super worms

[Baby Gonzo]

okay, so I got my shipment of super worms today and I have a question about their betting/food substrate. I know you can buy bags of the stuff already put together which in retrospect I probably should have done but nevertheless I didn't. I picked up some organic wheat oat and meal stuff that several websites recommend for them. And of course I got carrots for their moisture and stuff in there too. My question is, the stuff that I got at the store isn't really in flakes, it's not near as fine as sand but it is nowhere near say the size of uncooked oatmeal or frosted flakes. In the future can I simply buy a box of oatmeal and a box of bran flakes as a substrate/food substance? If it makes any difference these are feeders for my bearded dragon. Thanks in advance for all your input.

 

[adtoes]

This should help lots!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHeXi9KxJZg

 

[fresnowitte]

I use wheat germ, wheat bran, oats, and cornmeal which I buy from the bulk food section of WinCo grocery store. Most of it cost like 39 cents a pound much cheaper that buying the packaged stuff.

 

[dmuehl]

The substrate I get from the Feed store including the chicken mash - around $7 for 25 lbs. I have a seperate feeder container that is for gut loading that I put the supers in a couple days before feeding them to the dragon.

I use the same substrate for the meal worms and the breeder bins.

I think I read 50+ different opionions on substrate. I can't say mine is the best but it works for us.

 

[MAJ]

I use a simialr bedding as fresnowitte, but with the addition fo some powdered milk for calcium and some multigrain baby cereal for both calciums and vitamins. Figure the more of it that the worms get, the better they are for my beardie.
I don't use as much oatmeal anymore. I find it is always the last thing eaten and it gets in the way when I need to change the bedding. It is so much easier to separate the worms from their frass using a seive, and the oatmeal just gets in the way. I end up needing to do too much manual picking out of the worms to get them into fresh bedding. In any case, I have been using less and less oatmeal and more smaller particles like wheat bran, wheat germ, cornmeal and the powdered milk and baby cereal mentioned above.
When I used a higher percentage of oatmeal (at one point close to a third, now maybe 5%), it could take me an hour to clean the worm bins. Now-- five or ten minutes tops to have them in fresh bedding.

Other things I have tried in the bedding:
-spirulina powder (superworms love it, but it gets expensive. I don't bother with it anymore)
-Textured Vegetable Protein from a bulk food store (works well, but similar particle size issues as oatmeal)
-raw, unsalted sunflower seeds (no real difference noted)
-shredded unsweetened coconut (no real difference noted)
I think I have tried other stuff too, but just can't recall what it all was...

 

[adtoes]

I just ordered 500 superworms so it should be a nice colony to being with i'm expecting the package sometime tuesday or wednesday. Could you give me your cups of each for your bedding, if not too much trouble.....it would be nice to start off knowing i'm already using sometime tried,tested and works; the idea of using bedding that is quick and easy to change is a major plus! thanks for all the help!

 

[fresnowitte]

I like to use the scottish oats rather than the normal they are higher in protien an are smaller particles.
Sorry forgot to mention that I put the larger grain cereals through the food processor.

Also MAJ gave me a great tip in the other supers thread (the link I posted). MAJ suggested that I nuc/microwave the substrate before using it. I'd like to say, "Thanks MAJ" I haven't had any other issues with the other pests intruding my substrate.

 

[MAJ]

Should have thought to run them through the food processor! Fresnowitte-- I guess we are even now on the use of small appliances in culturing superworms!

As for quantities, no magic formulas here. I buy a bag of bran, a bag of wheat germ (about a pound of each?), a box of multigrain baby cereal, a liberal sprinkling of powdered milk, and perhaps a quarter to half a pound of corn meal.

And yes... having just gome through an infestation of grain mites, microwaving your substrate will help kill off any undesirables (e.g grain mites and grain moths) that it may be carrying and hopefully prevent those undesirables from becoming a bigger problem. Don't microwave the baby cereal... it is already well sterilized and it tends to clump badly when microwaved. Just let it cool completely before adding the worms (obviously!).
Grain mites don't seem to affect larger worms as much as they do babies, but will quickly kill off any baby worms as well as the adult beetles. I was able to salvage many of my bigger worms, but had to start over on everything else.

 

[blondie098]

MAJ suggested that I nuc/microwave the substrate before using it. I'd like to say, "Thanks MAJ" I haven't had any other issues with the other pests intruding my substrate.

Hi Barbara,
Do you mix all your ingredients first? Or do you nuke them individually? How Long?!? It's critter-cleaning day, gotta clean the wormbin & roachbin... I figured we'd try the corn meal / wheat bran / oats mixture this time... also, how do the worms breath in the finer substrate? With the uncooked oatmeal, at least they had fluffy airpockets? :?

What do you feed your roaches? I tried the peanuts/cheerios/dogfood mix, and they would rather eat the flukers cricket feed... but that gets expensive quickly :silent:

 

[MAJ]

MAJ suggested that I nuc/microwave the substrate before using it. I'd like to say, "Thanks MAJ" I haven't had any other issues with the other pests intruding my substrate.

Hi Barbara,
Do you mix all your ingredients first? Or do you nuke them individually? How Long?!? It's critter-cleaning day, gotta clean the wormbin & roachbin... I figured we'd try the corn meal / wheat bran / oats mixture this time... also, how do the worms breath in the finer substrate? With the uncooked oatmeal, at least they had fluffy airpockets? :?

What do you feed your roaches? I tried the peanuts/cheerios/dogfood mix, and they would rather eat the flukers cricket feed... but that gets expensive quickly :silent:

I'll jump in for fresnowitte...
I mix my ingredients together and nuke them all at once. The only thing that I don't nuke any more is some multigrain baby cereal that I add to my mix (it goes very clumpy in the microwave, and since it is pretty much sterile when purchased, I add it after). With your mix, I would just nuke it all at once.

The worms don't seem to have any problem breathing in the fine substrate. There is still plenty of air in there. As they burrow and move around, they are actually turning the substrate over and introducing more air all the time.

As for roaches... mine eat pretty much anything. Dry dog food, cereal, etc., but I also add potato, carrot or sweet potato slices, collard green stems and trimmings, etc. I don't bother with water cubes if they get enough moisture from the veggie scraps that I add.

 

[blondie098]

thanks MAJ -- how long do you nuke for? I don't want to overcook and deplete nutrients?

Our dubias get the fresh veggie leftovers, too -- our worms seem to go thru the carrots really quick, so we alternate carrots / apples on lids. Figured the worms could use the healthier "mix" for their substrate, they were fine on the uncooked oats alone, but I want 'em healthy as can be -- fatten 'em up to morph! :lol:

Sent hubby to bulk store for all sorts of weird stuff yesterday, I think he called about 5 times clarifying everything!

 

[fresnowitte]

Do you mix all your ingredients first? Or do you nuke them individually? How Long?!? It's critter-cleaning day, gotta clean the wormbin & roachbin... I figured we'd try the corn meal / wheat bran / oats mixture this time... also, how do the worms breath in the finer substrate? With the uncooked oatmeal, at least they had fluffy airpockets? :?

You can or you can do it individually but if you use any baby cereal don't nuc it....it clumps up. Never really timed it just until it's good and hot. I still use the oatmeal that is not ground up for the larger worms. My baby worms I'm still experimenting with. I have several tubs with different substrates an at different temps trying to find out what works best.

What do you feed your roaches? I tried the peanuts/cheerios/dog food mix, and they would rather eat the flukers cricket feed... but that gets expensive quickly :silent:

I use a variety of dry cereals hot and cold just as long as there's not a lot of sugar added, grains, nuts, cat food, dog food. All of these things I buy in the bulk food section so it is really cheap. Much cheaper than if you buy it already packaged.
I started by mixing the cricket gut load with my own mixture, but once I ran out of the gut load I just used the mixtures I concocted. I also give them shredded veggies like carrots and squash.

EDIT:
Guess I sat on the post a reply page to long. :laughing6: Thanks MAJ!

 

[MAJ]

No problem.
You gave the same answer I would have for the nuking time-- till its good and hot.
A lot depends on how much you are doing. A large glass bowl full of bedding will likely take close to 2 minutes, although I might take it out sooner.