Superworm Breeding

[fuzzylogix]

thought i posted this yesterday, but can't find it...

so here's a few quick pics of my superworm breeding project so far. started slow but its taking off very quickly now. feel free to ask any questions or give any advice. thanks.

tub with about 2000 supers in it now. ground up oatmeal as substrate.

seperated individuals to stress them into pupation.

"alien" pupa with a fresh beatle

beatles nom nomming

so the beatles mate and die, and pretty much every other day or so i sift out the oatmeal from the beatles container. this seperates any eggs and they go back into fresh ground oatmeal. when the eggs hatch they are very tiny and they stay seperated until they are large enough to start the process all over again.

 

[fuzzylogix]

lol, sorry, "Superworm Breeding". can one of the admins correct that for me please?

 

[OhioGecko]

lol, sorry, "Superworm Breeding". can one of the admins correct that for me please?

Fixed.

 

[fuzzylogix]

Fixed.

thanks! :main_thumbsup:

 

[Landen]

your beatles shouldn't die right away. Mine live for 6 months +. How many beatles are you running?

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

your beatles shouldn't die right away. Mine live for 6 months +. How many beatles are you running?

I'm new to this also with a couple questions...
As beetles, will they lay eggs during that entire life phase?
How often should you change the substrate to hatch babies? I was thinking ever 2 weeks?
How long does it take for the baby worms to grow up to a size that they will pupate again?

Thanks!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

My setup is as follows: pupation box (like the ones pictured above) -> beetle can (coffee can with wheat germ bedding) ->3 breeding cups (clear 32oz deli cup with beetles, screened lid, piece of egg carton, baby carrot) -> hatchling box (ventilated 6qt shoebox with wheat germ bedding, veggies). Every 2 weeks I dump the breeding cups in the hatchling box, a new one is started every month so there's every size growing and when they're big enough to go in with adult I dump them in. Since the breeding cups are on different intervals it seemed easier just to use one hatchling box for each month as those are close to the same size. Only a few beetles have died but I'm planning to replace each breeding group (40 or so) at around 5 months to keep them going strong. When the big worm storage bedding needs changed I sift worms from it and replace with the wheat germ, some livestock feed we use for raising snake feeders, and veggies. It's pretty easy, check on everything every couple days, it just takes several months to have adult supers from beetle stage.

 

[fuzzylogix]

your beatles shouldn't die right away. Mine live for 6 months +. How many beatles are you running?

you are correct, they live quite long actually, just sped up the process there. i have probably 50 beatles right now

 

[Landen]

you are correct, they live quite long actually, just sped up the process there. i have probably 50 beatles right now

I thought that may have been what you meant... Mine last 6+ mo.
Are you breeding just to maintain your own colony?

 

[Landen]

I'm new to this also with a couple questions...
As beetles, will they lay eggs during that entire life phase?
How often should you change the substrate to hatch babies? I was thinking ever 2 weeks?
How long does it take for the baby worms to grow up to a size that they will pupate again?

Thanks!

They will lay eggs all the way until the end.
I change every 2 weeks but I have hundreds of beetles
It takes 2-3 months to grow to 2/3rds to full size worms. After reaching full size you can isolate the worms and they'll pupate and start the cycle again.

 

[RocksMama77]

Do you have to isolate them to make them change? I am starting a colony now so I am new to this.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

Do you have to isolate them to make them change? I am starting a colony now so I am new to this.

Yes you do, the best thing you can use are fishing tackle boxes

 

[fuzzylogix]

yeah fishing tackle boxes with individual slots, or even cheaper you can pick up the bead holders from walmart or a craft store.

 

[T-ReXx]

I use the bead boxes, but I also use some of those multidose pill boxes, the ones that have seperate compartments for days, times etc. They're even cheaper than the bead boxes.

 

[theWERM]

I'm new to this also with a couple questions...
As beetles, will they lay eggs during that entire life phase?
How often should you change the substrate to hatch babies? I was thinking ever 2 weeks?
How long does it take for the baby worms to grow up to a size that they will pupate again?

Thanks!

I change my substrate monthly.

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

They will lay eggs all the way until the end.
I change every 2 weeks but I have hundreds of beetles
It takes 2-3 months to grow to 2/3rds to full size worms. After reaching full size you can isolate the worms and they'll pupate and start the cycle again.

Thanks for the info! I have about 15 new beetles!

 

[thegeckoguy23]

Great colony.

 

[steve905]

I started with about 40 beetles. I've got about 3000 baby supers now. THe best part is they are SO much more active than the mealies. Its taken about 2 mos to get them to this point since the beetles were in their tub but now I rotate the beetles about avery 3 weeks or so and I'm ading more supers to their "torture chambers" to get them to change! HEhehehehe free food is the best!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

My 5yr old grandson thinks the worm farm is cool. Especially that worms turn into pupa (he's obcessed with poop) and beetles eat baby carrots. He knows the whole cycle, I've tested him! Once the colony is established it's an easy thing to maintain and so worth it if you have a lot of mouths to feed.

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

I started with about 40 beetles. I've got about 3000 baby supers now. THe best part is they are SO much more active than the mealies. Its taken about 2 mos to get them to this point since the beetles were in their tub but now I rotate the beetles about avery 3 weeks or so and I'm ading more supers to their "torture chambers" to get them to change! HEhehehehe free food is the best!

Holy cow! 3000 baby worms from 40 beetles??? I just plan on keeping adding to the beetle stock. I'm up to about 23 now with 30 or so more in their *torture chamber* (love the phrase!). Too bad not all my geckos like supers! My husband wants to sell some as ice fishing bait. Supposedly they make great bait.