Farming Mealworms

Ok thank you

Whoot!! So I checked in on my mealies, and changed some of the bran and I found my first Aliein pod!!! lol Out of the 53 that I counted, I had one deceased worm, one pod, and one white white worm. I figure it was close to going in to its little pod form but I put it back with the other worms because it was still in worm form.
Was that the wrong thing to do? Should I have put it in with the pod? I didnt know, and didnt want to do it in case it ate the one in the cocoon. :?

White mealies are mealies that recently shed. Basically means it is growing. You'll notice when they are about to turn into pupae, because they will have a darker, rougher look to them, and you might be able to see weird ridges on them. Until they turn into pupae, keep them in with the rest.

How can you tell if a mealworm is turning into a pupae, or dying? They turn dark when they're dead too

Well, dead mealies turn black, and dead pupae are dark brown and hard. Live pupae are white and turn a beige-ish color, and live mealies are white or golden. Mealies just pupating will be a darker brown because they are about to shed a large piece of skin, and underneath is the white pupae.

Ooh okay, good! I have another question too.
I changed the bran today because when I check on them, and feed them now they're mostly all on top! I thought at first they were on top because I needed to change their bran and clear out some worm doody. But they're all on top again! And food I put in there is used for drinking and then climbing on. There are maybe ...10 or so that aren't on top.
They're all about an inch long now. So they've grown. But I dont think they've grown so much that I need to switch containers.
But, could I be wrong? If not, whats going on??? What should I do?

When they're on top, to my understanding, means they are happy and active. Mine usually do that when I bump up the heat.

Okay, thanks!! Thats a big reliefe. I wonder if it could be because I put them closer to a humidifier (humidifyer?? what a strange word).

Okay, I have one pod in a seperate container. My worms are all on the top of the bran in their container still, but today they've really stopped moving, a lot. They seem sort of stiff like, and most of them are curled in a C shape, or nearly. They're not eating any more, and I'm assuming they're starting their metamorphies in to pod stage. I wanted to make sure though, that my assumption was right lol 90% of the worms are all along the edges of the container, and only a few half out of the bran in the middle.
Are things still moving along well?

Alicat42 said:

Its roughyl 20 -25 * celsius, and 45 -50 * fahrenheit.

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That's not quite right.

20°c = 68°f
25°c = 77°f

Here is a good website for celsius to fahrenheit and vice versa conversion.
http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm
Just type in a number in either celsius or fahrenheit and then click somewhere else on the page (not on a link though).

Do you think I could use yellow corn meal for the bedding?

Yes but they do much better on wheat or oat bran.

yeah then we will try to get wheat or oat bran next time we go shopping

If you're keeping mealies in the fridge to keep them for longer, how often do you take them out to eat? I think I read once a week someplace, but I can't remember for sure.

Where do you buy live mealworms? I have asked pretty much ever pet store and none of them sell them. Does anyone know where I could buy them in Vancouver BC ?

Hmmm, petsmart usually has them live.

Have you tried looking in yellowpages for a reptile store? That's what I did to find a place to buy them, and they were MUCH cheaper than pet stores. I just got lucky, that where I live, there's a huge reptile place(they've got like 5 anacondas and 1 crocodile O.O), amongst other various smaller reptiles.

If you really can't find it, there are a few here who order them online by the hundreds. I'm sure someone here would have a link for you to take a look at.

The Petsmarts out here done sell any live food, no crickets nothing. I cant find any Reptile stores I don't think thats a big market out here. I emaild a guy off Craigslist that calls himself the Reptile Guy to see if her knows where I can get them.

If anyone on here buys or sells them and could give me a price that would be great too.

http://www.exoticnutrition.com/LIVE-INSECT.htm

you can order them online here.

Lilysmommy said:

If you're keeping mealies in the fridge to keep them for longer, how often do you take them out to eat? I think I read once a week someplace, but I can't remember for sure.

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For 24-48 hours every 1-2 weeks usually works.

M_Canadian said:

The Petsmarts out here done sell any live food, no crickets nothing. I cant find any Reptile stores I don't think thats a big market out here. I emaild a guy off Craigslist that calls himself the Reptile Guy to see if her knows where I can get them.

If anyone on here buys or sells them and could give me a price that would be great too.

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They might carry canned ones at the Petsmart, like most places do for canned crickets. They're not live, of course, but they're about the same and are still moist unlike freeze-dried ones. You might check there in the reptile section if you don't want to order online.
You might also check at some smaller pet stores if you have any around. It wouldn't necessarily have to be a reptile store specifically.

Alright, thanks Zalea.