Breeding Mealies

[pawsfoot]

So I'm starting to breed mealies and I got about 100 large that I'm going to try and breed and 1000 medium that I'm going to feed off before I can get my colony up and running. I have a 7 drawer tupperware thing that I have them in. Only one drawer is occupied at the moment because I have no beetles to breed yet. I just want to clarify some things. They are kept in about 1" of gutload that I bought from Timberline Fisheries, there are several slices of potatoes in with them. When they turn into beetles do they still need to be on gutload and have potatoes or carrots for moisture? I know I am supposed to rotate them about every 10 days to a new tub. Is it ok if I put the eggs and gutload in with the mealies I already have or will the melaies eat the eggs? Do they need to be heated up to grow into mealies from eggs? I hear of people sifting the beetles and larvae out of the gutload, what kind of sifters does everybody use? How often do the beetles die? Do they need to be kept warm to lay eggs? I think that's all I have for now. Thanks for any help.

 

[pawsfoot]

Please someone help. I'm afraid I may have beetles any day and that I won't know what to do.

 

[SirKevin]

Sounds like you're making it pretty complicated...heh.

Firstly, are your aliens (pupating worms) separate from the worms? They should be; and similarly the beetles should always be separate from the worms.

Once they turn into beetles, just put them in the container you want the eggs laid in. If you're starting with no beetles, depending on how quickly they pupate I'd say anywhere from 3 weeks to a month is a reasonable amount of time to let them lay eggs, then you can move the beetles on to the next laying container (assuming you haven't already seen hatched baby mealies).

Your setup sounds fine; maybe add a bit more gutload/bedding as they can have a lot of babies...heh.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

At $4.50/1,000... I'd rather buy them! LOL!

 

[eyelids]

At $4.50/1,000... I'd rather buy them! LOL!

True... It's interesting to see the whole process of larva to pupae to beetle and free food is cool too. I keep my process simple... Say I just ordered a 1000... I take 50 or so and throw em' in my male incubator and within a few days they've pupated. Then I throw em' in some gutload. Once they turn into beetles I throw in some sliced potato for moisture. I leave the uneaten potato in there because they seem to like hiding under the petrified spuds. About every 3 weeks I clean out the beetles and move em' to some fresh gutload to start a new batch. After the beetles are out I sift the gutload with an old school metal flour sifter. I'd guess there's usually 3000-5000 little mealies there. I throw em' in the male incubator for a week and I get 1/2-3/4 inch mealies ready for the babies. I've been using this method since I got my first hatchlings back in June and it works great.

 

[pawsfoot]

So I'm not really sure what the pupae look like. All the mealies look the same to me, some a little different in color than others. I guess that means no pupae yet. When I see pupae I will put them in their own container. Thanks for the help.
Marcia, for some reason I end up paying out the butt for worms. I can only find a few places that have small supers and I feed my baby leos those too so I order my mealies and supers form the same place. My last order of 1000 mealies and 500 small supers was $46 and it will only last me a month. That was the reason for trying to breed them.
Thank you everyone for the advice. I will try everything you guys told me and see where itgets me, I hope I get some baby mealies eventually.

 

[eyelids]

Mealworm pupae pics

That's way too much to be paying! I highly recommend www.reptilefood.com!

 

[pawsfoot]

O wow thanks, I never realized reptilefood had small supers. I may just scrap the whole idea of breeding them then. It makes life way too complicates having to move the pupae and then the beetles and I just don't like to touch them that much. I use an old pair of hemostats that I bought when I first started going to nursing school. I knew they'd come in handy some day. HAHA. THanks for everything guys.

 

[brandy101010]

O wow thanks, I never realized reptilefood had small supers. I may just scrap the whole idea of breeding them then. It makes life way too complicates having to move the pupae and then the beetles and I just don't like to touch them that much. I use an old pair of hemostats that I bought when I first started going to nursing school. I knew they'd come in handy some day. HAHA. THanks for everything guys.

I don't think it is much trouble breeding them. I actually find it very easy and somewhat enjoyable. But then again... I like bugs and have no problem touching them at all. I guess if you are afraid of bugs it would be a lot of hassle. lol

 

[pawsfoot]

I guess I'll see how fast they grow. If I have beetles before I feed them all out then I probably will just go ahead and breed them. I have a million birds around here and I'm sure they wouldn't mind the extra treat if I have too many mealies. I guess it's also not so much that I'm afraid, as much as it is that I'm just grossed out by touching them. Either way most of the time I have no problem and I just suck it up and get things done. HAHA. Spiders on the other hand would be a different story. I am definitely afraid of them. I run like a little girl when I see spiders, LOL.

 

[boutiquegecko]

Marcia-where are you getting mealies at that price?

 

[Juraki]

I guess it's also not so much that I'm afraid, as much as it is that I'm just grossed out by touching them. Either way most of the time I have no problem and I just suck it up and get things done. HAHA. Spiders on the other hand would be a different story. I am definitely afraid of them. I run like a little girl when I see spiders, LOL.

Aw that just means you need one as a pet, I used to be a full blown arachnophobe, now I own 35 or so. Heck of a u-turn eh? They actually make SWEET pets, especially if you are already into exotic herps, way less work than you can imagine. Tarantulas... now THAT's where the extra mealies can go, they love em too, you would absolutely giggle at the sight of an L.parahybana with 4 squirming mealies greedily stuffed in it's fangs. LOL or maybe it's just me... oh well.

 

[KellyTCS]

Free food is the best! I only wish I could get free food for myself. LOL

 

[pawsfoot]

NO WAY. Spiders are not my thing. My brother had one as a pet the whole time I was growing up and he tortured me with that thing. I would wake up and it would be in my room and he would tell me that it would bite me and kill me. I just dont like them. Not even teeny tiny ones.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Marcia-where are you getting mealies at that price?

I know Im not Marcia lol

But Grubco is $42.95 for 10,000 to most areas, NY worms $48 for 10,000 if I rememebr right, both shipped ground.

My last order was from reptilefood.com, around $55 for 10,000, they are a little higher but they came overnight (not ground) and I felt like I had twice the qty for 10,000 than my usual order from grubco.