Breeding Superworms - I need an expert...

Ilike4hornedchams

Ilike4hornedchams

Established Member
Ok, I have been breeding my superworms for like 6-9 months... Completely, unsuccessfully... :( First big problem was the oats in the beetle bin got infested with mites that I killed off. Then There was a mold issue for some greens that had too much moister in em so it led to a lot of mold on the oats.. So two times i tossed the oats, the beetles have been coming and going as usual but i have seen 0 ABSOLUTELY literally 0 baby super worms in there! What am I doing wrong!? Do they need heat? The temps are 66-74 and I thought they do fine at room temps. I got all the oats they want in there a plus I feed em cucumbers, bug burger. Any ideas why they are not breeding? After attempting to breed these superworms I have had 0 success and these things are super expensive long term so I need to figure this out.. I have 7 and soon to be 9 chams. i am successfully breeding Dubia (super easy) but I need help worth these super worms pleease! Or maybe I should just try breeding horn worms lol. (I am going to be breeding chams my April or May so I really need a way to lower the feeder costs so this can help me and the community! Thanks!)
 
I know you have to keep the humidity down to prevent mites and mold. Also the beetles will eat the larva so you have to have away for the eggs and larva to either be removed from the beetles container or drop thru a screen to another container.
 
I was thinking about breeding superworms too. I have the larvae but how long before they turn into beetles?
 
Nursemaia said:
I was thinking about breeding superworms too. I have the larvae but how long before they turn into beetles?
Click to expand...
I don't take to long. If I remember right it was like 2 weeks after I put them in separate containers. But I to am no expert, I failed to breed mine. I got like 20 beetles but no babies.
 
I've had these worms for months. No beetles :( they molt and eat, very little die off. I found a beetle roaming the house but I think that was one that got away in the cham cage. I even use organic oats.
 
I didn't have to, the 1 beetle I found died in a day. There's no mold or mites in with the worms either.
 
Nursemaia said:
I didn't have to, the 1 beetle I found died in a day. There's no mold or mites in with the worms either.
Click to expand...
I meant separate the worms. The worms will not want to pupate if there are other worms around because the worms will eat the pupating one. I bought dixi cups to put my worms in.
 
Nursemaia said:
I didn't know that. No all my worms are in the bin together.
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Put each worm in their own cup and you will have beetles in no time. After they pupate you can put them together again. I had my beetles doing it but never ended up with any worms.
 
Virgil1972 said:
Put each worm in their own cup and you will have beetles in no time. After they pupate you can put them together again. I had my beetles doing it but never ended up with any worms.
Click to expand...
Thanks. My lizard room is getting creepier and creepier by the day. Worms in cups are normal. Sure. So is a tub of roaches, cups of maggots and fly pupae. Funny enough the common house spider has taken up residence in there too. I don't even make them leave, they catch the flies that occasionally get loose.
 
I have been breeding them successfully for some time now. Not a very fast process but successful! Here is my basic process:

1) I have a tackle box that I have partitioned in to blocks about 2 X 2 inches big. I melted a couple of holes (with a heated nail) right above each compartment in to the tackle box for ventilation. I next put some of my biggest/fattest/healthiest adult superworms each in their own compartment. No food! Close the lid and keep them in the dark. I put them in a drawer. Them becoming alien looking pupa can take from a week to three weeks, they all do it at their own pace. These guys are canibals so make sure you keep them separate duting all stages! Once they become beetles I move them to another container.

2) I keep the beetles in a shalow plastic container with proper ventilation in the lid. I cut all the bottom of the container, but for the outer rim out and hot glue a metal window screen acros the entire bottom. This allows for the eggs to fall through in to a container below, other wise the beetles will eat the eggs! I keep oatmeal in the top container for the beetes. I also have a shallow container (peanut butter lid) with polymer water crystals in it for beetle hydration.

3) The container that the beetles are kept in sits inside another container of the same kind and size. When they sit together like that, there is a one and a half inch space between the bottom of the top container and the bottom of the bottom container for the eggs to collect. I keep a thin layer of wheat germ in there for hatchlings to have some food to eat. I dump this content in to another container every couple of weeks.

Now you just have to remain patient and have the eggs hatch and raise te little worms. I separate smaller ones from bigger ones, once again to prevent canabalism!

Hope this helps!
 
Virgil1972 said:
Put each worm in their own cup and you will have beetles in no time. After they pupate you can put them together again. I had my beetles doing it but never ended up with any worms.
Click to expand...

See, THIS is what I am talking about! I've seen a dozen plus videos online on how to breed these beetles and they totally overlook the part where they actually breed and lay eggs. Mine are not breeding. Is it possible I randomly got like 8 males or all females lol? Anyone know how to sex them? Also some of my beetles come out TOTALLY deformed so I feed em off to the chams, does anyone else know anything about seeing the deformed ones? Is this due to dehydration or something? There are still a lot of questions with breeding these that are not answered for I font this post to be for ADVANCED questions. If you don;t even know how to make them pupate into beetles please DO NOT POST HERE and get on Youtube to find out how. That part is actually VERY EASY! Any advice other that keep them dryer?
 
Matt Vanilla Gorilla said:
I have been breeding them successfully for some time now. Not a very fast process but successful! Here is my basic process:
1) I have a tackle box that I have partitioned in to blocks about 2 X 2 inches big. I melted a couple of holes (with a heated nail) right above each compartment in to the tackle box for ventilation. I next put some of my biggest/fattest/healthiest adult superworms each in their own compartment. No food! Close the lid and keep them in the dark. I put them in a drawer. Them becoming alien looking pupa can take from a week to three weeks, they all do it at their own pace. These guys are canibals so make sure you keep them separate duting all stages! Once they become beetles I move them to another container.
2) I keep the beetles in a shalow plastic container with proper ventilation in the lid. I cut all the bottom of the container, but for the outer rim out and hot glue a metal window screen acros the entire bottom. This allows for the eggs to fall through in to a container below, other wise the beetles will eat the eggs! I keep oatmeal in the top container for the beetes. I also have a shallow container (peanut butter lid) with polymer water crystals in it for beetle hydration.
3) The container that the beetles are kept in sits inside another container of the same kind and size. When they sit together like that, there is a one and a half inch space between the bottom of the top container and the bottom of the bottom container for the eggs to collect. I keep a thin layer of wheat germ in there for hatchlings to have some food to eat. I dump this content in to another container every couple of weeks.
Now you just have to remain patient and have the eggs hatch and raise te little worms. I separate smaller ones from bigger ones, once again to prevent canabalism!
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

I thought, (heard) that if you offer them food they may not eat their eggs but I guess I have been wrong.. I will work to make a bottom with a screen that allow then to drop out so save the babies lol. Thanks I'll try this asap! and make a video for yallz!
 
I have left the beetles in a bin with large pieces of bark and removed the bark when I found eggs on them. I gave them carrots or potatoes as a water source. The drop thru screen method is lower maintenance but you don't get to see the eggs.
 
These guys are not too smart, food is food is food to them! They will even eat each other as adult worms if they run out of food and water! So yes, feeding them well does decrease the occurrence of canibalism. Also, replacing the polymer water crystals with carots, potatoes etc. Is a great idea!
 
Ilike4hornedchams said:
See, THIS is what I am talking about! I've seen a dozen plus videos online on how to breed these beetles and they totally overlook the part where they actually breed and lay eggs. Mine are not breeding. Is it possible I randomly got like 8 males or all females lol? Anyone know how to sex them? Also some of my beetles come out TOTALLY deformed so I feed em off to the chams, does anyone else know anything about seeing the deformed ones? Is this due to dehydration or something? There are still a lot of questions with breeding these that are not answered for I font this post to be for ADVANCED questions. If you don;t even know how to make them pupate into beetles please DO NOT POST HERE and get on Youtube to find out how. That part is actually VERY EASY! Any advice other that keep them dryer?
Click to expand...
I have no advice for you. I don't know anymore than you do.
 
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