# How long will mealies stay alive and nutritious?



## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

If I just keep the mealworms in the little container from petsmart (in the sawdust type media), how long will they stay alive and maintain some nutritive value? I was thinking of buying the container one size up from 50 but wondered if they would be either dead or of little dietary value before I could use them up? I am feeding Truffle about 5-7 per night. So the 90 container lasts 7-10 days.


----------



## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

They last a long time, I never have them die off usually cause they are eaten first. When I get them home I put them in a tupperware container with holes drilled in it and will put carrot, oatmeal and such down for bedding and they start getting bigger and change to the aliens pretty quickly. Beetles emerge after that and I feed those too so usually I end up running out. I'd say the longest I've ever had a batch was maybe a month if I'm lucky.


----------



## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

Call me squemish but I was hoping to keep them in the worm stage. I did not use to mind beetles until I moved to NC and learned how many ****roaches live here. Now beetles remind me too much of roaches. :shock: :?


----------



## mcwojo (Dec 29, 2010)

If you keep them refrigerated they stay worms for longer. I can only the the large worms at 35 in one container. I can get 50 of them but they are smaller. The petsmart here in IL sells them in oatmeal not the sawdust. I heard on here that that is better so the hedgies don't ingest the sawdust.


----------



## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Keep a close on his weight,5-7 mealies a night is alot for some hogs.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

They will last for months if you care for them. They tend to die when you leave them in the fridge for too long because they starve and/or dehydrate. If you allow them to feed once a week or even once every couple of weeks, they will live a very long time. I had to buy some last fall because my mealworm colony had to be destroyed. I bought a container of 500 for 3 hedgehogs. The container lasted for months. There was some that died, but there are always more in there than the 500 they state to compensate. 

What you have to do is take them out of the cold and allow them to warm up. I give mine a small piece of carrot to eat, and let them sit on my kitchen counter over night. The next morning I remove the carrot and put them back in the cold. You'll see a noticeable difference in the mealworms. They will look fatter. My hedgehogs also seem to like them better when they have just been fed. You can give other foods too. However, some foods like apple and potato contain a lot of moisture and can make the bedding that the mealworms live in to become damp. Carrot has worked the best for me.


----------



## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

I will try that Kalandra thank you. I will stay with the 50 count for now until I get another hedgehog to share but will let them warm up and feed on a carrot overnight.

I am weighing him pretty often Larry. He turned 10 weeks on Tuesday and weighs 235 grams. He has that nice teardrop shape so far. He eats quite a bit of kibble as well. I would like to add some vegies maybe next week and may drop the mealies down a bit when I do that. I am assuming he runs ALOT at night (he is in the laundry room with the door closed so I dont hear a whisper at night). But his CSW is horrendously dirty in the mornings!!


----------



## rtc (Sep 5, 2008)

I had a nice mealworm farming going and had to get rid of it they were thriving too much and my little hedgie couldn't eat them all. Side note, I actually sold/gave away thousands of mealworms due to my excess stock. 

When I had smaller amounts, I would store them in the fridge (in the door; it's a little warmer there) and I would bring them out every Sunday evening for an hour or two to eat. I would store them in a wheat bran type media (lots of mealworm bedding mixes out there) and I would drop in a little piece of carrot for moisture. 

Hitch misses his daily mealworm or two but it was a choice that had to be made.


----------



## NoDivision (Aug 29, 2010)

I've just bought my first live worms (previously sherlock has had freeze dried and the can-o-worms because his previous owner told me he was scared of the live ones, but I'm going to try to tempt him back to eating them) so this is very helpful 

As far as the warming up and feeding, how often should I do that?


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I do it once a week to every 2 weeks. Kinda just depends on if I remember and the condition of the mealworms. If they start to look "thin" I'll feed them sooner. They really do plump up a lot when they have recently fed. If I buy new, I will usually feed them for a few hours before putting them back in the fridge.

One other thing to note, if you leave them out over night, you will find that some will have grown, aka shed their skins. If they have recently shed they will be white, or a pale yellow. These are extremely tender and easy to eat for those with mouth problems.


----------



## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

I did this a couple of times this week with the batch I have. They are much thicker now. I took them out in the morning and put a bit of carrot in with them. By that evening (I feed them to Truffle when we bring him out around 8 pm) they are quite noticeably bigger. And if possible he likes them even more. Thanks again, great tip.


----------

