# First MealWorm farm help :)



## ScaledJoe (Apr 15, 2010)

Hey guys.

I thought to myself today. Im going to make a mealworm farm, so i emptied the rest of my mealworm family ( naww, how cute ) into a large Icecream tub, I used Cornflakes and Oats at the bottem  I've counted whats in there and I have

8 Beatles
3 Mealworms
15 Aliens

Is this a good start off point? 
How long before I get me some babies 

I dont have any eggs in there as only one beetle is completly black, and i only just got the beetles ( it's the reason i started my farm )
Thanks alot 
-Joe


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## Krocodyle (Mar 14, 2010)

Simple answer is NO! :lol2: You need a Tub at the very very least, i don't know what your requirements are but you need 

Good Ventilation
Stale Bread for laying eggs
Carrot slices once a week over night for Moisture
Add some Cheap Dog biscuits like Asda's own to the mix
Get some Bug grub and Calcium Powder for Gut Loading
And PATIENCE 
My Setup is a 4x 1x 2x FT Vivarium next to the Radiatior i started off with 4 Box's of Mealworms and have about 500 Beetles now and the Substrate is Physicaly moving with the quantity of young. There VERY VERY small so you won't notice them at first .


If you only want a small culture id just buy 2 Tubs of Mealworms and put the lot into a Large Sandwitch box pick out any Pupae "ALIANS" and Put them in a seperate empty tub and then put them back when they finish changing and drying out. 

Full grown Beetles will suck the Moisture out of the Pupae killing them or causing Difformities

Hope this helps a lil


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## ScaledJoe (Apr 15, 2010)

I have got good ventilation, I have got almost stale bread and a nice slice of carrot in there
The aliens are pretty much beatles anyways, they have there little orange legs


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## Krocodyle (Mar 14, 2010)

Sorry if i came across a lil rude  Stubbed my toe so i was a lil hot headed :whistling2:

Yeh id stick it all together and grab a few more tubs, pick up the Darkest worms you can they tend to turn more orange before they turn into the Pupae

I forgot to mention stick an Egg crate in the beetles will gather off the Substrate and on the Bread to Mate, its quite obviouse when there mating  make sure to take any dead out of the Tub


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## ScaledJoe (Apr 15, 2010)

Its fine  your being very very helpful.
I'm off to sleep now anyways, thanks a lot for awnsering my questions 
Will let you know how they come on 

- Joe x


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

You will need loads of patience, it takes months from aliens to a good size mealie that you can feed. I started breeding my own back in December & it is only now they are big enough to feed to my Leo's :2thumb:. I use 2 small faunariums, one has aliens & beetles in & the other has eggs/tiny mealies in. As the mealies get upto a good size i put them into livefood tubs ready to feed.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

I have uber basic set ups, plastic tub with cereal in the bottom, sprinkle of puppy food on top and veg (usually shredded Carrot, what little is left that isn't eaten dries out and mixes into the substrate so I don't have to mess about trying to take out old beg) every other day or so. That is all, beetles, mealies, aliens and eggs stay in the same tub in the same substrate, kept just above room temperature (mine are kept on top of a digi box!) and humidity kept to a minimum. Quick growing and easy breeders, never had a problem. Takes a couple of weeks from new beetle to eggs, then a further week or so for hatchling mealies. I would recommend getting a tub (100-150g) of adult and medium mealies and adding them in just to get the colony started so you never run out of beetles. : victory:


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Krocodyle said:


> Simple answer is NO! :lol2: You need a Tub at the very very least, i don't know what your requirements are but you need
> 
> Good Ventilation
> Stale Bread for laying eggs
> ...


I breed several thousand mealworms a week, and with the exception of the patience, you don't need most of the things you suggest! :gasp:

When I started breeding mealworms, I put 20 aliens in an ice cream tub, and got plenty of babies.

Due to scale, I now use 33l plastic tubs for my colonies. The only thing they need, is porridge oats. They will use this for food and egglaying. Use a 2 inch deep layer.

For moisture I infrequently (twice a month if they're lucky) chuck in a sliced up potato. I find it best to use thick slices as they come out easily. As there's little moisture in the setup, there's little chance of mould, so I leave the lids on. They are opened every couple of days to get mealworms out.

I run a colony for a year, and then clear it out. I have no problems with mealworms or beetles attacking the aliens, and the babies keep coming!

I have four colonies, and clean one out every three months as it takes a while to get them going again.

I find more oats are needed once or twice during the twelve months.

The advantage of this system is I always have hundreds of mealies of whatever size I need which are ready gutloaded. Because the colonies are so big, I always miss taking out enough mealies to give a constant supply of beetles and aliens.

It takes three to four months to get usable mealies. If you keep them at room temp they do better than too warm or too cold.

Hope this helps.: victory:


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## Krocodyle (Mar 14, 2010)

Grond said:


> I breed several thousand mealworms a week, and with the exception of the patience, you don't need most of the things you suggest! :gasp:


My Guidance was based on my Experiance More Beetles = More Worms, Gut loading cannot be done with oats alone, i prefer to supplement there growth for the health of my reptiles using Calcium and a Bug Grub. I Use Carrot over potatoe because it dosn't go moldy. And the bread i use because Mealworms seem to solo it out to Pupate on making them easier to remove.

My Guidance was for the health of the reptile and the additional steps are only slightly more expensive. As said above "You Don't Need Most" of what i suggested but most good guides will tell you 2 because it makes the job easier and maximises output.


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## virginbudge (Apr 9, 2010)

here's one for you as a beginner i will be keeping a rankin and have been told by the breeder that he feeds them mealworms all the time what i forgot to ask ive been told that i will need to squish the heads of the worms as they could eat their way back out or do rankins acctually chew their food ?????:2thumb:


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## Krocodyle (Mar 14, 2010)

Dependant on the Dragon, to be on the safe side i would squash them, its more Morio worms and other larger thicker Worms that arn't killed staght away by the digestive fluids that bite at the stomach, Also worms can be quite fatty so i wouldn't feed just worms, a stable diet is Crickets Worms and Locusts at later ages, im sure your aware that Rankins are Omniverouse and require Veg too


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## virginbudge (Apr 9, 2010)

yes i know they eat veg i spoke to the breeder and he said the stable diet for his are the worms with only the occasional cricks


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## ScaledJoe (Apr 15, 2010)

That's all I needed to know 
Thanks to all who contributed 

Close please  x


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## Grond (Jun 17, 2008)

Krocodyle said:


> Gut loading cannot be done with oats alone,


I gutload all my mealworms with oats alone. If you read on the bag of oats and the bag of progrub, the analysis of protein/carbohydrates/fat etc is almost identical. The progrub just costs more. As the mealworms are regularly dusted with calcium and vitamins before feeding, the lizard gets all he needs.

I'm not saying it can't be done other ways, but for me simple is best. I agree that more beetles produce more mealworms, as I said my colonys are in very large containers, and provide me with thousands of mealies a week! :2thumb:


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