Keeping ReptiWorms?

[blue11]

Hi yall
Ok so i have been feeding Blue reptiworms along with supers for a while now ....and soon some hornworms (should come tomorrow) ........ my question is, tonight i opened up the ReptiWorm container, the original, the one with the balck soil packing material, and i notcied a REALLY STRONG SMELL of AMMONIA (im assuming its waste?)
i usually dont have this problem b/c i only order 100 and they go pretty fast. This time i ordered 500, and had yet to siv out the packing soil and put them in a container with some Cricket Feeding Bran. I keep my supers in this as well. I immediatley dumped the worms into a siv where i shook off all the packing material and put them (about half and half) in two seperate containers of the Flukers Cricket Food Bran. I was wondering, what do you all keep your ReptWorms in? What do you feed them, something similar to what i am doing? I was thinking of putting some water crystals in there for moisture....but i dont know?
ive just never had thsi many Repti's on hand at one time, and was looking for any thoughts or anyone has come across the same issue. I LOVE Reptis, i just wanna make sure im keeping them in a good way: out of the packing soil and into containers of feed. :mrgreen:
Have a BEARDIFUL DAY!
Emily

 

[Beardednoob]

I keep my reptiworms in the container they arrive in. I place the container near an A/C vent to keep their temperatures down but, not in the refrigerator as that is too cold. Keeping them cooler will help procrastinate their aging. If any of them do pupate and morph into a fly, then kill the fly and leave it in the container, the other larvae will eat the soft tissue of that fly. I have never had to feed reptiworms anything, usually they have all been eaten before you would be required to. Reptiworms are actually used in composting. I wouldn't feed them this way if being fed to a dragon though.

 

[blue11]

Hey there! That's exactly where I keep mine too ... Right next to my AC floor vent! Works perfect! I just didn't know if it was totally cool to keep them in the packing material for an extended period of time...I always have but now that I order more at a time I have never smelled such a realllllllly strong ammonia scent it kinda freaked me out ha! Ever come across that?

 

[scistar11]

I got my first order today and one of the first things I noticed was the ammonia. I guess it's normal. Using a sieve definitely helps to remove the bedding before placing them into the food bowl. I'm keeping mine by the air vent on the floor for now, but plan on getting a wine cooler to store them in as I want to make this my main staple feeder eventually.

 

[Beardednoob]

Hey there! That's exactly where I keep mine too ... Right next to my AC floor vent! Works perfect! I just didn't know if it was totally cool to keep them in the packing material for an extended period of time...I always have but now that I order more at a time I have never smelled such a realllllllly strong ammonia scent it kinda freaked me out ha! Ever come across that?

They definitely have a foul smell when they first arrive, the package information should suggest to let them air out before feeding. :wink:

I got my first order today and one of the first things I noticed was the ammonia. I guess it's normal. Using a sieve definitely helps to remove the bedding before placing them into the food bowl. I'm keeping mine by the air vent on the floor for now, but plan on getting a wine cooler to store them in as I want to make this my main staple feeder eventually.

Let us know how the wine cooler works out, and which one you are using etc..

 

[blue11]

i totally spelled "siv" wrong..."sieve"....and i call myself an ENGLISH MAJOR. shame shame shame.

 

[scistar11]

Let us know how the wine cooler works out, and which one you are using etc..

I've decided on this one here on Home Depot's website... http://is.gd/phXZ7J

It's not big like the other coolers and is small enough to place on a counter top or in another small space. It's not very expensive like the other coolers and the good reviews say it functions very well. I'm not interested in paying the retail price and am looking for deals through ebay and craigslist. Someone had it for 50 bucks on Craigslist but sold it by the time I contacted them. Either this way, or I plan on finding a good coupon to use through Home Depot.