How to Breed/Keep Meal Worms
Written by scottology on December 30, 2009 – 6:38 am -
How to breed Meal Worms(Tenebrio molitor)- The information portrayed in this video works for me, but there are other tricks and methods used by others with equal results. =)
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Tags: 101, Amphibians, and, beetle, breed, breeding, dark, Darkling, feeding, food, for, how, Insects, keep, meal, mealies, Mealworms, molitor, pupae, pupate, Reptiles, substrate, Tenebrio, to, worms
Posted in Mealworms | 25 Comments »
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
It’s a good size but since they don’t use the verticle space it’s kind of a waste of space to use tall, heavy glass tanks.
By molomyotis on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
i have an extra 10 gallon tank is that good?
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
The babies are extremely tiny at first when they hatch, then in a couple weeks they will be like the normal size pet stores sell. I have read that they pupate after 1 month of being that big, and that seems right but it may go slower if you have lower temperatures. Same with the pupae, it usually takes about 2 weeks for the pupae to turn into beetles, but may take a little longer if the temps are lower. Supposedly the warmer without way overheating they are, the faster they will change/grow
By gotspotsleo on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
How long does it take to go from baby to pupa then to beetle
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
You cant really tell, because they are so extremely tiny and white/ light brownish color. They blend in with the oats substrate or sometimes they are stuck to the bottom of the container
By BaxHour on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
what do the eggs look like???
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
Apples will work, but they get moldy alot faster than the carrots so they will need to be replaced at least 1nce every day
By FoxyPate on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
can I put apple slices?
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
They need a source of water, like carrot slices or even water gell cubes (sold mostly for crickets so they don’t drown in water bowls) But not an actual bowl of water
By FoxyPate on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
do mealworms need water?
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
Haha that’s what I do now too, this video is 6 months old. I guess it’s time to re-do this vid….
By 7777dmith7777 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
screening the substrate and throwing it away ? You are tossing out hundreds of eggs and very small worms. I screen my poop into another bin and keep it in my basement and like once a month i re screen it and get hundreds of worms. It takes about 6 months to render the poop totally garbage.
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
Oh, sorry lol I meant that they won’t pupate when they are in the refrigerator. :] I got my mealies from Ghann’s cricket farm. Their website is ghanncom
By Auskan01 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
When you say that they don’t pupate if you refrigerate them, do you mean they don’t pupate WHILE they are refrigerated or that if they’ve been refrigerated they will NEVER pupate? I’m asking because I’d like to start my colony by purchasing mealworms at the pet store but they are all refrigerated. If they are never going to pupate, that would be a waste of start up money. If they’ll never pupate, where did you get your starter colony?
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
If you refrigerate meal worms, they wont turn into the pupae but if you keep them at room temps, they will turn into pupae in a few weeks depending on how warm it is in the room. Mine seem to always be turning into pupae really quick, and its really hot in the room. Then, the pupae will turn into beetles in about 2-3 weeks. Some beetles crawl to the surface but some stay burrowed under, I use a disposable spoon to dig for them
By samlool123 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
How long time are the worms in the worm stage before they turn into the next stage?
And for how long will they be in the cacoon thing?
And, whe they turn into next stage do they crawl to the surface? i can see some on the surface in the video, or do i have to dig after them?
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
Thank you. Yes you would,so now If I clean out the tub that the beetles are if I have been seeing them breed which they always do, I keep the “dirty” beetle substrate in a different bin for a couple weeks and wait until I see little mealies moving around there
By rommell83 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
Great video. Could you tell me when you sift for the worms. If you sift at the wrong time wouldn’t you lose your eggs? Thanks
By Thiswarisours56212 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
thanks lol
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
lol good luck :] I know what you mean about having to feed off the breeders
By Thiswarisours56212 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
i just started breeding them lol i have about 400-450 because 50 mealworms everyday go to the geckos lol. they’re in a 15 quart tub with carrots and a toliet paper roll thing.. i’m going to use your method
By Thiswarisours56212 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
you’d be surprised how many people don’t know what shoprite is lol
By BallPythonLuver on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
Thank you! Glad it helped. Wow, I guess alot of different animals can eat these guys.
By AlisaCarol on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
This was a very informative video…I am gonig to start raising meal worms for my chickens and you have the best informative video
Thanks
By Kpilot786457 on Dec 30, 2009 | Reply
wOW id do! i lve in MO!