Mealworms??

[Miss B]

Just wondering if anyone knows how to keep mealworms alive longer?

Last weekend we bought a 100g tub of Pisces mealies from the pet store and have kept them in the fridge. As the beardies have only been getting a couple a day, we still have most of the tub left a week later. According to the label, they will last for approximately one week on the food supply in the tub.

Is there anything I can do to keep these little fellas alive longer? The tub cost $11 and at this stage most of them are going to end up wasted if I can't figure out what to do with them

Any advice appreciated!

[Reptile_Boy]

kep em in the fridge and when you need to feed a lizard take how many you need out let them awaken and put the rest back into the fridge

[ponybug]

get a bigger container, put some air holes in it like the container they come in, get some bran or bread crumbs, then tip the mealworms into the bigger container with the extra food, they will live for ages, i take mine out of the fridge once a week for a couple days, this gives them a chance to have a feed and keeps them going for ages,

[Miss B]

Yeah I've been keeping them in the fridge but the label says they have enough food to last them around one week. And I've already had them for one week. So I'm guessing they will start dying soon if I don't do something..?

[Miss B]

Hmm ok thanks Ponybug.

I've got a packet of 'Unprocessed Bran' which I use as a substrate in my cricket breeding tank. Would this be ok to put the mealies in?

[ponybug]

thats perfect miss b, thats what i buy,

[Miss B]

Awesome, thanks! So let's say I tip them into a bigger tub with some bran and keep them in the fridge for five days a week (and take them out for two days a week), they should last a while?

[ponybug]

thats what i do, others might do it differently, but it works for me, lol

[nuthn2do]

They are kept refrigerated to slow their metabolism so they don't morph to beetles. If you put them into the bran with some slices of carrot for moisture and keep them at about 28-30 they will breed like wildfire.

[Miss B]

Ok cool I will try that then.

Thanks guys!

Oh yeah, also, those of you who feed mealworms to your beardies - how many is ok per week? I always try to use the freshly shed or lightly coloured ones, and the beardies are 18 months old and 6 years old.

[Miss B]

Anyone?

[missing_linc]

I can't tell you how many a week to give your beardies but they should not be the main food source because they are too rich. Eight years ago we had a vitticepts hich seemed to be in good health - that is alert and active - but suddenly he became sluggish and his beard turne black and he seemed to want to sleep the whole time... then he died. He was my son's pet and we did not know what had gone wrong. Our vet did an autopsy and it was liver failure, he said from too much rich food such as mealworms. I only buy mealworms these days when the pet shop is out of woodies and crickets. Our henrylawsonii love lettuce but sometimes this needs to be waved in front of them to maske them take notice, but once they start eating it they devour it.

[Miss B]

Ok. He eats greens, veges and crickets mostly but I like to offer him mealworms as little treats (or in his salad) and I'm just not sure how many I should be feeding per week.

[Chris1]

my mealworms live forever, the bunch i have @ the moment are morphing very slowly into beeltes,....tehyre from the bunch i bought over a year ago that morphed and bred. i keep them in the spare room which seems alsmost as cold as the fridge these days,...

i just used a stainless steel tub with unprocessed bran, and no lid, i found with a lid moisture would build up, the bran would get sticky and theyd die. i give then a bit of cricket food or beardy pellets once a week (dry cat food is also fine) and a sliver of butternut pumpkin every second day, i use a potato peeler so its thin enough to dry out and doest get mouldy

at the age ur dragons are they should be eating 80-90% greens and veges, too much protien once theyve stopped growing isnt good for them.

mealies have a fat content of 17 percent which is alot fro an animal that doesnt process fat too well,...so i only use them as treats,..
(1-2 a week these days but uve seen how fat my dragons are)

[Miss B]

Yeah I've cut back on the crickets a bit and upped the salad.

Is five mealies per day still too much?