Mealworms.................

[Dragon_Lover_85]

Ok so I have a few kg's of mealworms and they are breeding well beyond my useage.
How is best to store them or post them? any ideas?

 

[GeckoJosh]

Ok so I have a few kg's of mealworms and they are breeding well beyond my useage.
How is best to store them or post them? any ideas?

They seem to go alright in the fridge, it slows them right down.
Cant help with the postage but if its just over night postage you could just put them in take away container with really small holes and no bran, then just send in a postpack.

Thanks Gex

 

[Dragon_Lover_85]

Yeh I have tried them in the fridge, they seem to fry! They die and go black. Where am I going wrong? I have tried bran & no bran in the fridge and if I keep them out of the fridge well lets just say that 20kgs of bran doesnt last long with that many Not to mention they pupate really quickly.

 

[GeckoJosh]

Yeh I have tried them in the fridge, they seem to fry! They die and go black. Where am I going wrong? I have tried bran & no bran in the fridge and if I keep them out of the fridge well lets just say that 20kgs of bran doesnt last long with that many Not to mention they pupate really quickly.

Maybe the fridge temp is too low, they seem to do that ok at pet shops etc

 

[Dragon_Lover_85]

Yeh before I started breeding them I used to buy and keep in fridge with no dramas but for some reason the ones i breed die in the fridge

 

[thegatti]

They might be getting dehydrated in the fridge. You could take em out for a few hours and put a carrot in there. Let them get moisture from that and take the carrot out before putting them back into the fridge. I read that online somewhere

Btw birds love them. throw some in the yard and see if any galahs or magpies are interested.

 

[Sdaji]

When I have too many I cook them up and eat them. Yum! I don't keep as many lizards as I used to, so it's more common now than it used to be. Don't eat too many at once though, they are pretty rich. More than about 400g of them makes me feel a little overfed.

They're great on pizza, dry roasted (if you like you can then salt them and eat them like beer nuts - yum!), if you're a real gourmet they make brilliant pate, you can fry them and add them to fried rice (similar to the way you use chopped bacon)... lots of yummy possibilities, and they're very nutritious too.

Alternatively, they go nicely raw on ice-cream, or just eat them live on their own.

 

[Asharee133]

When I have too many I cook them up and eat them. Yum! I don't keep as many lizards as I used to, so it's more common now than it used to be. Don't eat too many at once though, they are pretty rich. More than about 400g of them makes me feel a little overfed.

They're great on pizza, dry roasted (if you like you can then salt them and eat them like beer nuts - yum!), if you're a real gourmet they make brilliant pate, you can fry them and add them to fried rice (similar to the way you use chopped bacon)... lots of yummy possibilities, and they're very nutritious too.

Alternatively, they go nicely raw on ice-cream, or just eat them live on their own.

Are you serious o.o...

 

[Sdaji]

Are you serious o.o...

Why wouldn't I be? I'm one of the people who slept through the day god gave out the memo which said it's okay to eat cows, pigs, chickens and sheep, but all other animals are poisonous. If someone wants to forward the memo on to me I'll change my behaviour accordingly, but until then, if it moves and isn't poisonous, endangered or human I'll eat it. It's funny when people say "Eww" to eating beetles or grubs then tuck into their prawns and calamari. Have you ever actually taken the time to look at a squid or prawn?

 

[otomix]

lol... People also eat snakes and reptiles as well though, and dog and cat. Where does one draw the line? But to be honest, good on you man. Have a silkworm for me. I hear they are good tucker over in SE Asia.

 

[guff_man]

Have you ever actually taken the time to look at a squid or prawn?

That actually totally makes sense, good on you for being brave mate. Im not so game though lol even though calamari is awesome im not eating bugs

 

[GeckoJosh]

Pics or it didn't happen Sdaji :lol::lol::lol:

 

[LILMUMMA_69]

i agree with geckoman!!! we want pics... PLZ!!!

 

[slim6y]

Why isn't rat on the menu of many fine Australian restaurants?

As for the mealworms...

Do they have to be live when they're fed? Can they be frozen? We do that to rats for snakes, how different is that for lizards?

I'm not suggesting this - I'm actually asking - why don't you freeze them?

Bloodworms freeze well and the fish love them....

Or - maybe that's an alternative - get large omnivorous fish and feed the mealies to them... Barra would love them!!!

 

[chondrogreen]

Pics or it didn't happen Sdaji :lol::lol::lol:

Sdaji has already posted pics once before.
I believe he used them over the top of ice cream just like nuts lol

 

[GeckoJosh]

Sdaji has already posted pics once before.
I believe he used them over the top of ice cream just like nuts lol

No worries, Im sure he wont mind posting them again :lol:

 

[Kristy_07]

I just read this thread to my partner, and we are going to buy some mealworms and eat 'em tomorrow

I'll post the pics - thanks for the eye-opener, Sdaji!

 

[Dragon_Lover_85]

Why isn't rat on the menu of many fine Australian restaurants?

As for the mealworms...

Do they have to be live when they're fed? Can they be frozen? We do that to rats for snakes, how different is that for lizards?

I'm not suggesting this - I'm actually asking - why don't you freeze them?

Bloodworms freeze well and the fish love them....

Or - maybe that's an alternative - get large omnivorous fish and feed the mealies to them... Barra would love them!!!

I dont know if you can with mealworms but I wont freeze any feeders for my reptiles as I have always been advised with rats and mice in particular that while the rodent is freezing it can expel a gas that can be fatal to your reptile. I am not saying this is true it is just what I am told and I assume that insects would be the same. I for 1 am not taking the risk its not worth it when you can make your own co2.

And yes large fish seem to love them I have a guy who gets them regularly off me and feeds them to his oscar

As for the birds lol is that why I have so many cockatoo's magpies and kookaburras hanging around.

OMG sdaji thats insane! I guess each to their own I myself do not eat seafood or bugs for that matter lol.

 

[Sdaji]

lol... People also eat snakes and reptiles as well though, and dog and cat. Where does one draw the line? But to be honest, good on you man. Have a silkworm for me. I hear they are good tucker over in SE Asia.

I see no problem with eating reptiles, dogs and cats. I haven't eaten dog, but if someone served it up I wouldn't be squeamish. I personally would have qualms about eating snakes in some circumstances, just because I like them and it wouldn't sit well with me, but if it was done humanely and sustainably I wouldn't stand in the way of other people who wanted to. I'll have an extra silkworm for you next time I'm eating them.

In years gone by I've posted several picture threads detailing my culinary adventures, and other people have posted pictures they've taken of me with some additional ones. The mealworms on ice-cream sounds familiar, I saw the pictures on APS but never had copies myself. If I remember correctly, a friend made me a bowl of ice-cream, mealworms, a raw egg and vinegar. I knew it would be great without the vinegar, but thought that would spoil it. I was very surprised, the vinegar actually made it quite nice and it was a very enjoyable dessert.

It doesn't tend to get noticed as much, but I'm also interested in eating a wide variety of unusual plants. I've been getting into rose hips, pyracantha, wild sorrel (I was eating it for a while before I had any idea what it was - I just started eating it because the chickens loved it so much I figured it must be safe), and old favourites such as lily pilly, sour sob, clover and other forbs. Some of the new ones I've tried recently have been pretty gross, like plaintain, and others like the sorrel have been excellent.

I'm not sure what this mysterious poison gas is that is expelled from frozen rodents, but like millions of other people I've been using frozen rodents for years without any trouble, and much of the meat and seafood at the supermarket has been frozen before you buy it. If you're talking about freezing rodents live, it's not going to do your snakes any harm and the mythical poison gas isn't going to show itself, but it's a horrible way for a rodent to die, so kill them before freezing purely for the rat's sake.

 

[Walker]

how do you bread them whats your set up if you dont mind me asking?