So I just started breeding supers...

[Pravius]

Well I got all the stuff today but wanted to ask a question to anyone with experience...

I bought a tackle like box as my pupate box, I have about 16-20 worms set to pupate. Will this be a sufficient amount of beetles to produce enough worms?

I do not want to produce a ton maybe like 100-500 a mth, I do not plan on selling them unless I get too many. What do you guys think?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Ide say its a good start! I had 20-30 and they did good! But I think you should be ok!! Keep us informed on how they do!! Good luck...

 

[SARBEAR]

Well I was just about to start a new topic because I too, just started my colony today and had a question (I hope you don't mind me posting my question on your thread :/)
They've been in their own containers since about 1 this afternoon, and some of them aren't moving..does this mean they're dead?? If they are, I have no idea how they died so soon after starting the colony...
I followed a video that moose9 (Greg) gave me a link to...help??

 

[HYPORollo]

lol i dont believe they are dead lol i breed them and alot more other feeders and i can tell you they didnt die that quick right now i have 500 supers in seperate cups and they have been in there today makes two weeks on the day and yesterday night after getting home from the tampa show which means last time i checked was friday with no change and lastnight i had about 65 change into the white alien looking phase (pupae) lol and about 12 have died so far and some are still moving around and some are curled up in a c shape or s shape which is what they do right before they turn white and alien looking it usaly takes 2 weeks for that morph and then once morphed it usaly takes another 2 weeks to get beetles once they are beetles they live up to and around 5 months with the female laying up to 500 eggs in her life time so to answer your question with 16 to 20 larva expect to loose a couple but most will make it to beetles then you should have a good number of females and you will have more than enough eggs and larva for the numbers you are looking for lol you want to keep them around 77 degrees f and really shouldnt have any problem other than time and one tip try and use the biggest supers possible they say they have to be 2 inches but i have few smaller and they have turned to pupae so just go with the biggest i hope i was able to help out if you have any other questions just let me know ill help out as much as i can good luck

 

[Twobeardieguy]

What died the supers, pupae or beetles?

 

[HYPORollo]

the larva while being in the cup mostly cause they were too small i think none of the real big guys died just kinda smaller ones they have to be stressed out to morph and oh yea dont put any food or anything while you have them seperated it will take longer for them to change the more stress the quicker they change

 

[SARBEAR]

lol i dont believe they are dead lol i breed them and alot more other feeders and i can tell you they didnt die that quick right now i have 500 supers in seperate cups and they have been in there today makes two weeks on the day and yesterday night after getting home from the tampa show which means last time i checked was friday with no change and lastnight i had about 65 change into the white alien looking phase (pupae) lol and about 12 have died so far and some are still moving around and some are curled up in a c shape or s shape which is what they do right before they turn white and alien looking it usaly takes 2 weeks for that morph and then once morphed it usaly takes another 2 weeks to get beetles once they are beetles they live up to and around 5 months with the female laying up to 500 eggs in her life time so to answer your question with 16 to 20 larva expect to loose a couple but most will make it to beetles then you should have a good number of females and you will have more than enough eggs and larva for the numbers you are looking for lol you want to keep them around 77 degrees f and really shouldnt have any problem other than time and one tip try and use the biggest supers possible they say they have to be 2 inches but i have few smaller and they have turned to pupae so just go with the biggest i hope i was able to help out if you have any other questions just let me know ill help out as much as i can good luck

Okay great thank you! I'm glad they aren't dead, I just found it odd some were moving and some weren't at all even when I touched them...
I don't think they were getting enough oxygen though, (I used a nail that I stuck in fire to make the holes on top since my dad wouldn't let me touch his tools, lol) So I propped all the containers open with cough drops to get more air going in there, lol. (I'm using bead organizers that I got from walmart)

What died the supers, pupae or beetles?

I just started today, so they're all still supers. But I think a few might be dead from lack of air...

 

[HYPORollo]

lol cute nail trick i used a few times my self in the past its quick and easy but supers and mealies alike go into a sorta sleep when cold as well so if its a cool place that might be it just take one out you suspect might have gone to the light (if supers have a after life)and warm it up a little and it should start moving if not then you might be a super killer bad girl lol no biggie just pop another one in there and start over make sure they are in a dark spot and leave them alone as much as possible check in a couple of days by then any that are dead will start turning black in color starting with the head area but with enough air and in a dark place with a nice temp you should be ok and have beetles in about a month or so

 

[SARBEAR]

lol cute nail trick i used a few times my self in the past its quick and easy but supers and mealies alike go into a sorta sleep when cold as well so if its a cool place that might be it just take one out you suspect might have gone to the light (if supers have a after life)and warm it up a little and it should start moving if not then you might be a super killer bad girl lol no biggie just pop another one in there and start over make sure they are in a dark spot and leave them alone as much as possible check in a couple of days by then any that are dead will start turning black in color starting with the head area but with enough air and in a dark place with a nice temp you should be ok and have beetles in about a month or so

The light trick seemed to work on one :roll:
If they're too cold will they not pupate as fast? Or die?

 

[HYPORollo]

im not to sure about that so i dont want to give you any false info i would just try to keep them around 77 degrees i know colder temps make them go into that sleep state i dont think it would kill them well if its too cold it will but as far as making them take longer to change i really dont know its possible since they need to get stressed out to change and the cold would make them sleep instead of trying to get out and getting stressed cause they couldnt and had no food or water

 

[mich]

I am also starting a superworm breeding colony and have a quick question. I have read a tonof stuff online but was wondering .. almost all sites and videos agree that they worms need to remian unfed for the entire time they are pupating but then some people use oats as bedding for the worms while they are in their separate containers. Won't they eat that? So far my worms are in their separate containers with nothing at all in there (it's only been a few days), I have oats but should I add them?

 

[Claudiusx]

No don't use substrate at all when you want them to pupate. They will eat that and burrow in it which will do everything but stress them out. Just put them in their little containers, no food, no bedding, and they will get stressed enough to morph. The key is to make them stressed, not comfy cozy.

-Brandon

 

[mich]

Great thanks! I knew they shouldn't be given food, so I was confused when some people added oats lol I have 3 containers of worms right now that are holding 15 in each .. so out of those 45 worms, accounting for some die offs, would you think I could get enough egg laying beetles to get about 500-600 superworms per month? Or should I get a few more containers started?

 

[Claudiusx]

To my experience, every 2 weeks or so one female beetle will lay about 50 good eggs that will turn into superworms which get big enough for my beardies in like 2 months or so. So if you wanted 500 or so per month 10-15 females would be good.

-Brandon

 

[mich]

So I should be good then I think .. if out of my 45 even if some die hopefully in the end I have 30ish beetles, if half are females then that would give me my 15 needed to pump out those eggs! haha What is the average lifespan of your beetles, how often do you start the process over again? If it takes me a month to go from worm to beetle should I start over right away as soon as these ones are done and start breeding, or wait a month? I don't want TOO many, I don't even know anyone around here with reptiles that could use any extra worms but I also don't want to have a period where I have no breeding beetles left because pet stores cost a small fortune and the online supplier I use takes anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks to get my order to me, so unreliable that I run out of worms and end up having to buy from pet stores until my shipment comes in (which defeats the purpose of going through a supplier anyway because in the end I'm not saving any $ at all).