Help needed for breeding feeders

Discussion in 'Feeder Forum' started by VividDragon, Apr 10, 2009.

  1. VividDragon

    VividDragon New Member

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    116
    ok I wanted to try my hand at breeding feeders to cut cost (already got my veggie garden started) I went to the pet store and asked for large mealworms and the gave me a tub that said superworms on it..I'll post some pics because I have no clue if there really big meal worms or there superworms...any who I have the big worms (2in) in some plastic babyfood tubes and normal mealworms in a big bin all are on oatmeal with some sweet pototaos bits. Do they have to be kept heated like crickets?

    As far as the crickets I have them in a plastic tub on playsand and a heating pad..I can see condensation on the side of the tub is this bad? They are chirpping up a storm for the past week...how long before I should pull them out? Do I keep the sand on a heating pad or just the crickets? Sorry I know this is a lot of questions but I'm new so I need some help starting out...thank you all so much!

    Superworm or mealworm?
    [​IMG]

    Mealworms..is it ok to keep them together till they turn into the alien looking things?
    [​IMG]

    Here are my crikets there are like 2 males and 8 females
    [​IMG]
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. justkev

    justkev Hi :) Staff Member

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    the top pic is a superworm.. they are not really hard to breed.. it just takes several steps... and some time.

    mealworms are a no-brainer.. feed them well and they will eventually turn to beetles... cycle the beetles through a few trays and in no time you have a nice stock of worms of varied size.

    The problem with doing crickets that way is that there is no easy way to remove the small crickets off the sand. an easier way is to keep the crickets in a clean dry bucket, tupperware etc.. and then place a small shallow deli cup with substrate for them to lay eggs in. once you have eggs in the dish or deli cup remove it for incubation, when they hatch put the delicup in a clean dry cage..
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. VividDragon

    VividDragon New Member

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    Great! Thank you for the tips! Now can I keep my mealworms together or do they have to go in single space like the supers?
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    i just keep my mealies all together, i dont bother seperating them, some people do but i dont see the point. make sure not to give them too much moisture or you could get mold and/or mites
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. VividDragon

    VividDragon New Member

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    Thanks for the tips :D
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Crazy4Herps

    Crazy4Herps Hooked on Reptiles

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    Looking good!
    Yes, condensation with crickets is very bad. Try cutting more holes in the container.
    Here is something I made for my crickets that helped keep it dry.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Seems like you've got a good start with the crickets and worms, but if it's not too late, I highly suggest dubia roach breeding. Now that I'm used to dubias, I can't stand crickets. Dubias don't smell, make any noise, and are really durable, as long as they are provided with heat and a bit of humidity. (Thus, if they escape, they won't infest your house.) They are also relatively easy to breed, though they require at least 90* to breed effectively. Yes, they are a bit pricey originally, but I love them.
    I got mine from The Roach Guy (www.theroachguy.com), and reccommend him.
     
  12. VividDragon

    VividDragon New Member

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    116
    Thanks for the pic's and the great info...as far as the roaches :D ...can't do it...I am deathly scared of 2 things roaches and spiders :) :) ...like panic attacks...so will have to stick to the stinky crickts, mealworms, and supers
     
  13. justkev

    justkev Hi :) Staff Member

    Messages:
    499
    If you could overcome your fear of roaches.. they would really be a great choice... the only downside being it takes a while to raise a colony to a size where you can have an endless supply of all sizes.

    mealworms are by far the easiest and if you can find it (good luck), use cricket chow as a substrate for them instead of oatmeal or bran.

    Since you are growing a garden.. you may also want to look into vermicomposting.. this would give you some natural foods.. earth worms and phoenix worms (soldier fly maggots).
     
  14. asiandude

    asiandude New Member

    Messages:
    107
    I been breeding mealworm from quiet some while now.

    you can check my vid: I make process of my breeding.

    youtube.com/asiandude666


    Super are hard to breed as when they come out....most of them are deformed but I managed to breed some.
     
  15. justkev

    justkev Hi :) Staff Member

    Messages:
    499
    You may need to increase the humidity of the pupae.. if it is too low the beetles will come out with deformed shells and wings.

    If you incubate them in damp natural saw-dust.. you will almost alway have perfect beetles.

    You really need many hundred beetles at all times to create a sustainable colony.

    ---

    Fanstastic videos asiandude... you can breed many many thousands of mealworms that way. You need about 8 trays.. so it may be better if you use the trays that are not so tall but are a little bit wider.

    ---

    If you do superworms...

    a "trick" to save hours of time.. is to build a small cage out of 1/8 inch wire mesh about half the size of your trays. construct a small door in the top.

    place ALL of your beetles in this cage.

    Put the cage with the beetles in tray 1 for 1 week.. then move the cage to tray 2. then a week later in tray 3... etc etc replace dead beetles with new beetles as needed...

    by doing it this way.. you will always have trays of all sizes of superworms... and you no longer have to hand pick each beetle out.
     
  16. VividDragon

    VividDragon New Member

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    116
    WOW supers sound pretty tuff...I have 11 mealworm larva now...supers still have not changed. I do hace a cricket question...I put deli cups with potting soil down in the bow and saw them laying eggs in it...how long do I wait before I pull it from the box...and where do I go from there?

    The first on I left in there for about 10 days..pulled it and set the deli cup on a heating pad (soil temp is about 91) the soil drys out pretty fast I try and mist it 1-2 times a day...is this right? How long untill I should see babys?
     

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