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Lex123   Cold Blooded Kisser   Lex123   Superwormbreeder  
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 #2057617


Lex123
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 The Whole Cycle?

How long does the whole cycle, beginning to end, of breeding mealworms take? How long do the beetles live? Thanks!
08/15/09  02:53pm

 #2060795


Cold Blooded Kisser
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   Message To: Lex123   In reference to Message Id: 2057617


 The Whole Cycle?

Hi Lex123,

I would say depending on the temperature in your area it could take anywhere from 2-3 months. Let me try to break it down for you...........

It took about 2-3 weeks for the meal worms I bought to become larvae.

It takes about 1-2 weeks for the larvae to become a beetle.

It took about 3-4 weeks before I was able to see the baby mealies, they’re so tiny.

It takes about a month before the mealies are big enough to be fed to my leos.

I have been breeding mealies for about 6 months and I have only had maybe 5 beetles die. I have a colony of I would say 150 beetles. I have had so much meal worms from this colony that I stopped letting them go to larvae and have had to separate some mealies, storing them in the fridge. That’s with having a lot of reptile mouths to feed (6 leos).

Hope this info helped you.

Holly
08/20/09  09:13am

 #2061580


Lex123
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   Message To: Cold Blooded Kisser   In reference to Message Id: 2060795


 The Whole Cycle?

So, about how many baby mealworms should I get from 10 female beetles? Do they turn to larvae faster if they are kept at higher temperature? Can I just feed squash to the mealworms?
08/21/09  03:03pm

 #2065531


Superwormbreeder
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   Message To: Lex123   In reference to Message Id: 2061580


 The Whole Cycle?

You will get hundreds. I tested with one beetle alone on how many mealies she would have, and she had at the least, 50-80

So you can multiply that by ten!

Squash is good for mealies. I believe they seem to like it, and there are no casualties from feeding them this.

I believe they do turn into pupae quicker if they are kept at higher temperature. But be sure not to go too high over 70 degrees or they can die.
08/30/09  06:01pm


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