Need help with superworm housing!

[DylanFreeman]

Hello all.
I have just recently ordered 500 superworms for my girl Spyro and they should be here within the next 2 days. Heres a pic of my housihg unit for them(not including the cricket tank on top)

The drawers go about 8-10 inches back. How many worms total could i house comofortably total with all 3 drawers? I would assume at least a thousand. Anything is helpful!

 

[CooperDragon]

You can keep a LOT of worms in that much housing. I've kept 100 or so in a plastic bin about the size of a small baking pan with plenty of room to spare. Just let them dig into the chow and put some fresh veges (they like carrot) on top for moisture every few days or so, removing the old. They're pretty easy going.

 

[DylanFreeman]

Are we talking like maybe 500 a drawer? I dont want to overbuy. The ones ive had seem to last forever so i couldnt imagine have much die off as long as i keep moisture and oats in there. Is it good to include pieces of egg carton? And how many inches of bedding?

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not sure how many for sure. My bin is 12x6'' and the bedding is 2.5'' deep (I keep it deeper than needed). I ordered 75 about a year and a half ago. I'm not sure how many I have left. I currently have 3 beetles living in there. They like having cardboard tubes but the worms stay under the bedding so you don't need to add it.

 

[DylanFreeman]

You ordered 75 a year and a half a ago and still have some?!? Holy crap. Im still in highschool and had to ask my mom if i could breed the worms and i got a firm no lol. I didnt know you could have the beetles in the same area as the worms. I always thought id have to have a drawer designated just for beetles with a screen bottom so baby worms can drop down. If i could breed with only 3 beetles i would do that no problem and shed never know

 

[CooperDragon]

I didn't plan on breeding them and am surprised at how long they've lasted. I don't feed them off. I just keep offering them veg and change out their substrate a little bit at a time and let them go. Didn't see my first beetle until about a year in. He climbed out. I put a top on the bin and now I have 3 more and some worms. Maybe a handful of them. Not really sure. I'm just letting them do their thing, same as the roaches. Pretty easy.

 

[Taterbug]

You could easily keep 500-1000 worms in there. You can add a bit more bedding, maybe 3-4" if it seems crowded. That many should last you ages though (and eat more than fewer of them would) and you can always buy fewer and see how long they last you, or if you do get into breeding them.

I have them breeding in a terrarium (it's a natural setup, rather than oats/chow) with my feeder roaches - as long as they both get access to food (the larvae won't really climb up on a plate like the beetles will) the beetles have a place to lay their eggs (mine prefer something loose like sand) and the larvae have safe places to pupate (they don't like to pupate around each other and the beetles I have read might try to eat the pupae?) they seem to coexist fine.

 

[DylanFreeman]

So you think 500-1000 a drawer? Yeah my girl eats about 6 a day and a probably 10 crickets as well, along with a ton of collard greens. Would it be good to use collard greens as food for the worms on top of the oats so they gutload? Ill probably keep 250 in the top and middle drawer and just hope that some pupate

 

[Taterbug]

So you think 500-1000 a drawer? Yeah my girl eats about 6 a day and a probably 10 crickets as well, along with a ton of collard greens. Would it be good to use collard greens as food for the worms on top of the oats so they gutload? Ill probably keep 250 in the top and middle drawer and just hope that some pupate

I had I think 500 in a 15qt tote if I remember correctly. 250 would be fine for each drawer. You could get some old, thickish branches (not pine or cedar) and put them in with the worms to see if it would encourage them pupate. They will bore into them and make a little chamber.

Collars are fine for gut loading (I'd add more variety and also for your dragons salad) mine don't go so crazy for greens though if it is all they get. They seem to prefer starchy/hard things like potatoes, carrots and squash - I just dump the leftover salad in with them and that's what they get.

 

[DylanFreeman]

I was thinking about putting upside down egg crates in there along with some paper towel rolls. I heard that could help them pupate too. They might curl up in there, especially because its dark.

 

[AHBD]

You could easily keep 1,000 or more in those 3 containers. I've kept supers alive for a long time too, but Cooper gets the prize and should be in the Guiness book of world records. But seriously, do either of you [ Cooper or Tater ] keep your containers covered ? Mine is always open [ they can't escape ] and I wonder if keeping a lid on would accelerate mold growth on the veggies by not allowing air circulation.

 

[Taterbug]

You could easily keep 1,000 or more in those 3 containers. I've kept supers alive for a long time too, but Cooper gets the prize and should be in the Guiness book of world records. But seriously, do either of you [ Cooper or Tater ] keep your containers covered ? Mine is always open [ they can't escape ] and I wonder if keeping a lid on would accelerate mold growth on the veggies by not allowing air circulation.

When I kept them on chow I just used a sterelite tub with no lid that fit in a drawer - never had them get out either. It didn't have a great deal of ventilation (one of those 9 drawer cube organizers) Usually I find mold is more a problem when they pull the food under the chow and I don't notice it's gone uneaten.

I can see how if things get stagnant and too damp you could have a problem. In a drawer set like that you could probably drill holes in the sides for cross flow if needed (say the bedding is getting soggy) but my solution has been to feed smaller portions so it's eaten up or dries out instead of molding/rotting.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not really sure why mine have lasted so long. Picked them up in a mix pack from Linda's in July '14 when I got Dundee. He ate a few of them but not many. The rest have just lived on. I've only seen 4 beetles total so far, starting this past summer so I'm guessing a lot of them are from the original order despite them being way beyond their life expectancy. When the first one climbed out I put a slotted plastic top over half of the bin. The cardboard rolls are under the top and I think they were climbing those to get out. The beetles nor the worms seem to be able to climb the plastic sides on their own. Otherwise I don't cover the bin at all. I definitely feel through the chow every few days for old food and replace it with new veg on top. In my basement the old food seems to dry out rather than get moldy which is good for mold but I'm sure to replace it with fresh veges regularly so they have moisture.

 

[DylanFreeman]

Ha! I have a dog named Dundee! I cant wait to get my shipment and set things up. I just hope mine breed like coopers without me having to make an effort lol

 

[CooperDragon]

I hope so too! Good luck =)