Mealworm-itis

[Digger]

Gave Nikki a fat mealworm this evening rather than her regular cricket. Poor girl has been projectile vomiting ever since. What the heck does Pet Smart put in these things? Rat poison.

 

[Malakyoma]

Gave Nikki a fat mealworm this evening rather than her regular cricket. Poor girl has been projectile vomiting ever since. What the heck does Pet Smart put in these things? Rat poison.

I always gut load everything from the pet store. they don't treat any of their animals right even feeders. I raise my own mealworms now and haven't had a problem. Best of luck to Nikki to get better soon. I hear even more water than usual is a good idea when they're sick like this.

 

[Digger]

Hey Mike,

Yes, I always thoroughly gut load the feeder crix, but wouldn't know how to go about doing that with the mealworms. They come in a small container filled with a sawdust-type of media. I don't use mealies much because Nikki never went much for them and Ponder Nymph wants nothing to do with them. Nevertheless, they add variety if they're eaten. How would you suggest gut-loading mealies?

Thanks,

Digger

 

[Malakyoma]

Hey Mike,

Yes, I always thoroughly gut load the feeder crix, but wouldn't know how to go about doing that with the mealworms. They come in a small container filled with a sawdust-type of media. I don't use mealies much because Nikki never went much for them and Ponder Nymph wants nothing to do with them. Nevertheless, they add variety if they're eaten. How would you suggest gut-loading mealies?

Thanks,

Digger

Well I dont know how the sawdust (They use cornmeal here), would affect feeding them. I keep mine to raise and breed so I have plastic drawers filled with oats that they live in. I lay lettuce or celery on top and they come up to eat. Maybe Nikki would more enjoy the beetle they become? I know my majusculas do.

 

[Digger]

Ok. Maybe the medium is cornmeal. It looks somewhat like sawdust (but more course). So I'll dump that and put in replace with mix of oatmeal and fish flakes (same I use for crix). The mealies are packaged by Timberline Pet Foods in Marion IL.

 

[Malakyoma]

Ok. Maybe the medium is cornmeal. It looks somewhat like sawdust (but more course). So I'll dump that and put in replace with mix of oatmeal and fish flakes (same I use for crix). The mealies are packaged by Timberline Pet Foods in Marion IL.

They need a veggie otherwise they don't get any water and get dehydrated. they'll eat the oats when hungry and the lettuce or celery when thirsty.

 

[agent A]

old mantises that will die soon do this

seen it in odontomantis, creobroter, pseudoharpax, and hierodula

 

[lancaster1313]

Tenebrio molitor like dry oatmeal, some breakfast cereals, fish food, apple or potato slices, carrots, lettuce and many other fresh foods. I won't feed them anything with alot of moisture in it until I put them in a container that has good ventilation. Fruits and veggies get nasty very quickly in the pet store containers. I use dry oatmeal as a substrate and don't let it get wet. I only feed enough fruits and veggies as they will eat in less than a day. Every time the substrate gets wet, it has caused problems for me. They are so very easy to breed.

 

[sally]

i can not get my mantids to eat the mealies or the superworms. maybe they will like the beetles... i hope Nikki is ok

 

[Digger]

old mantises that will die soon do this

seen it in odontomantis, creobroter, pseudoharpax, and hierodula

Alex - soothsayer of Doom. But not here, my friend. We intend to BEAT the devil and or The Grim Mantid Reaper !!

 

[Ranitomeya]

Mealworms are often kept in wheat bran, which looks like coarse sawdust. To provide them with moisture, many places provide them with a piece of carrot or potato which is less likely to leave excess moisture in the wheat bran and cause mold. Either what the mealworms were given wasn't clean and had residual pesticides or what they ate doesn't agree with your mantis. I like to raise my own mealworms so I know what's going into them.

 

[Sticky]

I put in small pieces of apple sprinkled with bee pollen. But I buy superworms and roaches mostly. Im trying mealies bought from a small local pet store. I dont trust the big stores much.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Mealworms sound pretty easy as far as keeping an ongoing colony goes. I'm a little concerned, though, of them affecting/killing my future mantids. Does anyone know anything about this? Are mealworms "safe" after 1 generation of breeding? Do you need to mix in more mealworms from various sources later, to keep the population healthy and prevent inbreeding?

Some also say that mantids willingly eat mealworm beetles (Darkling beetle). Are Darkling beetles safe for mantids? Do they prefer them over mealworms?

(I'd appreciate if you could "QUOTE" my post so I see if you answer it. Thanks so much. )

 

[Sticky]

Mealworms sound pretty easy as far as keeping an ongoing colony goes. I'm a little concerned, though, of them affecting/killing my future mantids. Does anyone know anything about this? Are mealworms "safe" after 1 generation of breeding? Do you need to mix in more mealworms from various sources later, to keep the population healthy and prevent inbreeding?

Some also say that mantids willingly eat mealwo crunching them.rm beetles (Darkling beetle). Are Darkling beetles safe for mantids? Do they prefer them over mealworms?

(I'd appreciate if you could "QUOTE" my post so I see if you answer it. Thanks so much. )

I can answer part of your questions. Are the beetles safe, yes they are. Sometomes the superworms would get away from me and then later I would find the beetles ruuning loose so I put the. In with my bigger mantids. They grabbed them up and had a great time crunching them. They never suffered any problems from eating the beetles.

The only problems I noticed was the smell! The beetles put out a stink to try to protect themselves. Yuck! It did not stay for long.

 

[lancaster1313]

Mealworms sound pretty easy as far as keeping an ongoing colony goes. I'm a little concerned, though, of them affecting/killing my future mantids. Does anyone know anything about this? Are mealworms "safe" after 1 generation of breeding? Do you need to mix in more mealworms from various sources later, to keep the population healthy and prevent inbreeding?

Some also say that mantids willingly eat mealworm beetles (Darkling beetle). Are Darkling beetles safe for mantids? Do they prefer them over mealworms?

(I'd appreciate if you could "QUOTE" my post so I see if you answer it. Thanks so much. )

I have never had a problem with the Fluker's mealworms that I get from Pet Supermarket. I just buy a couple of tubs. One goes in the fridge to keep them from pupating so they can be fed to mantids. The other tub gets poured into a coffee can with about an inch and a half of dry oatmeal. I feed the ones in the coffee can an apple slice, carrot, piece of lettuce, etc. about once a week.

In a couple of months, I have more mealworms than I need and end up tossing some out for the lizards that hang out by the patio.

 

[kunturman]

I gut clean mealworms by offering banana, and apple skins, inside facing down. Substrate rolled oats "Quaker Oats".

About 1000 Kept in Rubbermaid shoe boxes at room temperature (78F) Adding a couple cuttle-bones, soft part facing down, is a great source of Calcium if mwrms are used for feeding vertebrates. Slice potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and zucchini are all great.

I like to pinch their head off before feeding them to mantids, bc they are capable of inflicting a nasty bite in small species. This pinching attracts their interest, by inviting, offering, them a taste of the juices coming out from the decapitated head.

Try using the newly molted, white looking, tender mealworms.

I mostly use mealworms to feed birds.