Help a reptiworm noobie pleeezz :)

Psychobunny

Psychobunny

Avid Member
Okay, got my first ever order of reptiworms. they are in a cup, with some
bedding of black stuff. The instructions say, this bedding is not their food,
and your supposed to remove what you need to feed your animal. But it does
not say what these things eat!!??

So, what am I supposed to feed these little wiggle worms :confused:
Do I give all of them food, or just the portion I want to use?
Surly, they have to eat something while in storage!?

Also, how do I seperate them from this black bedding they are in?
 
I know the medium that they use in reptworms and phoenix worms is ok if there is some on them for the reptile to eat..

You are supposed to keep them Cool (not fridge cool) and not feed them to keep them dormant..


BSF larva are very good composters, they will eat just about anything.. so you could gut load them if you like with veggies etc.. however one they produce a TON of heat so may need a bigger container, also if you feed them more, they may grow and then pupate.. and you will have little BSF flies...


Hope this helps :)


FYI I am looking into raising them this summer as a Food supplement for my chickens..to for food waste, plus dog waste..... I have eight dogs.. also trying a small kitchen compost bin with them (like a worm bin) to see how they do, and also they are supposed to be far less smelly :)
 
You can feed them anything if you want to feed them. They do require a certain moisture level though.

I ranch them in the summer months when things are warm.

To get started I ordered a bunch of larvae and put them in my container. I used a garbage can with lots of holes drilled in the bottom, 2/3 buried into the ground (no drain pain that way- everything goes directly into the earth a couple of feet below ground level and I don't have to worry about larvae escaping through the drain holes). Several inches of pine shavings are placed in the bottom and then food and larvae are placed on top of that. At first I dampen the shavings- the larvae have to be kept damp, and their food needs to be damp as well.

The larvae put off pheromones that attract gravid wild females in from the surrounding neighborhood and they lay their eggs in the garbage can and I get more and more larvae all summer. I keep a lid on the can, but have drilled 1" holes all the way around beneath the lid lip on the garbage can so that soldier flies can fly in and out, but the holes are too far above the ground for rodents to reach.

You can feed them soft foods- long and hard fiber foods (many vegetables) are not accepted so well, but if you have a food processor, shredding really makes a big difference in what they can eat.

You can also put cricket food in there and dampen it. I'd be willing to bet the company advertising how theirs are fed a special food and are more nutritious than other brands are probably using some kind of chicken food in the same way. Which is not so great for a chameleon! But any dry gutload could be fed damp like that and will be readily consumed. They like fermented foods, and dampening most dry foods like cricket food into something the consistency of pancake batter gets that process going and they will eat it. Old bananas and fruit and the like also, and melons and cucumbers, etc.

Or you can keep them in your basement in a cool location and opt out of feeding them altogether.
 
Last edited:
Wow! a feeder you dont have to feed !! :eek:

I put a bunch in Slinky's food cup, came back to check a few minutes later,
I thought he had eaten them, but they all climbed out of the cup and were
all over the place!!
 
Wow! a feeder you dont have to feed !!
Click to expand...

Well, they aren't so unique that way- you can keep waxworms and butterworms in your fridge and not feed them either.



I put a bunch in Slinky's food cup, came back to check a few minutes later,
I thought he had eaten them, but they all climbed out of the cup and were
all over the place!!
Click to expand...

That is a problem- these guys are good at sticking to things.

I feed only the self harvested crawl offs out of my "ranch"- before they pupate they crawl up a tube on their own and drop into a gallon catch bucket I have next to the trash can. These are the ones I feed to the lizards. They are a little less "mobile" by the time they drop into the bucket, but still active. My chams really like them.
 
I don't know whether either of my chameleons have eaten any of the larvae or pupae in the cup I bought from Petco - but there were scary-looking soldier flies (they mimic wasps) in the cup, and the chams enjoyed taking shots at flying prey!

I suspect the flies aren't as nutritious as the worms, since they have no mouths and don't feed, but they're a nice change of pace.

~Bruce, who would consider raising a few of these . . .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Dubia and other feeders diet
Replies
16
Views
973
Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger
Steve A
My simple cricket setup
Replies
3
Views
651
Steve A
Steve A
linkcraft
Only eating one food
Replies
1
Views
429
MissSkittles
MissSkittles
N
How long can a food strike last?
Replies
10
Views
869
ChamelaChameleon
C
FreeJovan
Should I give my new Cham non gut loaded crickets or skip a feeding for today? Help
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
M&M
M&M
Back
Top Bottom