# Mealworm Question



## shan (Oct 20, 2010)

Hi HHC,

I am a hedgehog Mom of 3 days and yesterday my Fiancee Jeff picked up some live mealworms from the petstore. He left the container in his van, on a cold fall day, when he looked into the container for the first time (hours later), they were dead. 

Should I throw them out or can I still feed them to my Clive? (they are still in their original container, I have NOT fed my hedgie any of them.)

To clarify, the mealworms Jeff bought were suppose to be alive, they were NOT freeze dried. Jeff didn't check inside the container until later in the day, so maybe we bought them dead? 

What is the proper way to store live mealworms?

Thank you for this wonderful site and the fast, knowledgeable answers. I posted my first question earlier today and was very impressed by the responses. 

Thank you HHC,
Shannon


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Bring them into the house to let them warm up a bit and see if they are alive. When meal worms are in a cold environment they will hibernate or go dormant. Whatever you call it they look dead. Only feed dead worms if they died because you put them in the freezer. 

Lots of people gut feed meal worms so they keep the live ones in containers with veggies and something like a bedding (not sure what the best thing to use is). Try to do a search on gut feeding. 

If you are not gut feeding you can put the meal worms in the fridge but make sure you don't feed dead ones. Or put the whole container right into the freezer (I usually dump into a ziplock). 

you can also do a combination of the above; refrigerate but take them everyday to feed, gut feed for a few days and then freeze etc.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

I "farm" my mealworms, so I of course do not feed dead ones (they turn black and stiff when they die), but I've never frozen them or kept them in the fridge or another cold environment either.

For the 'bedding' I use wheat germ and plain oats, and then feed low-moisture veggies like carrots every few days.

I'm curious if the mealworms began moving around after they were warmed up? (Whether they were dead or just playing possum  )

~Katie


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## shan (Oct 20, 2010)

The mealworms have been at room temperature for about 24 hours. They must be dead, because they have never moved. Some of them are even black.

Do you think I could have purchased them dead, or did we kill them by leaving them in the cold car all afternoon?

Thanks for your help
Shannon


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

shan said:


> Do you think I could have purchased them dead, or did we kill them by leaving them in the cold car all afternoon?
> 
> Thanks for your help
> Shannon


This depends on if they were truly "mealworms". Mealworms can survive in the fridge, so sitting in a cold car shouldn't kill them. If the temperature wasn't freezing, they should have survived, merely gone dormant.

That being said, the store may have sold you "superworms" instead. Superworms die in the cold. Superworms need to be kept at room temperature at all times. They are fine to feed, however, their heads should be cut off before giving to your hedgehog, as there have been cases of superworms biting mouths/tongues/throats as they fight to free themselves.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Most likely they sold you dead mealworms. When I find black mealworms they typically have been dead for longer than what you described as the time line, especially if it was cold in the car.

I highly recommend to anyone who buys mealworms in a pet store to open the container and just push the bran around a bit. If there are dead ones they typically will be near the top or on the top of the container as the living mealworms will push them up. You often will have a couple of dead ones in a container and that's ok. If there are a large number of dead, don't buy the container, look at another container. If you go through a couple and its the same thing over and over, don't buy anything since the store apparently hasn't taken good care of their living food supply.


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## indygo88 (Aug 21, 2010)

I would agree w/ all the above. I buy wax worms, which are fatter than regular mealworms, & yes, if they're dead they're generally hard & turn black. I keep mine in the fridge. When I take them out, they initially seem dead because they don't move (although they're still squishy), but after they've been out a few minutes, they start moving again.


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## shan (Oct 20, 2010)

Thanks for all the valuable info. Lesson learned, we will definitely check them in the store. If _I _would have been the one buying them _I _would have looked....... Jeff bought them  LOL (just teasing :lol: )


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

We will forgive him this time. He obviously is still in training and may have to be put on wheel cleaning duty for a few days as punishment .

If you haven't yet, call the store and ask about returning them. Or just show up with them and the receipt. Most will take them back if you return them within their set time to do so.


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## shan (Oct 20, 2010)

Kalandra said:


> We will forgive him this time. He obviously is still in training and may have to be put on wheel cleaning duty for a few days as punishment .


HA HA !! I like the way you think :lol:


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## Diefenbaker (Nov 25, 2010)

Hi there! I too breed mealworms, and also super worms. What size are the mealworms? They could be superworms, and superworms will die if exposed to cold temperatures. If they're mealworms, then perhaps the store sold you dead ones (it's possible they didn't even realize they were dead...I find that buying live insects from the pet stores is not only expensive but the quality is mediocre at best). I suggest you purchase about 1000 mealworms from an online supplier, and start growing your own. Trust me, it's very easy, you'll have control over what constitutues your hedgehog's diet, it's going to save you LOTS of money, and it can become quite a fun hobby. You can keep them in a bedding composed of wheat bran, oat bran, a combination of the two, cat and dog dry food. I actually feed my superworms lots of cat food - that way I ensure that my hedgehog gets extra nutrients in his diet. You will need a source of moisture such as almost any kind of vegetable or fruit. My favourite is by far carrots and lettuce because they don't mold as fast as apples or potatoes, and they get consumed very fast. The superworms really love lettuce leaves. Occassionally, I will use banana peels but I always remove them at the end of the day. ALWAYS use smaller amounts of vegetables when feeding your breeding colony - you don't want to overfeed because if the vegetable gets moldy you will need to throw it out, and in doing so, you may throw out eggs. It's best to feed a little less and ensure the vegetables get consumed before feeding more. I generally recommend vegetables over fruits as fruits mold faster, and mold will kill you colony. You can also throw in bread slices, and regular unflavoured cereal. I also give them cooked meats (unseasoned) on occassion. You will need to be patient in the beginning. Once you have some pupae (hopefully you get a few with your order to jump start your breeding process), you'll need to separate them in another smaller container so that they don't get eaten by the rest of the larvae. In about two weeks you'll get your bugs: at first they will be totally white (very beautiful in fact), and they'll gradually chanage into red and eventually into total black upon maturity. Although many people say that only the black beetles reproduce, I'll say that's necessarily the case, as I've witnessed brown one mating many times. Once you have your bettles, move them all into their own container with food source already explained above. The eggs will take an additional 2 weeks or so, at first you won't see anything happening in your container (other than lots of matings), but be patient, continue to add vegetables to keep the babies hidrated, and in about a few more weeks you'll see them moving around like crazy. If you also want to breed superworms, you basically follow the same process but you'll need warmer temperatures (about 75% - 80%), and a lot more patience, but again it's worth the time and effort.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Hey Diefenbaker,

While it's great that you have helpful info to share, we'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't bring up old resolved threads unless it's for something really important. This thread was from several months ago.  Thanks!


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