How to Keep Mealworms

If your pet eats mealworms, you can stop going to the pet store to buy him dinner. Mealworms are extremely easy to propagate right at home. Save yourself the trouble of going to the store and keep your own mealworm colony. Meet a few simple requirements and you can have free pet meals and an interesting item for show and tell.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Buy a container. A small plastic aquarium about 10 x 6 x 8 inches with a lid works well. It's best if you can see through the container. The mealworm's life cycle is a learning experience, so watch what goes on.
2. Fill the bottom of the container two inches deep with wheat bran and oats. The ratio doesn't need to be exact, but use approximately three parts bran to one part oats. Whole wheat flower and dry powdered milk can also be used.
3. Peel a potato and cut it into a few large chunks. Place the pieces in the tank on top of the substrate. This gives your mealworms moisture. Replace the potatoes as needed. They can sit for several days as long as they are not moldy.
4. Go to the local pet store and purchase some a couple dozen mealworms. If they have more than one kind, get the smaller or medium-sized worms. According to some sources, they breed better.
5. Place the mealworms in the tank and let nature take its course. After a while, your worms start to pupate. The adult beetle forms and breeding begins. The adults lay eggs and in a few weeks you have small baby worms.
6. Let the mealworms go about their business for about a month before you start feeding your pet. You want the community to get a strong start before you thin out the population. Give it enough time for a couple of generations to lay eggs.
7. Add substrate as needed to keep it at the same level. If you decide to replace your substrate entirely, be sure to sift through the material for the young mealworms. This typically doesn't need to be done more than once a year.