My husbandry is off...

[LadyJ]

Okay, there's something wrong with my husbandry... of mealworms! I think I've done something wrong... I gutload them on apple, carrot, whatever else is around, had them for months now and usually I have handfulls of worms and those larvea things... but not lately.

I guess they're not breeding... but why not? I have hundreds of beetles... and not a single worm. :cry:

 

[Echiopsis]

The beetles are the ultimate stage, as beetles they breed and die, they dont change into worms....

 

[LadyJ]

The beetles are the ultimate stage, as beetles they breed and die, they dont change into worms....

I know, whoops, didn't mean it to sound like they 'change' into the worms somehow. What I meant to say is they're not breeding?

 

[beeman]

they need a warm environment for the eggs to hatch

 

[LadyJ]

they need a warm environment for the eggs to hatch

Thought so - I'll pop them on top of the warm enclosure and see what happens.

 

[Tikanderoga]

Apples?

Try potatoes.

I've bred mealworms when I was a teenager for fishing and my hill myna.
I fed them on old bread and potatoes, once in a while carrots.
As base I used wheat bran - worked like a charm and I had mealworm with no end.

Basically ANYTHING with starch in it seems to be suited for them.

 

[LadyJ]

Apples?

Try potatoes.

I've bred mealworms when I was a teenager for fishing and my hill myna.
I fed them on old bread and potatoes, once in a while carrots.
As base I used wheat bran - worked like a charm and I had mealworm with no end.

Basically ANYTHING with starch in it seems to be suited for them.

Yup, have a large tub with a few inches of bran and then chuck in carrots and apples. Didn't look much into what to feed them (to be honest they just get my shingleback's left-overs) and although they dispose of all the apple I offer, I will start giving them potato.

Cheers.