bugs in with crickets

[evilxyardxgnome]

The reason behind this is, I hate crickets heh. They have been escaping my cricket keeper somehow and I have found them throughout my apartment. arghhh.

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

Another plus to giant mealworms is they don't transform into beetles.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Carrots are one of the best foods you can gutload with, they contain all sorts of nutrients and vitamins you won't find in many other vegetables.

 

[Jeox]

are they furry?
Those are beetle larvae, they eat the dead crickets..

 

[bombay_biorb]

yes they are furry but look really strange.

 

[Jeox]

yes they are furry but look really strange.

kinda like a black furry mealworm?

 

[Chris_LCMNH]

They are dermestid beetles and larvae. Common within cricket shipments and are used to eat dead crickets. They are also, albeit less effectively than mealworms, used in eating rotting flesh off skeletons for taxodermy purposes. You can use them to feed to your animals.

also, not sure what you brits call giant mealworms, but over here in the US they [giant mealworms] are regular mealworms fed growth horomone. They WILL transform over to pupae and beetles, but not nearly as easily as 'normal' mealies. Of course, I prefer a more natural prey source (crickets) for my geckos than the fatty food of mealies. And if I want variety I'll use super worms (Zophobas artratus) which are higher in protein and lower in fat than regular mealies (Tenebrio molitor).

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

Giant mealworms are merely common mealworms that have been treated with an insect growth hormone to discourage them from morphing into beetles, thus they grow significantly larger.

http://www.nyworms.com/mealworms.htm

I have kept a batch of giant worms now for almost 2 weeks in room temp and none have transformed.

 

[Chris_LCMNH]

Carrots are one of the best foods you can gutload with, they contain all sorts of nutrients and vitamins you won't find in many other vegetables.

carrots should not be used as the main source for gutloading; it's good for carotenoids (precursors to vitamin a) and water. Variety is key. Here at work we use:

• re-hydrated dry dog food (I soak it in water; used for protein)
• carrot
• butternut squash (high in vit a)
• green bell peppers
• blue berries
• black berries
• straw berries
• yellow squash
• snow peas
• green beans
• cactus pad (high in calcium and fiber)
• assorted fruits (plum, pears, kiwi)

The above is all mixed together and chopped within a food processor until similar to that of a think, semi-lumpy baby food consistancy. I then feed it to our crickets, super worms, and box turtles.

 

[Chris_LCMNH]

http://www.nyworms.com/mealworms.htm

I have kept a batch of giant worms now for almost 2 weeks in room temp and none have transformed.

I've had them transform on me, both at work and within my personal collection uses.

I also don't care for the growth horomone process.