I use super-worms for one of the leopard geckos which eats nothing but super-worms. Here's the problem. Super-worms turn their substrate into a messy, sloppy mess if it is not replaced. However, by the time it turns moist, fly's just start coming in and laying their maggots. The maggots later crawl into the super-worms and turn them into a spasm like state, which kills them of course. Yesterday, I got frustrated enough to have the entire herp room vacuumed and then mopped with antiseptics, which I thought would keep the flies out. Unfortunately not. So they came back and I have no idea what to do. What's the root cause and what are your suggestions?
Superworms and their flyish allies
- Thread starter snakefin
- Start date
Do you leave it open top? Such a pathetic situation you can get with feeders. It appears I don't have problems currently, fish food and without the container's cover.
I have been breeding them for my beardies for a few years. I keep the container loosely covered but I also have many air holes in it. The only time I have noticed the substrate getting moist is when the worms themselves have eaten nearly all of the wheat bran and they are just sitting in poo. I replace the substrate in my cultures when they have eaten about 3/4 of the bran to keep it from getting bad (by the time it is wet, you are too late).ozz465;4568262; said:
snakefin;4564615; said:
Superworms should not be messy by any means. The food they eat is dry, really dry actually. Oats and brans of the sort isn't the kind of subtrate that is moist.Do you feed just fish food? I would put some bran in personally.
Do you have a lid on the tub that their in? The lid will just cause high humidity making the lid have condensation which will leak onto the subtrate making it wet. Also the water source if really wet will make the substrate wet which will cause maggots and everything else like you have seen.
So ditch the lid, they will not crawl out if it's made of plastic and will not fly out. Also feed more than just fish food.
