geckomom
05-20-07, 11:02 PM
These are pretty basic questions, but with all the knowledge on this board, i was hoping someone could give me some pointers.
- are mealworms better cultured in an opaque container or clear?
- (this sounds really dumb). are regular "clean-ups" desirable? that is, cleaning out all the shed skins, adult carcasses, worms that have died, etc. if so, is it just a matter of sifting thru the culture and pulling out all the "garbage", or is there a more efficient way to keep the culture clean?
- another clean-up question: when starting a new culture, it's filled up with gutload and whatever's used for moisture (i use pieces of apples, carrots, sometimes commercial products, pieces of potato, etc.). after a while, obviously, the gutload becomes fouled with the excrement of the culture. what the HECK do i do about that? i've tried screening the contents of the culture with a very small gauge screen, hoping the excrement would mostly fall out, and then i could just add more gutload, but i notice i'm losing some very small mealworms, and i also worry how many eggs i'm losing at the same time, because i can't even see them. HELP!
- do cultures eventually "die down" and need the addition of new mealworms, or the beginning of a whole new culture, to keep them going healthy? mine seems to be slowed down on the production of new mealies, and i was wondering if, since i haven't added any new ones (didn't have to, they were going great), they were just "bred out", since i've been using the same "pool" of worms to breed from. i've heard it's good to get one culture going til it's enough to sustain the animals, then start another one, so there's always a newer one going if the older one starts dying out. is that the best idea?
- i use more or less "homemade" gutload. i use a couple different commercially available gutloads as a base, then add oatmeal, flake fish food, and several other types of grain-type products which have been recommended to me over the years. does anyone have a really nutritious (both for the mealies, but especially for the geckos) home-made gutload recipe?
- sometimes i use a commercial product for moisture - i'm sorry, i can't remember the name of it, i think it's something like "cricket quencher". it's not the gel-like lumps that come in jars, it comes in boxes, is individually wrapped in little rectangles, and is greenish in color. the mealies seem to love it, just wondering if anyone had any opinions, or should i stick with fresh produce?
i think that's all the dumb questions i have for now. much thanks to anyone who attempts to set me straight, and my geckos (Morrigan, Aoife, Niamh, Grian, Ciar, Sorcha, and Ceadghan) all thank you very, very much!
bobbie
PS: i know it sounds like i have a lot of geckos, but they're in a 75 gal aquarium, with three distinct temperature zones, three humid hides (1 in each temp zone), and many, many rock and wood hides. the substrate is ceramic tile (which i love because it seems to distribute heat consistently and makes cleaning much easier, and doesn't give me worries about impaction).
- are mealworms better cultured in an opaque container or clear?
- (this sounds really dumb). are regular "clean-ups" desirable? that is, cleaning out all the shed skins, adult carcasses, worms that have died, etc. if so, is it just a matter of sifting thru the culture and pulling out all the "garbage", or is there a more efficient way to keep the culture clean?
- another clean-up question: when starting a new culture, it's filled up with gutload and whatever's used for moisture (i use pieces of apples, carrots, sometimes commercial products, pieces of potato, etc.). after a while, obviously, the gutload becomes fouled with the excrement of the culture. what the HECK do i do about that? i've tried screening the contents of the culture with a very small gauge screen, hoping the excrement would mostly fall out, and then i could just add more gutload, but i notice i'm losing some very small mealworms, and i also worry how many eggs i'm losing at the same time, because i can't even see them. HELP!
- do cultures eventually "die down" and need the addition of new mealworms, or the beginning of a whole new culture, to keep them going healthy? mine seems to be slowed down on the production of new mealies, and i was wondering if, since i haven't added any new ones (didn't have to, they were going great), they were just "bred out", since i've been using the same "pool" of worms to breed from. i've heard it's good to get one culture going til it's enough to sustain the animals, then start another one, so there's always a newer one going if the older one starts dying out. is that the best idea?
- i use more or less "homemade" gutload. i use a couple different commercially available gutloads as a base, then add oatmeal, flake fish food, and several other types of grain-type products which have been recommended to me over the years. does anyone have a really nutritious (both for the mealies, but especially for the geckos) home-made gutload recipe?
- sometimes i use a commercial product for moisture - i'm sorry, i can't remember the name of it, i think it's something like "cricket quencher". it's not the gel-like lumps that come in jars, it comes in boxes, is individually wrapped in little rectangles, and is greenish in color. the mealies seem to love it, just wondering if anyone had any opinions, or should i stick with fresh produce?
i think that's all the dumb questions i have for now. much thanks to anyone who attempts to set me straight, and my geckos (Morrigan, Aoife, Niamh, Grian, Ciar, Sorcha, and Ceadghan) all thank you very, very much!
bobbie
PS: i know it sounds like i have a lot of geckos, but they're in a 75 gal aquarium, with three distinct temperature zones, three humid hides (1 in each temp zone), and many, many rock and wood hides. the substrate is ceramic tile (which i love because it seems to distribute heat consistently and makes cleaning much easier, and doesn't give me worries about impaction).