superworms need help

[Chameleonboy]

i bought 200 superworms yesterday and put some carrot in there for them to drink and nowi see all of them on the top

are they looking for food?

if so what should i feed them ?

can i feed them the same gutload as i give my crieckets ?

what elce should they eat and where can i get it?

thank you for your help everyone

 

[BocaJan]

Superworms like to burrow. Put enough regular oatmeal over them to cover and they will be happy. You can also put a slice of potato in the container, but all that is necessary really is the oats.

 

[Chameleonboy]

so i should use oatmeal only and that will be their substrate and food ?

 

[lonomac]

Oats for bedding with the occasional carrot is just fine.

 

[lonomac]

so i should use oatmeal only and that will be their substrate and food ?

Yes, the oats are bedding/food. Iv used the gutload from cricketfood.com but whatever works.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I put oats and bran about two inches deep in a container, for the worms to borrow around in. For food I toss in carrot, apple, dead leaves, dead (from natural causes) crickets, squash, coconut, etc and they eat the bran and oats too. Its hard to go wrong, really.

 

[Chameleonboy]

i have a question then why are all of my worms on the top right now and it looks like they are searching for food

 

[sandrachameleon]

They're all on top of the oatmeal? Maybe they are thirsty?

 

[Chameleonboy]

i have not put them in oatmeal yet they are on top of the bedding they came in and i put a couple slices of carrot yesterday

 

[BocaJan]

They will dig around the oatmeal and should be all safely tucked away by evening.

 

[Chameleonboy]

i went out and bought

old fashioned
100% whole grain oats
the ingredients are whole grain rolled oats nothing elce


first off is this good for the worms

second is this now their substrate and food aswell

also is this all i need oats supers and carrots aswell as a container ?

thanks for your help

 

[SoCaliSon]

What temp are you storing them at? I have seen them do this also, and I thought it was when they got warmer, cause they started doing it when I had to leave them in the car to run in the store, came back, they were all at the top flipping out. Poor little food items.

 

[Chameleonboy]

lol yes socal i think it was because they were hot or i herd they at at around that time


another question

does anyone know when the super worms are supposed to pupate (turn into alien) or do you just make them whenever you want ?

 

[BocaJan]

In order to pupate you need to put them into something alone (like a salsa cup with a lid. Puncture the top of the lid with a tack a few times to let in air). Then, the cup needs to be put into some dark place and leave for about 2 weeks and voila...chrysalis. It takes another 2-3 weeks to turn into a beetle. Then you can dump the beetles into a container with wheat bran and raw potato (I have been changing the potato every couple days) and sometime in the future you will get worms that take who knows how long to grow into 2" worms. I haven't gotten that far yet with my wuper project, but I have 5 beetles and 5 chrysalis.

 

[Chameleonboy]

thank you boca how do i know where their ready to pupate ?

they have to be 2" exactly or what ?

 

[BocaJan]

I use big, juicy looking worms and put them into the salsa cups. If you can't find any you can also use the 3oz. plastic bathroom cups and set them into a piece of plastic wear so they don't tip over. Do not put any feed or water in the cup, just the worm. They will eventually curl into a C shape and lay there. If they die they will turn black and smell. You will know. No matter how close I watch them they seem to be a worm one minute and a chrysalis the next. Be patient. The chrysalis will start to darken after a couple of weeks and you will see the dark legs forming. Then one day you will open the drawer and here is this big beetle. ewwwwwwww

 

[Chameleonboy]

what was your turn out out

how many did you put in to pupate and how many pupated ?

so no food or bedding is needed to help them pupate neither

i still dunno how big they should be before i start to put them to pupate

im sorry for all the questions im still a noob

 

[BocaJan]

I think I covered it already. I started with 20. I have 5 beetles, 5 chrysalises, 8 worms waiting to turn and 2 died.

Perhaps someone else will answer since I don't seem to make my answer clear.

BTW - when the worms are rooting around in the oatmeal they will grow and you will see the shell pieces of worms. That is why I used the biggest and plumpest of the worms that I purchased.

This is the first time I have done it so I am no expert by any means.

 

[Chameleonboy]

i am all set with evrything i just need to know how old they should be or how mig they should be before i start to have them pupate

 

[Chameleonboy]

would anyone happen to know how long or old they should be before i separate them ?