# So i made a mealworm farm..



## 123Hedgiesloveme (May 3, 2010)

in a water bottle... i mashed up bran cerial and put it in a water bottle then i dropped about 10 healthy mealies in the bottle. they are now outside sitting in the heat but not direct sunlight. am i crazy or will this work out? and if so i am going to feed them to my hedgie, so i want to make sure that blueberry bran is safe for the mealies to eat and for sly to eat the mealis.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Mealies do best in a dark place.


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## 123Hedgiesloveme (May 3, 2010)

thanks, i just figured that out. they are all black now. XD


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Farming in a water bottle would be kinda hard. I always make sure to take the Aliens out so the mealworms don't try eatting them but it would be very hard to get them out with the small opening. It seems like it would be hard getting the mealworms out too or catching the bettles. Another thing is it seems like it would make a mess when you clean the frass out of it. You might like using a plastic container better like a tupperware or those disposables by glad. How you have it set it may work though I just wanted to give a suggestion so if it gets frustrating down the road. Great luck with your farm


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## 123Hedgiesloveme (May 3, 2010)

yeah i was thinking about a big tub. but water bottle seem more easier. to remove the err...yucky aliens i will pour out the bottle on a tray and err. pick them up and remove them to another bottle. it seems to be a good plan.. i hope XD thanks for your help.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I leave all my mealies,aliens and beattles in the same container never had any trouble.
You will need more than 10 starting off,at least 50. I prefer 500-1,000 starting off,keep in mind I have a few hogs and send mealies home with my babies.


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## 123Hedgiesloveme (May 3, 2010)

why more then 10?


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

123Hedgiesloveme said:


> why more then 10?


Well the idea is to reproduce and 10 is not giving any margin of error :lol:


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## 123Hedgiesloveme (May 3, 2010)

haha, i understand. XD
but my water bottle is a ozarka one, so its not a jug or anything. how much should fit in one bottle?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

A water bottle, while convenient, is far too small for raising mealworms. You can feed the mealworms in there until they pupate (they should be fed oat or wheat bran- is that what you are doing, or are you giving them breakfast cereal? They also need fruits/veggies for water).

Once they pupate you'll need to remove the pupae or the other mealies may eat them. They take anywhere from 3 days to several weeks to shed into beetles, and the beetles need much more room. Could you put them in a milk jug? They'd have more space. They need to be on wheat or oat bran as well, with fruits/veggies as well. They will kill each other and eventually all die if they don't have water. The beetles take about a week to 10 days to become sexually mature and then they start to reproduce... each female will lay several hundred eggs in the bedding. After a few weeks the eggs will start to hatch and you'd be best off feeding the beetles to your hedgie, and raising up the mealies until they are full grown also. 

You'll end up with more mealworms than your hedgie will ever eat. :lol:


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## 123Hedgiesloveme (May 3, 2010)

haha! i got an alien already!
thanks everyone sooo much.


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