Care Sheet for Mealworms,Wax Worms,SuperWormsAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.52 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 09/07/2003 |
Main Category: | Misc |
Sub Category: | Mealworms,Wax Worms,SuperWorms |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Tim Defrees |
Years Experience: | 10 to 15 Years |
Species: | Mealworms |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | N/A |
Sexing and Characteristics: | You should start out with a few hundred large mealworms or mealworm beatles in order to get a good mix of the sexes,I have yet to tell male beatles from the females. |
Mostly Active During: | Both |
Substrate and Water Needs: | I use Wheat Chex or Branflakes for substrate .It is so much cheaper than Wheat Bran and is easier to remove the baby mealworms from than Wheat Bran or Oatmeal.You want your substrate to be around three inches deep in order to keep your beatles from eating their eggs. The beatles will lay their eggs right in the substrate,no special materials are needed. |
Lighting and UVB: | Lighting is not nessesary although heat is verry important . |
Temperatures and Humidity: | These guys thrive well at room temperatures between 70*and 80* .I keep my reptile room at about 76*.I use quartered potatoes and fruit to keep my beatles and mealworms hydrated. |
Heating and Equipment: | I don’t use any heating devices or special equipment to keep my colonies warm. |
Caging Provided: | My mealworm cages are just some of those three drawer plastick stackable storage containers with the slide out drawers.You can also use the Steralite (or the alike ) plastick containers. The mealworms and beatles can not climb out if you use a tall enough box ,and the beatles don’t seam to be able to fly.I have forgotten to replace the lid on a Steralite box many times after messing with my beatles. |
Diet: | Herbivorous |
Description of Diet: | Your beatles and/or mealworms will eat the Branflakes or Wheat Chex that you use for substrate,but you should also provide fresh potatoes or fruit every few days.This will provide a drink for the insects as well as vitamins for your insect eating reptiles. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | |
Maintenance: | Replacing dried or rotten potatoes and fruit is about the only maintenance that you will have for a while. After 4 to 5 weeks or so ,the beatles will start dieing of. I try to do a routine check as I am replacing fruit and potatoes ,and remove all the dead beatles at this time. |
Some Words on this Species: | The hardest part about breeding and raising mealworms is waiting to see the tiny tiney babies moving around in the substrate for the first time.
I have found that mealworms are far easier to breed than crickets ,and they don’t have any smell to them either. |
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