live in my old town I used to live in the Gadebridge part of Hemel 

anyway...
what i was actually going to say was have you tried to eat any of that mixture cos it looks tasty xD


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## mad baboon

jadeyydoe said:


> hey you live in my old town I used to live in the Gadebridge part of Hemel
> 
> anyway...
> what i was actually going to say was have you tried to eat any of that mixture cos it looks tasty xD


no i cant say i have. but my dog likes it


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## snowyj99

How often do they need cleaning out? And removing dead moths?


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## mad baboon

snowyj99 said:


> How often do they need cleaning out? And removing dead moths?


ok, this is simple enough... you dont need to clean out (well ok thats kinda a lie you do need to take out dead moths thats like once)

make sure all the moths are dead before removing any. they live for like 1-2 weeks.some people leave them in cause they say they get eaten by the baby waxies. so its your choice. and obviously clean them out when you want to start breeding them again in the same container.


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## rabbit

I'm gonna give this a go soon seeing as my cricket breeding project turned out to be very successful - excellent sticky mate :2thumb:


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## Duq

Thank's ever so much for this  thought i would give it a try..










think it went ok for first try!

thank's for this post once again!


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## mad baboon

thats ok, hope you get a good amount of babies


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## andy123

im having a go:2thumb: just put my mixture in fridge to cool and then will get other bits together: victory: how long should i leave the mixture for???


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## mad baboon

andy123 said:


> im having a go:2thumb: just put my mixture in fridge to cool and then will get other bits together: victory: how long should i leave the mixture for???



um just till its either hardened or dried out for a bit... you can put it in straight away just leave it out over night without puting the waxies in (otherwise they will get stuck when it does dry).


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## mad baboon

ok, update. i have just put my "hatchling" waxies in my leo's viv and after a week the "hatchilngs have quadrupled in size! there about half the length of a full grown mealie now and there are hundreds of them :mrgreen:.

at this rate they should be full grown in a couple more weeks, so i advise you to either put them on a mat at 80 -90 C or in a viv or just in a hot place to make them grow faster.


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## Khonsu

Great Sticky, set up a couple of jars last night having popped into my local sweet shop & aquired several big empty sweetie jars.


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## Khonsu

It's working, lots of pupas forming so hopefully soon moths then larva, hurrah


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## Duq

Want too say thanks for this post  checked on mine today and have 3 moths hanging around and eggs galore 

Many thanks!


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## Juzza12

I'm going to try this soon, i have heard of other people mixing glycerine in with the culture. Is this not necessary then?


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## mad baboon

Juzza12 said:


> I'm going to try this soon, i have heard of other people mixing glycerine in with the culture. Is this not necessary then?



i dont think so mine do fine without it, i dont really know why people put it in. if you find out i would be glad to know why.: victory:


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## Juzza12

Apparently the glycerine is used by some people to prevent mould. Don't see the need for it as long as the mixture isn't too wet


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## mad baboon

yh, thanks for filling me in... also im wondering if anyone knows how to stop them making the web like stuff... because its annoying opening the lid and hving to unndo all the web to get to the worms


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## Mouki

ugh! its gone wrong
the mixture's gone mouldy and all the waxies went under the mixture and turned into cacoons under there...so how do the moths get out?
i have one moth atm (YAY) but...no more moths and they only live 10-15 days. its already been there about 5 days! so it might die without mating if theres no more moths....grrr...need more stupid moths!!!


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## mad baboon

Mouki said:


> ugh! its gone wrong
> the mixture's gone mouldy and all the waxies went under the mixture and turned into cacoons under there...so how do the moths get out?
> i have one moth atm (YAY) but...no more moths and they only live 10-15 days. its already been there about 5 days! so it might die without mating if theres no more moths....grrr...need more stupid moths!!!


um, some times i wait till they make cacoons in the lil waxy pot they come in and i just chuck them in there... and that sorts that problem, it should be fine they will normaly get out, dont worrie about it. : victory:


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## Captainmatt29

good idea, like the potential

may be an idea for getting my leos nice and fat for breeding next year


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## vashe

I have I guess u can call a wax worm assembly line.lol I have 3 containers I use so i can keep the process going cause the edible bedding will start to rot.

First i have a 10 gallon aquarium with a screen top 5 gallon will work better if u dont want super bulk.
I put the edible bedding on the bottom of it and just toss the worms on top.
The bedding i use is made with a box of gerber mix baby cereal, honey, glycerine(make sure its not made with rosewood oil) and water. but any bran cereal will work just crush it fine. 
basically put a small box of baby cereal i usually buy a bigger box incase the mix looks alittle soggy.
half a cup of honey
half a cup of glycerine 
half a cup of hotwater. 
mix it all up till its firm and spread it on something to cool and dry out a bit for about 24 hours.then i will drizzle more honey on top of it half way.

The Glycerine works good to keep mold at bay also i like to put orange slices in there the worms seem to love it since they are always all over them everytime i look.: victory: make sure not to make the slices to thick cause the bedding gets mold under the slices.

then When they pupate i pull those out and stick them in a smaller container with wax paper and a paper towel that way they dont have to go far to mate and they lay there eggs in the wax paper. i lay a paper towel on the bottom incase some die out cause they really stink when they die so it makes it easy to clean. I took a picture of it so u all can see what the container looks like real easy to make.

then as they die off i will put the wax paper in a 1 gallon glass jar. This makes it easier to collect the tiny worms. I put some edible bedding in that and wait till they get alittle plump before putting them in the 10 gallon aquarium again. after they get plump in that i will pick them and store them in the fridge they usually stay good for 6 to 8 weeks inn the fridge crisper.
I usually leave about 100 to 150 in the aquarium that way i know i can get a good chance at alot of females. 

Alittle info i forgot to add I mainly use waxworms for fishing so i make alot. I usually can go though 200 or so everytime i go fishing in the creek. SO i want alot lol. last batch i had i got maybe 3000 or so worms. and there about gone lol. I will be starting a pet project with a natural aquarium set up with local creek fish wish me luck lol. I will be useing waxworms as fish food to plump them up.

Hope this added info helps anyone 
here are the pics i know alot of people dont know what the pupae looks like people i talk to seem to think they spin silk cocoons.lol well enjoy
the moth tank i made with a old storage bin, old window screen and some caulking.


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## Juzza12

Folllowing this guide i srarted my culture on the 10th of last month and found tiny babies today. I was going to put the tub in a dish of water to drown any escapees as i noticed they were getting through the mesh lid, thought i'd try putting a vaseline barrier around the top instead and they can't get past it.


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## mad baboon

Juzza12 said:


> Folllowing this guide i srarted my culture on the 10th of last month and found tiny babies today. I was going to put the tub in a dish of water to drown any escapees as i noticed they were getting through the mesh lid, thought i'd try putting a vaseline barrier around the top instead and they can't get past it.



yh once they start to climb you need somthing so stop them, i notmaly just move the culture(assuming the moths are dead) into one of those nesquick tubs when the waxies are half an inch long... that seems to keep them in ok and just open the lid everyother day to let fresh air in and they will do fine... or you can do wht you said put them in a bowl of water...


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## andy123

i have gt baby wax worms :2thumb: there growing fast and already some are starting to turn into moths, its good for a on going cycle as i dont have many animals which can eat many of these so it will be a good long term project as i cant use them fast enough so going to get a culture going:no1: thanks alot for doing this thread helped me big time and saved us some money


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## mad baboon

yh no probs.


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## Paulusworm

Excellent guide mate. Congrats on the sticky. Just setting mine up now with the pupae that are left over. Even my Bosc won't eat the pupae :gasp:.



jadeyydoe said:


> what i was actually going to say was have you tried to eat any of that mixture cos it looks tasty xD


Yes and it is :2thumb:.


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## mad baboon

cool, im glad this is working so well for you guys!, i have mine off heat at the min and ive just got some babies like last week. if you put them on heat they will reach full size in like 1-2weeks .


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## Nihlus

Thinking about having a go at breeding these and was wondering if they have any heating/lighting requirements


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## mad baboon

Nihlus said:


> Thinking about having a go at breeding these and was wondering if they have any heating/lighting requirements


nope, i just leave mine onto of my leos viv, its not that warn there only like 65-70 f

but if you can put them on a heatmat it will help them get big and grow faster...


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## Paulusworm

Gonna plonk mine on top of the bosc viv and start the timer.


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## Geckogirl_88

so i just chuck in a few waxworms, wait for them to become moths nd then they ay eggs?
xx


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## mad baboon

Geckogirl_88 said:


> so i just chuck in a few waxworms, wait for them to become moths nd then they ay eggs?
> xx


yh i would use a minimum of 10 waxworms... i normaly wait till they turn into pupa before i put them in... but either works well..


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## turpin's corner

I'll be giving this a try tomorrow... :2thumb:


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## Mouki

ooo yay. after about 2 months of getting bored looking at moths i decided to break open the stuff in the bottom...and low and behold there's a little tiny baby waxworm....:no1:


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## mad baboon

Mouki said:


> ooo yay. after about 2 months of getting bored looking at moths i decided to break open the stuff in the bottom...and low and behold there's a little tiny baby waxworm....:no1:


lol thats how i first found out i was successful at breding them aswell


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## turpin's corner

Accosted two used, empty sweetie jars today... Now I just need to find a supplier of wax worms... :hmm:


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## mad baboon

turpin's corner said:


> Accosted two used, empty sweetie jars today... Now I just need to find a supplier of wax worms... :hmm:


get some from online... thats where i get most of mine live food from...


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## -matty-b-

mine chewed through the tights lol i suspect ill be seein a few moths round my room soon

not all bad got loads of babies:no1:


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## Ailsa

fab thanks for this!
My geckos go crazy for the wax worm moths so it will be ideal for me


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## mad baboon

hey soon im going to be tesing out a few new food mixture formulas which should be even cheaper and make the waxies really fat!, im still on the look out on how to stop them from spinning there silk/webs...


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## 88jrb

can you mix sugar into the water instead of honey? and are porrage oats okay to use?


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## mad baboon

you need a bit of honey at least


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## Herpmad V2.0

read this yesterday and today its all set up fingers crossed


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## mad baboon

good luck


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## lizzard boy13

i have the big weetabix and i put two of those in,
how much water di i need?


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## lizzard boy13

I went down to my local sweet shop and got a couple of sweet tubs and i'm gonna start a sort of rota so i don't run out...
Do you realy get like 400 - 600?
So when you see babys do you move them or something?


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## mad baboon

lizzard boy13 said:


> I went down to my local sweet shop and got a couple of sweet tubs and i'm gonna start a sort of rota so i don't run out...
> Do you realy get like 400 - 600?
> So when you see babys do you move them or something?


it all depends on the size of the container and the amount of moths/worms you put in first of all, this method you get lots. 

the babies are very hard to see, i was about to throw my 1st mixture away when i started breaking up the bits in the bottem of the jar there were tiny waxworms almost as thin as a hair, hundreds of them. 

each moth can lay 20 eggs per day i think and they live for roughly 10days 

so say you have 20 moths and 10 are male and 1 are female thats 10mothsx20eggs = 200 eggs per day x 10days thats roughly 2000 eggs between all the moths. obviously not all hatch but you can grasp the scale of them reproducing...


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## lizzard boy13

kk thanks...
how long do the eggs take to hatch after the moths die?


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## serpentsupplies

not long a week or so. especially if kept warm


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## lizzard boy13

thanks :2thumb:


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## smithyUK88

instead of using tights, can you not just put some air holes in the lid? the waxworms i buy from the shops come in a green pot with air holes in and they seem to do fine in them.
Thanks


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## smithyUK88

anyone out there? :lol2:


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## tomsam

we give this ago for the first time and it worked we now have the most tiniest little white things wiggling around in the tub it is so cool never thought i would be so excited.


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## lizzard boy13

My moths have bred and some of them have died but the honey and weetabix stuff has this sort of fluff stuff on it?
what is it and what should i do about it?
Also, when the moths die do you have to chaange the weetabix or add more fresh stuff???
thanks everyone


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## mad baboon

lizzard boy13 said:


> My moths have bred and some of them have died but the honey and weetabix stuff has this sort of fluff stuff on it?
> what is it and what should i do about it?
> Also, when the moths die do you have to chaange the weetabix or add more fresh stuff???
> thanks everyone



um, the fluff is most likely mould, i sometimes have this problem if the weetabix is to wet... um... you should (if you have any babies yet) transfer them to another tub and make a new batch of the culture... try and get as least amount of the old ulture as posable to stop mould growing again... 


hope this helps, sorry to anyone who has had questions i havent been online for a while.


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## smithyUK88

only had mine set up for about 2-3 weeks and ive already got 3 moths woohooo :2thumb:


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## fatlad69

To really get the cultures going add grated bees wax on top of the mixture. If you cannot be arsed to make the mixture you can get culture mixture from Dartfrog - Everything for the Amphibian Keeper


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## mad baboon

fatlad69 said:


> To really get the cultures going add grated bees wax on top of the mixture. If you cannot be arsed to make the mixture you can get culture mixture from Dartfrog - Everything for the Amphibian Keeper


yes ive heard that acctual bees wax helps them on there way, i think its what they naturaly eat in the wild due to them living in bees nests because its nice an warm and has plenty of food. also if you buy these cultures from online shops or your loocal reptile shop they can be very expensive ( for what it it) my recipie is the simplest kind that, if done correctly, can give tremenndus results.


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## babymarley

*My first tub*

:no1::2thumb:I hope my first tub works alright, i made sure the mixture wasnt to sticky or wet and put about 30 waxworms in. Only just done it so shell have to wait awhile i supose, but thanks for the post mate its going to save me alot of cash.:notworthy::notworthy:: victory:


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## smithyUK88

woohooo checked on my jar today and ive now got hundreds of little baby waxworms, some slightly bigger. They are so lively compared to ones you buy in shops! :2thumb::2thumb:


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## Whosthedaddy

Started mine off today, the tub that I bought a month ago is only missing one or 2 tops as the Bosc just doesn't eat them? A moth fluttering about may be better, so thats what I'll be aiming for.

Chucked the waxies onto the sweetened substrate, a corrgated cardboard A placed over them and an breathable top to secure. Only minutes later the worms had covered the cardboard inside and out rather than trying to burrow so heres hoping?


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## mad baboon

smithyUK88 said:


> woohooo checked on my jar today and ive now got hundreds of little baby waxworms, some slightly bigger. They are so lively compared to ones you buy in shops! :2thumb::2thumb:


im glad you found this tutorial sucessful


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## Whosthedaddy

Whosthedaddy said:


> Started mine off today, the tub that I bought a month ago is only missing one or 2 tops as the Bosc just doesn't eat them? A moth fluttering about may be better, so thats what I'll be aiming for.
> 
> Chucked the waxies onto the sweetened substrate, a corrgated cardboard A placed over them and an breathable top to secure. Only minutes later the worms had covered the cardboard inside and out rather than trying to burrow so heres hoping?


Spotted one that had changed into a pupae , so maybe it has started?

Should I remove it and move it to a separate jar to hatch?


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## mad baboon

UM, IF ITS IN THE JAR WITH THE HONEY AND WEETABIX MIX THEN LEAVE IT TO TURN INTO A MOTH AND OTHERES WILL TURN TO PUPA AND EMERGE, TO SPEED THIS TIME UP KEEP THEM IN A WARM AREA AT ABOUT 80 - 87 f AND THAT SHOULD MAKE THE PROCESS HAPPEN QUICKER, HOPE IT WORKS FOR YOU.


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## Whosthedaddy

Nearly a dozen have changed now, being kept int the airing cupboard for now sonice and warm. Just hope the Bosc likes all this effort I'm putting in for him.


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## mad baboon

yh just remember to check the lid every few days when the babies hatch because they can sometime if there isnt enough food eat through the tights....


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## BigHeadBen

I've followed your every step (minus the fruit and nut weetabix :2thumb: )
and will now be waiting patiently for some results! cannot wait!
Very helpful, thanks!


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## mad baboon

i hope it goes well, often you cant see the babies untill you break up the substrate it takes a while before the babies hatch annd trusst me you will know if you have babie ones cause there will be loads!


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## Whosthedaddy

Woot woo!

Been checking on them in the airing cupboard every day and found 2 moths clinging to the cardboard, got a few pupae that look like they are splitting too.


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## mad baboon

Whosthedaddy said:


> Woot woo!
> 
> Been checking on them in the airing cupboard every day and found 2 moths clinging to the cardboard, got a few pupae that look like they are splitting too.


nice it will be a few weeks now till you see babies! look very hard though cause there really small


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## smithyUK88

Hi just thought id add a pic of mine. Some are starting to get to a decent size now and im also still finding hundreds of tiny babies.
Heres the pic, not the best but gives you some idea. If you look closely 
you should be able to see all different size waxworms in there.:2thumb:


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## mad baboon

hey nice im glad its working well for you


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## ricardo1

did i read rite that you can put the culture directly on a heat mat ?


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## hermit crab kid

Hello,

Well I followed the guide and put in 35 waxworms, fingers crossed!!!


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## Whosthedaddy

hermit crab kid said:


> Hello,
> 
> Well I followed the guide and put in 35 waxworms, fingers crossed!!!


I have had loads and loads of moths from my little try, still going like crazy so will wait and see if they breed any little waxies.

It takes some time for the worms to pupate and maybe 3/4 days later they start to hatch.

I've kept mine in the airing cupboard and just ignored them really and Bobs your uncle.


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## CharlotteG

*??*

I was thinking about trying this... only cos my tub of waxies has started to cocoon after only 3 days since buying them!! 
This may sound really stupid but how would you get the young waxies out when you need them? Do you just wait until the moths die? Do I just put the cocoons into the culture?

P.S sorry if this has already been answered earlier in the post


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## Whosthedaddy

Yep, just lob the caccons or even the normal waxies in the sweetened substrate, add some cardboard for the moths to cling to and seal. I used a thinck piece of kitchen towel secured with a rubber band, so far so good.

As I said mines in the airing cupboard and ignored. 

What I'll do is wait for the moths to die then tip out the substrate from the pickle jar and then sort the old from the new.


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## dannyj

iv had a go at this today - not sure if i made my substrate too dry or wet but did it as i thought it looked on the pics - threw a box of fresh wax worms in and put it in the airing cupboard - lets see what happenes


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## davidfitch

I did this at the start of last year and it worked great got more than i could ever have used. Couldn't believe how well they grew. All was good untill the tights got a tiny hole in them and i found waxworms under, at the back and on top of every viv after going away for a long weekend. :lol2:


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## Whosthedaddy

dannyj said:


> iv had a go at this today - not sure if i made my substrate too dry or wet but did it as i thought it looked on the pics - threw a box of fresh wax worms in and put it in the airing cupboard - lets see what happenes


: victory:

Its my kind of husbandry, just leave them for a week or two. Mine took a fair while to change in colour and pupate, this was after they sat in the little green pot uneaten for a month too!


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## babymarley

just looked in the tub and there hundreds of babies wrigling about...great success :2thumb:


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## Whosthedaddy

:welcome:


babymarley said:


> just looked in the tub and there hundreds of babies wrigling about...great success :2thumb:


just seen my little ones!


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## mad baboon

ricardo1 said:


> did i read rite that you can put the culture directly on a heat mat ?


yes aslong as its not over 88 f


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## mad baboon

CharlotteG said:


> I was thinking about trying this... only cos my tub of waxies has started to cocoon after only 3 days since buying them!!
> This may sound really stupid but how would you get the young waxies out when you need them? Do you just wait until the moths die? Do I just put the cocoons into the culture?
> 
> P.S sorry if this has already been answered earlier in the post


getting them out is the tricky part... i wait for them to grow half as big as the ones from the shop( 1cm /1.5cm) then seperate them into another container by then the moths should have died its just getting at them thats the problem !


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## mad baboon

babymarley said:


> just looked in the tub and there hundreds of babies wrigling about...great success :2thumb:


congrats :2thumb:


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## mad baboon

*
==========================================*

sorry i havnt been online for a while i try and answer questions whenever im online. But ive been busy recently. Im glad its paying off for some of you!

*==========================================*


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## ricardo1

hey erm i done this around 3 months ago and have had loads of hatchlings for about two months but they reall dont seam to be growing they are only about 1.5 mm long 

they are kept warm in the airing cupboard 


any one able to help please


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## Jacobesnakefan

mine all went black and didn't turn into cacoons i think it may be because i just stabbed air holes in the top.


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## hermit crab kid

Jacobesnakefan said:


> mine all went black and didn't turn into cacoons i think it may be because i just stabbed air holes in the top.



I done the same and I have 2 cocoons already! and the others are starting! Thanks so much for the OP! :notworthy:


HCK


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## mad baboon

ricardo1 said:


> hey erm i done this around 3 months ago and have had loads of hatchlings for about two months but they reall dont seam to be growing they are only about 1.5 mm long
> 
> they are kept warm in the airing cupboard
> 
> 
> any one able to help please



i duno mine didnt grow cause they were cold and when they were hot they grew like 4x the size in a week


----------



## Jacobesnakefan

Mine have turned into cacoons and have been like that for ages yet none have turned into moths dunno whats happening their. Does anyone know how long it takes for them to turn into moths once they cacoon?


----------



## mad baboon

Jacobesnakefan said:


> Mine have turned into cacoons and have been like that for ages yet none have turned into moths dunno whats happening their. Does anyone know how long it takes for them to turn into moths once they cacoon?


um anywhere from a week to 3 weeks i think


----------



## hermit crab kid

i have now 6 cocoons!


----------



## dannyj

i have loads and loads of little wrigglers - they are so small though how long until they grow and i can harvest???


----------



## hermit crab kid

now all are cocoons!


----------



## mad baboon

dannyj said:


> i have loads and loads of little wrigglers - they are so small though how long until they grow and i can harvest???


 if you keep them warm a few weeks. they will be really big aswell if you use heat


----------



## dannyj

they are ontop of the combi boiler, tuba always feels warm when i have a peep, so another 3 week or so?


----------



## luke86

will they be allright in the dark and at a cool temp as the only place i can keep them is in the loft thnx:2thumb:


----------



## mad baboon

dannyj said:


> they are ontop of the combi boiler, tuba always feels warm when i have a peep, so another 3 week or so?


yeah, they roughly double in size each week for me


----------



## mad baboon

luke86 said:


> will they be allright in the dark and at a cool temp as the only place i can keep them is in the loft thnx:2thumb:


yh but they will take longer to grow and they proberly wont be as big as if you heated them


----------



## SDG

I did this with oats and honey, it hardened up really nicely and I've got loads of moths - only thing is all of my animals have decided to completely go off their waxies!! now what am I going to do with all the babies lol!!


----------



## mad baboon

SDG said:


> I did this with oats and honey, it hardened up really nicely and I've got loads of moths - only thing is all of my animals have decided to completely go off their waxies!! now what am I going to do with all the babies lol!!


lol that is a problem cause there will be loads XD


----------



## hermit crab kid

I have 3 moths now!!!


----------



## hermit crab kid

Now I have 6 moths wohooo!! Thanks so much!


----------



## babymarley

*Active wax worms.*

My wax worms are growing up fast a few more weeks now and they should be adults, ready to feed to mr charlie:mf_dribble: (the dragon). Once again thanks for the idea and its going to save me alot of cash.:notworthy::notworthy:


----------



## just_one_more

will be definetely doing this myself - me is thinking a trip to my traditional sweety shop on monday to ask a few empty jars (and to buy choc lick of course) :whistling2: - my leos love them and saves me buying them. I had breeding locusts down to a fine art so this should quite easy - I'm looking forward to starting it - how sad am I?! :lol2:


----------



## mad baboon

just_one_more said:


> will be definetely doing this myself - me is thinking a trip to my traditional sweety shop on monday to ask a few empty jars (and to buy choc lick of course) :whistling2: - my leos love them and saves me buying them. I had breeding locusts down to a fine art so this should quite easy - I'm looking forward to starting it - how sad am I?! :lol2:


Good luck. I found this really easyto do so im sure if your breeding locusts you should be able to do this


----------



## dannyj

mone are growing various sizes - i broke up the mix today it was very dry - i was tempted squeeze some honey on it - feed them up a little


----------



## frogs_an_lizards_an_Ad

awesome shall try it =]


----------



## Tarn~Totty

Ive seen tiny waxworms today in the jar!! Im really pleased...thank you for posting up how to do this : victory:

Just a couple of questions...they are really tiny, how long does it take them to grow to a decent size, and is there anything I could be doing/adding to feed them up more? The mix they are in looks very dry...should I make some fresh mix and move them on to that?


----------



## mad baboon

@Tarn~Totty YH you can keep them warm that will make them grow faster. they will grow it taes around a couple of weeks - a month for them to reach full size imo. oh yeah dont leave them for aweek because i went on holiday and i cam eback and they had managed to eat there way through the tights at the top :/ so just keepp checking and maybe add a little bit more mixture when it starts to become dry.

sorry for the slow reply


----------



## Mrs Meldrew

Many Thanks for this sticky...

I have found my first moth today....:2thumb:

BTW... I've got a couple of cultures going in old diet coke bottles... with stockings stuck over the top....:whistling2:


----------



## mad baboon

Mrs Meldrew said:


> Many Thanks for this sticky...
> 
> I have found my first moth today....:2thumb:
> 
> BTW... I've got a couple of cultures going in old diet coke bottles... with stockings stuck over the top....:whistling2:


nice one:2thumb: hope it works for you


----------



## celicachi

i might have to give this a go


----------



## OrigamiB

Seen my first moth today! quite chuffed =P should be seeing more any day now


----------



## TheMetaphysicalNinja

Set up and ready for the waxworms today. I've used wheatbran stuff instead though, looks identical, and its basically all thats in wheatabix xD 

And I couldn't resist, it doesn't taste half bad lmao


----------



## cadoline

*help infestation!*

hi i have been doing quite good with my wax worm cultures however today when i was cleaning 1 out among my baby waxworms i found loads of other white things! they are very small pinhead size but they dont wiggle like waxies they run and fast! lol 
does any1 know what these are and are they harmful? thanx


----------



## mad baboon

there proberly really really young waxworms. that may have just hatched i found loads even after some of mine were full size


----------



## cadoline

thanx for reply i dont think there wax worms there like pieces of white dust! i had loads of baby waxies the definately didnt look the same?


----------



## mad baboon

dunno dust mites? im not sure, i would have said eggs but you said they moved


----------



## SCOTT4545

Hello I gave this a go, I started it on th 18/5/2010 followed it step by step and by 2/6/2010 i had moths and today I seen baby waxies in the tub! luvin it:lol2: This might have already been asked sorry if i missed it. should I move the babies into a new tub with a fresh mixture or leave them to grow a bit first?
Thanks for the guide it was very helpful.:2thumb:


----------



## SCOTT4545

ARGH The babies are escaping threw the tights! Help!


----------



## mad baboon

unlucky i put like 4 layers on, ive found that getting super fine metal mesh works better cause they cant eat through it


----------



## SCOTT4545

Ive put the pot in a bigger tub now with some water in the bottom to stop the escapists gettin in and around my house:censor: Ive got loads of babies so hopefully i have some left:2thumb:


----------



## JaMMiT

Thanks for the guide it was very helpful might start doing it soon! Off topic :Thats all but i cant Wait to get A new reptile soon


----------



## shep1979

well thanks for this thread, as i had a load of moths i decided to give it a go and it worked realy well i have 1000's of wax worms of all sizes now, no more buying wax worms for me from now on as it was so easy to breed them :2thumb:


----------



## mad baboon

shep1979, im glad this helps, i dont know why the waxworms are soo expensive in the shops cause you can buy 50 for £2.50 and make like 20x as many xD


----------



## turbo1869

How long it take normally to see any babies? And what the look like please (pics) and when do you take babies out to help them grow faster and when to feed to dragons?


----------



## BlackRose

Oo I have to try this. Doesn't the mixture the waxies eat make the animals you feed the waxies to bad?


----------



## mad baboon

turbo and blackrose... um it depends the first time i bred them i thought it didnt work and i broke up the mixture and there was hundreds of really tiny white worms, you almost cant see them but once you see the rly small ones keep them warm and they will grow very very fast. and waxworms are very fatty anyway but they naturaly live in bee hives so i would have thought it was healthyer with the wheat? but i think this is generaly what livefood breeders use but just on a larger scale with "other additives" mixed in so they dont spin cacoons/ a web.


----------



## jamesbusby221

gunna have to try this  will save lots of pennies and can buy more reptiles with it


----------



## mad baboon

good luck. i really dont know why they charge soo much for them in the shops cause about 50 moths can easily make over 1000 babies


----------



## Ranubis

A question - do the eggs look any different once they have hatched? I have a couple of batches of eggs I can see and have been checking them daily for about 2 weeks. I don't know if they just haven't hatched or if they have and I can't tell the difference?


----------



## mad baboon

im not sure often you need to break the mix up in the bittem and there are rly tiny ones. but otherwise you cant really see them when they first hatch


----------



## Ranubis

Never mind, I've seen them now! Success.


----------



## gray1

I tried something like this quite a while ago... all that happend was the moths made a hell of a mess with all the powder stuff on their wings coming off and the waxworms ate holes through the mesh or were so tiny they just went straight through it.


----------



## Marcus_anthony24

*glycerine*

instead of adding water add glycerine, its used as an ingredient in cakes. It stops the mixture from becoming soggy and stops the mixture from drying out.

Marcus


----------



## mad baboon

Marcus_anthony24 said:


> instead of adding water add glycerine, its used as an ingredient in cakes. It stops the mixture from becoming soggy and stops the mixture from drying out.
> 
> Marcus


yeah that works aswell but if you dont have any this works fine but both work pretty well


----------



## Guest

Just thought I'd throw out a link to my method of breeding waxworms  Its ridiculously straightforward and easy to follow, and yet pretty damn productive

Breeding Waxworms


----------



## Antw23uk

I have moths :gasp: Yes as an adult i appreciate how silly i sound but im well chuffed ... I have four fluttering about :2thumb:

Ok sado going back to his rock :blush:


----------



## Ben.M

Antw23uk said:


> I have moths :gasp: Yes as an adult i appreciate how silly i sound but im well chuffed ... I have four fluttering about :2thumb:
> 
> Ok sado going back to his rock :blush:


I've got my first moth today :2thumb:


----------



## MarcusF

I've just gone and checked mine. Didn't have any moths last night, now I have 21!

Back of the net :2thumb:


----------



## mad baboon

nice


----------



## Antw23uk

Success :2thumb: I have tiny babie wax worms. Thought my colony had failed to be honest and thought the substrate was too dry even though i used Glycerin but having had the moths all die over a couple of weeks or so ago (I've been busy) i kept meaning to check so had a little dig this morning and there they were so ive left them back in the airing cupboard to do their thing :no1:


----------



## mad baboon

congrats lol i thought the exact same thing the first time i did it


----------



## Antw23uk

Thanks i'm well chuffed although my spelling in that previous post was terrible, Lol :blush:


----------



## Lozzzie

Wonderful! I definately think I'll need to try this out soon so I've got a small colony going for the summer, haha. I know I'm only getting one BD, but if I can keep the breeding cycle going then I can say goodbye to having to buy them again.
I'm sure it'll be a bit of trial and error, but it should save quite a lot of money and keep me entertained! 8)


----------



## mad baboon

Lozzzie said:


> Wonderful! I definately think I'll need to try this out soon so I've got a small colony going for the summer, haha. I know I'm only getting one BD, but if I can keep the breeding cycle going then I can say goodbye to having to buy them again.
> I'm sure it'll be a bit of trial and error, but it should save quite a lot of money and keep me entertained! 8)




hope it works for you


----------



## Antw23uk

Just rememebr they aint that healthy and should be used as a treat once a week max really! Ive just checked mine, i have hundreds it seems from one small pot of about 12-16 a few months ago from a local reptile shop. A couple are massive and the rest are tiny still. Am i doing something wrong? Can i pep them up with some more bran, honey and glycerin?

Anyone? : victory:


----------



## Lozzzie

Yeah I know, but always better to have a small stash of treats and not need to buy them, than have to purchase them every now and then, haha.

Hmm, I don't know if this could be a possibility, but can worms grow at different rates? Maybe some are just naturally bigger and fatter than others? (Almost like how you have runt of the litters, you could have some worms that just beat the others to all the food, haha.) I honestly have no idea though.


----------



## Antw23uk

Ithink i will top them up with some more bran and honey mix, its looking a bit bare in there right now so maybe they have 'used up' the first lot!


----------



## leopardgecko_stubbs

does anyone know where I can buy the little waxworm container tubs? I've seen them online somewhere but cannot for the life of me remember where!


----------



## Antw23uk

*Warning ...*

Ok so just gone up to the bathroom and in the middle of the floor a wax worm :gasp:
I have kept and bred my colony in the airing cupboard next door so not too far but still an escaped wax worm :devil:
Dashed straight to said cupboard and lots of little holes in the tights covering the plastic tub i bred them in! Found about 4-5 literally underneath/ surrounding the tub so picked them up and have now secured the whole lot (I have a few hundred i think!)

So be aware they will get to a certain size and start to 'explore'

Any tips on what to keep them in that has enough ventilation but not tights that they can clearly chew through :whip:

Thanks
Ant.


----------



## mad baboon

Antw23uk said:


> Ok so just gone up to the bathroom and in the middle of the floor a wax worm :gasp:
> I have kept and bred my colony in the airing cupboard next door so not too far but still an escaped wax worm :devil:
> Dashed straight to said cupboard and lots of little holes in the tights covering the plastic tub i bred them in! Found about 4-5 literally underneath/ surrounding the tub so picked them up and have now secured the whole lot (I have a few hundred i think!)
> 
> So be aware they will get to a certain size and start to 'explore'
> 
> Any tips on what to keep them in that has enough ventilation but not tights that they can clearly chew through :whip:
> 
> Thanks
> Ant.


YES this can and proberly will happed if you dont check up on them, this happened to me while i was on holiday the first tie i bred them, and they escaped into my geckos cage which was where i was storing the jar, so luckly they were in the cage so my geckos had a FEAST on hundreds of baby waxworms so they were very fat when i returned, i think i did warn of this in the tutorial but yes be careful and keep an eye out


----------



## Ben.M

Ben.M said:


> I've got my first moth today :2thumb:


It's been about 3 months since I got my first moth and I've now got a good amount of small waxworms (about 5-20mm), fed the first one to one of my mantids tonight 
If I remember then I'll put a pic or 2 up 

Ben.M


----------



## mad baboon

Ben.M said:


> It's been about 3 months since I got my first moth and I've now got a good amount of small waxworms (about 5-20mm), fed the first one to one of my mantids tonight
> If I remember then I'll put a pic or 2 up
> 
> Ben.M


nice id like to see your progress : victory:


----------



## Ben.M

mad baboon said:


> nice id like to see your progress : victory:


Got my first moth on 11-09-2011, just over 3 months later and this is what i've got :whistling2:









There was about twice as much food at the beginning, i'm gonna have to top it up soon.




























And just to clear a few things up, the brown stuff on the inside is from the moths, from the pics the inside looks very dusty, its actually a layer of silk, and the stuff on the bottom outside of the jar is where it was sat in a moat so the tiny waxworms didnt get loose around the room and the water has evaporated to leave limescale 

So basically...IT WORKS :no1:

Ben.M


----------



## mad baboon

Ben.M said:


> Got my first moth on 11-09-2011, just over 3 months later and this is what i've got :whistling2:
> 
> There was about twice as much food at the beginning, i'm gonna have to top it up soon.
> 
> And just to clear a few things up, the brown stuff on the inside is from the moths, from the pics the inside looks very dusty, its actually a layer of silk, and the stuff on the bottom outside of the jar is where it was sat in a moat so the tiny waxworms didnt get loose around the room and the water has evaporated to leave limescale
> 
> So basically...IT WORKS :no1:
> 
> Ben.M


nice, im glad to see pictures or peoples progress


----------



## scottie_269

This maybe a very stupid question but out of curiosity can you feed the moths too (in my case to a leopard gecko, im presuming it will be cool to also feed the moths to tokyo geckos seeing there a big part of their wild staple diet?)


----------



## mad baboon

scottie_269 said:


> This maybe a very stupid question but out of curiosity can you feed the moths too (in my case to a leopard gecko, im presuming it will be cool to also feed the moths to tokyo geckos seeing there a big part of their wild staple diet?)



i feed moths to my leopard geckos and the love them.


----------



## samscott

guys what did i do wrong ? i had about 30 in the tub it was just a 3 liter bottle with the top bit cut of but the weat thing went moldy after less than a week . was it just two soggy, wasnt it in the fridge long enough ? anyway i took them out and there now back in the little tub but i saw 3-5 cacoon things and i want to try it again  any advise  thanks 
sam :notworthy:


----------



## samscott

guys what did i do wrong ? i had about 30 in the tub it was just a 3 liter bottle with the top bit cut of but the weat thing went moldy after less than a week . was it just two soggy, wasnt it in the fridge long enough ? anyway i took them out and there now back in the little tub but i saw 3-5 cacoon things and i want to try it again  any advise  thanks 
sam :notworthy:


----------



## LFG

After much trial and error raising waxworms, I've found the only way to keep them from wandering is wire mesh. Cotton seems to be worst, with them eating through it almost immediately. Synthetics do better, but sooner or later one decided it just has to escape and a small hole later I have waxworms everywhere.


----------



## mad baboon

LFG said:


> After much trial and error raising waxworms, I've found the only way to keep them from wandering is wire mesh. Cotton seems to be worst, with them eating through it almost immediately. Synthetics do better, but sooner or later one decided it just has to escape and a small hole later I have waxworms everywhere.


yes this is a problem, if you can get small enough wire mesh its ALOT better and they shouldnt escape from that.


----------



## Wolflore

After a long wait I finally have eggs! Let the games begin!


----------



## mad baboon

good luck, if you keep them warm they will grow faster.


----------



## Mikeyboy1992

I tried this and I have a good number of babies from it. However they didnt get very big. They grew to about half the size of the ones you buy in the pet stores. I tried leaving them in a bit longer hoping they would grow but they all started to spin cucoons. How can I make them get bigger/fatter?


----------



## Wolflore

mad baboon said:


> good luck, if you keep them warm they will grow faster.


No signs of young yet! Boo!


----------



## mad baboon

use more honey/food mixture and they should fatten up most of mine get aroudn the size of the ones you buy in the shops. also keep them warm and they grow faster.


----------



## mad baboon

try breaking up the mixture, you should then see them when i first tried i couldn't see any then i was starting to throw the mixture out and as i was breaking it up to get it out of the tub i saw THOUSANDS of barely visible baby wax worms!


----------



## Wolflore

mad baboon said:


> try breaking up the mixture, you should then see them when i first tried i couldn't see any then i was starting to throw the mixture out and as i was breaking it up to get it out of the tub i saw THOUSANDS of barely visible baby wax worms!


Great, I'll give it a go.


----------



## jaaykidd

I was about to bin my culture because I once read that when they go all dark brown they're dead... Good thing I decided to google image wax worm pupa... I have about 18 pupa  

So far so good!


----------



## mad baboon

jaaykidd said:


> I was about to bin my culture because I once read that when they go all dark brown they're dead... Good thing I decided to google image wax worm pupa... I have about 18 pupa
> 
> So far so good!


 good luck


----------



## Emma30

I followed this post and set up a tub, my moths all died off and I thought I would leave it for a while, had a look yesterday thought there was nothing and was gonna throw it out, and then I saw a wax worm!! started to break the mixture up and saw lots of iccle wax worms :2thumb::2thumb:

What do I do with them now? as some are very small and some a little big, I have them on heat now as I know this will make them grow faster, should I remove them from my tub with the substrate into another tub and just let them grow? should I give them fresh mixture?

Bought some more wax worms yesterday so I can let them cocoon up and then start again :2thumb::2thumb:


----------



## mad baboon

Emma30 said:


> I followed this post and set up a tub, my moths all died off and I thought I would leave it for a while, had a look yesterday thought there was nothing and was gonna throw it out, and then I saw a wax worm!! started to break the mixture up and saw lots of iccle wax worms :2thumb::2thumb:
> 
> What do I do with them now? as some are very small and some a little big, I have them on heat now as I know this will make them grow faster, should I remove them from my tub with the substrate into another tub and just let them grow? should I give them fresh mixture?
> 
> Bought some more wax worms yesterday so I can let them cocoon up and then start again :2thumb::2thumb:


good job, yeah fresh mixture would be a good idea but you can leave them in the old mixture if needed


----------



## Emma30

Thank you, you did this sticky a while ago now and its still going strong :no1: well done to you :2thumb:

Im giving everything a go at the mo, been breeding meal worms for a few years, and ive just recently started breeding locusts alot have been laying eggs so all is good there lol and now morios got a few turning into aliens so fingers crossed and last but not least waxies :notworthy::notworthy:


----------



## mad baboon

Emma30 said:


> Thank you, you did this sticky a while ago now and its still going strong :no1: well done to you :2thumb:
> 
> Im giving everything a go at the mo, been breeding meal worms for a few years, and ive just recently started breeding locusts alot have been laying eggs so all is good there lol and now morios got a few turning into aliens so fingers crossed and last but not least waxies :notworthy::notworthy:


nice, i havnt managed to breed crickets or locusts (recently i havnt needed to as i only have 3 leos) but i bred mealworms before they were fairly easy


----------



## Emma30

Yeah mealies are the easiest, I dont really need to breed most of them as my main food for my leos are roaches and mealies, forgot to add the roaches to my breeding list :lol2: 
Just seeing how it all goes really, bred crickets last year but they do my head in lol with all their chirping, i mean it is nice sometimes but after awhile it starts to do your head in especially if one has escaped and you hear it at like 4 in the morning and you cant find the little bugger!!! :lol2::lol2:


----------



## mad baboon

Emma30 said:


> Yeah mealies are the easiest, I dont really need to breed most of them as my main food for my leos are roaches and mealies, forgot to add the roaches to my breeding list :lol2:
> Just seeing how it all goes really, bred crickets last year but they do my head in lol with all their chirping, i mean it is nice sometimes but after awhile it starts to do your head in especially if one has escaped and you hear it at like 4 in the morning and you cant find the little bugger!!! :lol2::lol2:


you can get silent crickets...


----------



## BrianB

YAAAAAAAAAAA First baby worms :flrt::no1::2thumb:

God they are small, only found a handfull but eyes arnt that sharp anymore lol








This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 764x1024 and weights 317KB.


----------



## mad baboon

BrianB said:


> YAAAAAAAAAAA First baby worms :flrt::no1::2thumb:
> 
> God they are small, only found a handfull but eyes arnt that sharp anymore lol
> 
> imageThis image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 764x1024 and weights 317KB.image


NICE ONE!, everyone seems to have had the same "problem" as me where you think its been all a waste of time and just as you either throwing the mixture out or breaking it up you see loads of little wax worms


----------



## BrianB

Lol
Just realised I've posted in wrong thread.....mine are mealworms lol. Going to try waxworms next


----------



## mad baboon

BrianB said:


> Lol
> Just realised I've posted in wrong thread.....mine are mealworms lol. Going to try waxworms next


lol i thought the brown thing was just a dead one lol, i thought some of those crumbs were waxies :bash: lol, well done anyway.


----------



## Artisan

Going to do this myself too.....got a big plastic sweet jar YAY! Thanks :2thumb:


----------



## Artisan

A question please. The weetabix/honey mix you put on the bottom......how long does this last them? Do you need to add more as time goes on or is the amout you put in enough to last each cycle of breeding and you just put more in once you've cleaned out the jar ready for the next lot of breeding? Thanks : victory:


----------



## Artisan

Ah well I've set my little project up yesterday in a latge plastic sweet jar and put 40 waxies in and bunged em on top of one of my vivs.......will sit back and wait now and see what happens! :2thumb:


----------



## vukic

Artisan said:


> A question please. The weetabix/honey mix you put on the bottom......how long does this last them? Do you need to add more as time goes on or is the amout you put in enough to last each cycle of breeding and you just put more in once you've cleaned out the jar ready for the next lot of breeding? Thanks : victory:


Sometimes... Depends how much you start with... But I've.got a culture that I started last year that was running out.. But I still had hundreds of baby waxworms left so I mixed up a load more... 
Just hoping this cold weather hasn't killed them... Fingers crossed.. 

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Artisan

vukic said:


> Sometimes... Depends how much you start with... But I've.got a culture that I started last year that was running out.. But I still had hundreds of baby waxworms left so I mixed up a load more...
> Just hoping this cold weather hasn't killed them... Fingers crossed..
> 
> Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


I've put 4 weetabix and 2 spoons of honey and a little water and its not wet at all....fills about 2 inches up the jar so i think theres a lot to last them as long as it doesn't go mouldy (i dont think it will) so will see how i go, and top up if required.
hope the cold hasn't killed yours off : victory:


----------



## vukic

Artisan said:


> I've put 4 weetabix and 2 spoons of honey and a little water and its not wet at all....fills about 2 inches up the jar so i think theres a lot to last them as long as it doesn't go mouldy (i dont think it will) so will see how i go, and top up if required.
> hope the cold hasn't killed yours off : victory:


Mines a little bigger then that.. I used my old locust tub.. I use 12 weetabix and a jar of honey.. Lol.. My mantids and beardy loved it... Lol.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


----------



## LovLight

Never tried breeding waxies before but I think I might give this a go when I get home. :thumbup:

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Artisan

I has moths!!!  I put my waxies in on the 1st....and have 2 moths this morning....its taken 12 days :2thumb:


----------



## paul3col

I have a spare sweet jar so I will start mine tomorrow, great thread.


----------



## mad baboon

paul3col said:


> I have a spare sweet jar so I will start mine tomorrow, great thread.


cheers goodluck


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## katrina

I know this is an old post but i have tried this twice first time to soggy and didnt work but the second time worked perfectly i made the mixture up and left for about 9-10 weeks (i kind of forgot they were there) and broke up the mixture last night and found loads of little waxworms crawling around.


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## Artisan

Well I must have had a few dozen moths who died off a while back and its been about 7 weeks since I saw the first moths. Broke a little bit of the dried mixture up today but cant see any tiny waxies. Maybe they need a bit longer but I hope I do get some after all the waiting!


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## Sugar and Spice

Can a bigger container be used? I.e. a large faunarium stood upright?


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## vukic

Sugar and Spice said:


> Can a bigger container be used? I.e. a large faunarium stood upright?


you could use a 55 gallon water drum if you wanted... lol.. although you'd have to fill it with enough medium (honey/weetabix) i've got a 10 litre food container filled with about 3/6 inches of meduim, after putting one tub of waxies in last year and using some that i bred to feed my beardy mantis and supplying a mate with waxies i still have over 1-200 moths flying around for the next batch... doubt i'll ever need to buy waxies again.. lol


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## mad baboon

Artisan said:


> Well I must have had a few dozen moths who died off a while back and its been about 7 weeks since I saw the first moths. Broke a little bit of the dried mixture up today but cant see any tiny waxies. Maybe they need a bit longer but I hope I do get some after all the waiting!


i hope so too! when i first did it i was throwing the mixure out and as i was breaking it tiny tiny waxies were in the mixture so you may need to look REALLY REALLY close


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## stokiereptile

We used this method a couple of months ago and it worked a treat! Jars from a pound shop, morrisons own honey and wheatabix everything under £4. Left them in the reptile room and ended up with a jar full of lively wax worms. I did find that the tiniest amount of water (less than half a teaspoon) was enough as the honey bound everything nicely.


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## firefly19

I've just set up my first jar,is it ok to keep them in the airing cupboard?


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## pirate_paddler

Just found this thread and as i am wanting some moths for my frogs i thought i would give it a go, i have an old sweet tub which already has the lid sorted as i have kept mantids in it in the past. i don't have any weetabix in and being impatient i decided to use what i have so i have crushed some bran flakes i have for my mealies and mixed in some porridge oats along with the water and honey. i will leave it for a while and see what happens! fingers crossed.


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## mad baboon

stokiereptile said:


> We used this method a couple of months ago and it worked a treat! Jars from a pound shop, morrisons own honey and wheatabix everything under £4. Left them in the reptile room and ended up with a jar full of lively wax worms. I did find that the tiniest amount of water (less than half a teaspoon) was enough as the honey bound everything nicely.



nice, congrats on your success


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## mad baboon

firefly19 said:


> I've just set up my first jar,is it ok to keep them in the airing cupboard?


yeah that should be fine aslong is its not right next to the hot pipes


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## mad baboon

pirate_paddler said:


> Just found this thread and as i am wanting some moths for my frogs i thought i would give it a go, i have an old sweet tub which already has the lid sorted as i have kept mantids in it in the past. i don't have any weetabix in and being impatient i decided to use what i have so i have crushed some bran flakes i have for my mealies and mixed in some porridge oats along with the water and honey. i will leave it for a while and see what happens! fingers crossed.



hopefully let me know, honey is the main ingredient really as the wax worms naturally infest be hives


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## starsoryx

I have 2 wheatabix+water+honey mixture in my fridge 

I've got a few waxworms that are on their way to moths, so will chuck them in tomorrow with some card and tissue, I have a plastic jar which had bay leaves in it. 

Really excited :lol2:


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## mad baboon

starsoryx said:


> I have 2 wheatabix+water+honey mixture in my fridge
> 
> I've got a few waxworms that are on their way to moths, so will chuck them in tomorrow with some card and tissue, I have a plastic jar which had bay leaves in it.
> 
> Really excited :lol2:


good luck


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## starsoryx

Thanks  I've got about 3 or 4 moths now. Fingers crossed they're laying me plenty eggs!


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## HowseR21

Thinking about giving this a go, has anybody come up with a solution to them eating their way out of the tubs?

I don't want any escapees if I was to try this out


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## vukic

I use aluminum mesh... Then they only climb up high to pupate..

Sent from my ST26i using Tapatalk


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## HowseR21

vukic said:


> I use aluminum mesh... Then they only climb up high to pupate..
> 
> Sent from my ST26i using Tapatalk


And the larvae can't fit through the mesh?


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## vukic

Not that I've noticed... They don't tend to leave the medium while they're small... Only before they decide to pupate, From my experience... 

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## mad baboon

vukic said:


> Not that I've noticed... They don't tend to leave the medium while they're small... Only before they decide to pupate, From my experience...
> 
> Sent from my ST26i using Tapatalk


yeah just make sure the holes are not bigger than 1mm or so and you will be fine, as long as the air can move in and out of the tub it should be fine


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