Found this ALIEN in my beardies tank! WTF is it?

[jerichosmom]

We have tile flooring in Jericho's tank and I lifted a tile today to find this ALIEN in there! It was alive and when I picked it up with tongs it squirmed! Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I tried searching google but nothing yet. I can't figure out where it came from and how it got into the tank.

 

[diamc]

Do you feed superworms? If so, it looks like the superworm pupae before it changed into a beetle.

 

[Amy2]

It is a superworm morph! If you keep it, you can start breeding supers! :lol:

 

[mgodfriaux]

Idk. .... maybe it is what a pheonix worm turns into before a fly?

 

[jerichosmom]

We do feed super worms, I don't recall having any escapees tho. Wonder how long it was under there. How long do they take to morph like that?

 

[Amy2]

They take atleast a month to two months.

 

[carlisv]

We've had the occasional super escape, and Richard absolutely LOOOOVES the beetles that eventually surface. They're black, about an inch long, and slow moving. I'm not even sure thry fly. You might put a damp paper towel where you found the first one, and maybe one or two more will show up! (they're attracted to the moisture). If you have any hollow decorations or branches in the viv, the little ba***rds can hide for months!

 

[NoxnGeorgieT]

That is seriously creepy looking. I was already freaked out by superworms, and that did NOT help. *shudders

 

[JangoMom]

Eww! gonna have nightmares now.. LOL!

 

[bunnyrut]

it takes approximately 1-2 weeks for a superworm to pupate into the "alien"

you can get them to pupate by putting one in a small container and keeping it in a warm, dark place. check on it every few days to see it it is "coiling" (forming a circle), that means it's going to pupate. sometimes they end up dying instead :/
they only pupate when they are separated for some reason.

i feed them to Mr Dargon when i find them, and he LOVES them! I've started separating worms just to get these aliens. (a daily pill box works, got one from the dollar store). it's a nice little treat

 

[jerichosmom]

I don't know if I can feed those things to Jericho, its just too creepy!

 

[PeppersGirl]

I stopped feeding the pupae to my lizards, they have little sharp barbs on either side of the body than can injure a soft throat to the point where it bleeds.

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

I suggest if. U don't want it throw it away or u can start a colony really easy to do alls u need is three containers some plain old oatmeal and some left over veggies