(09-04-2012, 12:06 AM)Ram Wrote: Mealworm is a common live food used in feeding pet birds and reptiles. They are quite available from many places. However they have a limited usefulness before they turn into their adult form - mealworm beetle.

For those people who have used mealworm quite often, how long before your mealworms turn into beetles?
What can you do to slow their growth without reduce their nutritious value?
What are some warning signs that the worms will start to turn?
What do you do with the mealworm beetles?

By the way in your opinion, are canned mealworms as good as live mealworms? They claim to be better than freeze dried which I know it's not as good as live worms.

(09-05-2012, 04:54 AM)amanda509 Wrote: unlike crickets, the beetles will not eat their young..i feed mine oatmeal and carrots :3

(09-05-2012, 05:35 AM)Thor Wrote: A couple months ago I bought some mealworms to feed a bird. The very next day I saw a beetle in the worm colony, and it was chewing on a mealworm. I did not know it was a mealworm beetle right away and I thought it was some kind of insect somehow got into the colony and it was eating my worms. It was confirmed as a mealworm beetle after I looked up on the internet and found a photo of it.

Although it can be an isolated case, that one beetle did chew on its own species.

Usually we have so many worms in a single colony, it is hard to notice a pupae or two until we see the beetle.

(09-05-2012, 04:54 AM)amanda509 Wrote: i actually have a mealworm colony going at the moment, i started with adult worms, but it takes a few weeks until they even reach a large enough size to turn into beetles. i havent noticed any warning signs though, one day theyre worms, the next their pupae...then in a couple days, you got a beetle! the beetles can then be fed off, or kept in the colony to keep the life cycle going unlike crickets, the beetles will not eat their young..i feed mine oatmeal and carrots :3

the mealworms can be kept in the fridge to slow their growth..they last a long time in there lol. not sure about the canned worms though, ive always used live.

(09-05-2012, 08:05 AM)Ram Wrote: Do you mean you feed the mealworm beetles to your pet lizards too?
Do they fly?
How long do they live?

Since you have the cycle going on in your mealworm colony, could you please from now on pay a little more attention on the newly hatched worms to see how long before they become beetles?

Is your colony sustainable with that many mouths (of leopard gecko and others) to feed?

Got a photo of the colony to share?

(09-05-2012, 01:37 PM)Fishbone Wrote: I didn't know they came in. different colors, I've only ever seen the dark ones. Though I've never tried to bred them, I just feed. I've got a few leopard geckos that really like the pupating worms more than the normal mealworms though.

(09-05-2012, 10:26 PM)Thor Wrote: The beetles I had were black ones. I was feeding the mealworms with some tree leaves at first, until I heard they are usually given oatmeal. Oatmeal is quite dry, I do not know how the worms can manage without take in water.

Research is always fun. You might as well run a mealworm farm for your future reptile shop.

(09-06-2012, 07:08 AM)Thor Wrote: Why are you giving them carrots and apples? Too good for some worms.

I just gave them some banana skin and tree leaves. They also eat fresh cut grass from the lawn. If you are going to run a mealworm farm to mass produce them for your reptile shop and the shop's customers, you probably do not want to feed them human grade fruit and veggie. It shots up the cost. These mealworms go for only $9.99 for each 1,000 worms from online vendors.