Hey. Around 3 days ago, I ordered 500 mealworms online to start my breeding project after quitting on my cricket breeding project. Yesterday, they came to my house (it was around 78 degrees outside) and when I opened them, most were dark brown and mostly all of them werent moving unless i poked them. So I figured they must have been heated up too much so I put them in the fridge for a couple of hours and put them in my racks filled with an inch of oatmeal as the substrate and a small piece of apple in the middle. Today, I wake up and they majority are still dark brown and mostly all of them are still not moving unless they are poked. Are they dying? How can I fix this? Or are they turning into a cocoon?...I also thought that mealworms speed up growth when they are in warm temperatures? (I contacted the seller and he said that he will send me 300 mealworms as an apology for what happened on monday) Also, when I quit my cricket breeding project, I had extra new Cricket Water Pillows left. Can I use them for my mealworms for hydration with the apples? Thanks Also, when I looked this morning on one of the racks, the very bottom had sandy oatmeal which I cleaned out. How did this happen? Can you guys help me out? Thanks
do u have the mealworms in a glass aquarium? because ive had them burrow out of just about everything else, that might explain the loose oatmeal. and you need to slice up some potatoes and stick them in there. they are either dehydrated or about to molt or the colony might be diseased possibly. you jus need to hydrate them and gutload them and see how things go
No, Im not using a glass aquarium. Im using 3 of the one gallon ice cream tubs. Also, can I use water pillows for mealworms?
if the ice cream tubs arent plastic then they will chew through.... and they dont need "Water pillows" wow... just slice up a few potatoes. thats all they need
Not sure what could be the problem... I know mealworms aren't the most lively things anyway but normally they do move. You may have been sent some worms pretty close to metamorphis... normally they will sit curled up a bit and not move much at all. As said above just feed them, keep them fairly warm and see what happen... they might start turning into beetles meaning you can breed them . You don't need water pillows or anything like that, sliced fruit and vegetables offer them the moisture they need. Hope this helps
could be that there about ready to shed. i buy mine in small ammounts in lil cups and leave them at the window weres its about 60 to 70 degrees. mine too wont move till poked or such....think of it as a snake shedding they get verry inactive during that period. after a while when mine are gutloaded they shed there skin and turn a soft new white color and are sorta more active. good luck
it sounds like they were too dehydrated and partially cooked they grow faster in warmth but too much heat can kill them also when they were shipped to you was there any ventilation for the worms? they could be suffering from oxygen depravation
