# shelf life of live food



## Scott_83 (Sep 21, 2011)

How long does live food live for in?


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## Tombo46 (Aug 5, 2010)

Scott_83 said:


> How long does live food live for in?


Depends on what it is and how well it's being kept.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

yep,
mealworms will live for a month or so in the salad drawer of the fridge,
crickets/locusts need more care and fresh food to survive.


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## CPT BJ (Oct 30, 2010)

If you keep you're Crickets/Locust in a larger enclosure, i.e. a faunarium and feed them with foods like Lettuce, carrot etc... they will last much longer and be far more nutritious to whatever you feed them too.


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## SuperSpeedyWheels (Jun 23, 2011)

CPT BJ said:


> If you keep you're Crickets/Locust in a larger enclosure, i.e. a faunarium and feed them with foods like Lettuce, carrot etc... they will last much longer and be far more nutritious to whatever you feed them too.


This ^^

Crickets ive had adults go on for 1 month+
Locust about the same
mealworms...... forever
Morioworms... forever
Waxworms.. about a month before you start getting moth cacoons
Roaches... months


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

CPT BJ said:


> If you keep you're Crickets/Locust in a larger enclosure, i.e. a faunarium and feed them with foods like Lettuce, carrot etc... they will last much longer and be far more nutritious to whatever you feed them too.


I gutload by feeding them a pinch of fishfood or a few cat biscuits too, to add to their nutritional value.


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## Scott_83 (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks for advise ppl, i didn't realise u face to feed the food lol. also persuading my other half to let me keep the meal worms in the fridge is gonna b harder then buying her a bunch of flowers lol 

thanks ppl


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## snakeeyes21 (Nov 23, 2008)

Scott_83 said:


> Thanks for advise ppl, i didn't realise u face to feed the food lol. also persuading my other half to let me keep the meal worms in the fridge is gonna b harder then buying her a bunch of flowers lol
> 
> thanks ppl


you don't have to keep them in the fridge, they should last quite a while out
of the fridge, mine usually last a month or so, putting them in the fridge just 
slows down their life cycle..

I would just buy a large bag, say 500g, get mine from livefood direct,
www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk/Regular-Mealwormsbr-Size-20-25mm/products/1034/ 
put in to a tub with a bag of porridge oats.. tesco value 57p :2thumb: give them a 
bit of carrot now and again, and just let them do their thing, use some to feed 
with, the rest will turn in to beetles and breed, and you will have baby mealies, 
top it up with some new blood as you use up the larger worms and you should in 
theory after say 6 months have a colony that will sustain you in free mealworms

You could give the colony a helping hand to start, buy a bag of normal mealworms and
a bag of mini mealworms, and chuck them i together, the mini will grow as you use the
normal ones, some will turn in to beetles and breed and by the time all the mini ones have
grown your babies would have turned in to mini's and thus your cycle has a head start.

Read the stickies at the top of this part of the forum and get some waxworms and 
mealworms on the go


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