How do you all keep your meal worms as meal worms?

[Alexandra V]

I decided that I'd attempt to switch my larger T's onto mealworms, so I went out and got a container of them today. Now I know eventually they'll turn into darkling beetles, so my question is: is there any way to slow down their transformation into beetles? I've read on a website that sells feeders that you can keep them in the fridge and then take them out to warm up every month or so, or when you're going to feed them. Has anybody used that method?

Thank you!
I'm pretty new to mealworms (and pretty well any feeder insect aside from crickets... I got fed up of the noise and smell of the larger ones haha )

[llovelace]

I keep mine in a 2.5 gal tank with screen lid, just throw some quick oats in for beeding/feed, and put sliced potatoes or apples in every three days for moisture. They multiply quickly.

[Homegrownscales]

You can keep a group in a container in the fridge. Just take them out weekly for 24 hours to let them hydrate. And if you keep another group out on the counter or whatever. Lower Temps slow them down. So they'll turn quicker at room temps of like 85/90 compared
To 65/70. Keep some food and water source in there at all times and you'll be dandy.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[RichsBallPythons]

Here is a post that should help you out very well..


http://www.richsreptileforum.com/t10...-mealworms-101

[Alexandra V]

Great, thanks everyone! I'm not going to be able to feed off a good amount of them before they mature (I can only buy them by the hundreds, and I only have two - soon to be three - tarantulas that'll be big enough to eat them) so I'll go with the fridge option and warm them up every week.

[geckobabies]

I order between 50k and 100k mealworms at a time.. what I do is set them up in plastic bins with oat bran for bedding and place them into our reptile fridge. About once a week I bring them out to room temps and hydrate them with sweet potato for 24 to 48 hours and then remove the food and place them back into the fridge.

About a week before I want to feed them to my geckos I bring them out of the fridge and gutload them with apples, sweet potato, veggies and then I place them into a calcium dish inside my geckos cage to be consumed.

I also buy some a few sizes smaller then what I need since no matter what you do they will grow. That way you will have a pretty constant supply as you feed off the size you need and the smaller ones are growing until you need them. Helps when you buy in bulk