Attempt at a colony

[SARBEAR]

Hey guys guess what?!

My first beetle!! It still needs to turn black, but I'm still excited!
I have quite a few that will be turning to beetles probably over night.
This one turned in the matter of an hour-hour and a half.

I'm not gonna lie, these things are disgusting! And it isn't even black yet!!
I picked it up with tweezers (although someone told me not to, I still did :?) and it started to crawl up the tweezers toward my hand and I screamed like a little girl, lol!
I'm hoping, no, praying, that no beetles will escape out of the 3 drawer organizer!
I'll have to let you guys know about that one when I start getting more beetles in there.
(yes I'm going to count each beetle as I put them in, and yes I will be recounting every so often just to make sure none are hiding in my closet some where )
I hope they hurry up and have babies, I've got two hungry mouths to feed!

Oh, and just for those curious people, I got my first beetle exactly 3 weeks later. (Started Monday the 28th, first beetle on Monday the 19th)

And I put a couple pieces of potatoes in there, and that thing completely ignored it! How rude!
You'd think after 3 weeks of starving it would want to eat something..or at least I would :roll:

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Sara, they will not climb up plastic!! :wink: You can just pick them up with your fingers, they wont hurt you, I promise!! And congrats!!!

 

[Momto3boys]

Sara, dont worry I would scream too then probably throw it on the ground and step on it :lol:

This thread is super interesting!!! Super worms are super cheap here so I doubt I'll ever start a colony but for anyone that wants too, this is the perfect thread for them

 

[SARBEAR]

Sara, they will not climb up plastic!! :wink: You can just pick them up with your fingers, they wont hurt you, I promise!! And congrats!!!

lol, Idk if I will ever touch them with my fingers, but you never know.
I actually touched the pupae when I had said I wouldn't...
Gross!!
But it's good to know they won't climb plastic :roll:

Sara, dont worry I would scream too then probably throw it on the ground and step on it :lol:

This thread is super interesting!!! Super worms are super cheap here so I doubt I'll ever start a colony but for anyone that wants too, this is the perfect thread for them

lol, I did sort of throw it..but it landed in the box.
Super worms are $5 (not including tax) for 35 here. I think it's a rip off!

 

[ajkry2]

are you gonna leave the pupae in bin #1 until all are beetles, then move them up, or move them beetle by beetle?

 

[ajkry2]

I actually just read the wikipedia page and it has some cool and useful info on it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zophobas_morio

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Sara, they will not climb up plastic!! :wink: You can just pick them up with your fingers, they wont hurt you, I promise!! And congrats!!!

lol, Idk if I will ever touch them with my fingers, but you never know.
I actually touched the pupae when I had said I wouldn't...
Gross!!
But it's good to know they won't climb plastic :roll:

Sara, dont worry I would scream too then probably throw it on the ground and step on it :lol:

This thread is super interesting!!! Super worms are super cheap here so I doubt I'll ever start a colony but for anyone that wants too, this is the perfect thread for them

lol, I did sort of throw it..but it landed in the box.
Super worms are $5 (not including tax) for 35 here. I think it's a rip off![/quoYou could always use a plastic spoon to remove the pupae and beetles!! :wink: Good luck.....

 

[HYPORollo]

lol sara its really not that bad my wife helps me with them and in the begining she was like no way im not touching them and then after 500 of them and me messing with her and putting them on her she picks them up and puts them in the bin she says there realy soft i wouldnt know i use a qtip to pick them up or like lance said i spoon lol theres just so many i think im going to get mass bit from all them lol but i know they dont bite and they dont climb out of those bins you will see them all gathered in one corner of the bin all of mine do the same thing its wierd well good luck and this is a great thread i wish i had it when i was starting :mrgreen:

 

[SARBEAR]

lol, I know, I just hate how they can stick to things..when I want it off, it better come off if I try to flick it off..These things won't get off for nothing!!


UPDATE:
I have 10 beetles so far. When they turn into beetles (no matter the color) I've been putting them into their bottom drawer. But I just noticed today that the more developed beetles will crawl all over the whiter ones, and it looks like their biting them. So what I'm doing now is, I took the bead organizer and I put some oats in it, with some food, and separated them each into their own compartments and I'm going to leave them there until they turn fully black. (The "white" beetles have a softer shell then the more developed ones and I've read that they can bite them, possibly eat them.) On the same note, I put all the pupaes in 2 different containers, which might not have been the smartest thing. When I got home from work yesterday, I found a beetle eating another pupae, and now I've got a dead pupae (it's black)
So, for all of you starting your own colonies, here's a tip:
Leave the pupaes in their own compartments until they develop into a full black beetle. When they first turn into a beetle, drop some bedding and food in the compartment for them.

Oh, and it seems like these guys have some trouble walking around on the oats sometimes. When I first put them into their drawers they all fell over onto their backs and I had to help them turn back over. But after being in there for about a day they seemed to be fine.

And another thing, I had a couple beetles in the drawer for about 2 days, and I didn't have any "escapees". So I think the 3 drawer organizer will work good. I'll have to let you guys know what happens when I have all the beetles in there (over 40 :?)

 

[FaaFaa]

Wow that didn't take too long to get beetles. But I think that after reading your experiences with them so far that I am too chicken to try it. If they sorta "stick" to you there in no way I could handle that. I had a bad experience with a grasshopper that "stuck" to my lip when I was a little girl and I've been scared of them ever since! My kids will even corner me with them, how rude! They think it's really funny though. And oh you can order supers online at Mulberry farms at a really good price. They have great overcounts too! I ordered 2,000 of them almost a month ago, I feed 50-75 a day and it seems like I am not making a dent in them! (I have beardies that think they are part pig)

Jen

 

[AutopsySoldier]

Man, you're doing an awesome job! I'm eager to find out how long it takes for babies to grow to the 2" big size...cuz I bought 500 small supers...and they were smaller than I expected, lol.

 

[FaaFaa]

Do you know how the heat affects these beetles? I was thinking that just b/c I wouldn't be able to deal with them in the house I may be able to do some next spring/summer if the beetles could tolerate the shed. There are windows but no a/c. Ideas?

Jen

 

[SARBEAR]

Man, you're doing an awesome job! I'm eager to find out how long it takes for babies to grow to the 2" big size...cuz I bought 500 small supers...and they were smaller than I expected, lol.

I bought small supers like 2 months ago, and they're still not very big, I actually ended up feeding those to my baby beardie :?

Do you know how the heat affects these beetles? I was thinking that just b/c I wouldn't be able to deal with them in the house I may be able to do some next spring/summer if the beetles could tolerate the shed. There are windows but no a/c. Ideas?

Jen

I know they do better in "Warmer" temps, but as far as keeping them in a house with no a/c during the summer I have no idea..I have them in my closet and they seem to be doing great in there. I'll have to research that and get back to you!

 

[ajkry2]

How about substrate? Can I use plain ol' oatmeal?

 

[SARBEAR]

How about substrate? Can I use plain ol' oatmeal?

Yep, thats what I'm using!