How to raise mealworms:

1. Get a smooth-sided plastic container with a good lid and punch 1/8" airholes in the lid, enough to promote good air circulation. Sterlite shoeboxes are good for this purpose, and are usually less than $2 at Target and K-Mart. For a larger culture, use a larger Sterlite container. Containers providing more horizontal (wide) space are easier to work with than more vertically oriented (tall). There is less digging involved in collecting mealworms from a wider container and air circulates better than in a tall set-up with less airspace.
2. A good Mealworm diet consists of:
   • Repashy Superfood Insect Gutload ILF (Gecko Ranch stocks under "supplies")
   • Carrots or Potatoes for moisture

   Pour Insect Gutload into your Sterlite or equivalent container. Next, slice some carrots or potatoes and put them on top of the mealworm culture medium you have just created.

   Carrots and potatoes are best for providing moisture to your mealworms because they do not create smelly mold or rot like leafy greens. When carrots or potatoes are not available. mealworms will readily eat leafy greens like lettuce. Be sure to remove rotting veggies more often to keep the culture dry. Too much moisture will kill the mealworms.

3. Now you are ready to add mealworms and/or mealworm beetles. The mealworms grow up into flightless beetles, which lay eggs that turn into very small mealworms. Mealworms and beetles cannot climb the smooth sides of your container, so everything is self-contained and neat. In a couple weeks, you will see your first baby mealworms roaming around the container.

4. Now you are ready to feed some mealworms to your hungry reptiles. A good rule of thumb for lizards is to feed them a food item that is about 90% as wide as their head. They are just not as excited about food items that are much smaller than their head. An adult leopard, for example, will eat a full grown mealworm. Hatchling leopards are able to eat smaller mealworms that are not completely mature. When selecting your mealworms, be sure to choose "soft" ones that are not in the shedding process. Feel the mealworms in your culture at various growth stages to get an idea of what "soft" and "hard" mealworm skin is like. "Hard" skinned mealworms are more difficult for your reptiles to digest and should be avoided.

5. You have had your culture for a few months now and it is beginning to stink!

   What to do? Select the beetles and mealworms from your culture to start a new one. Straining with a screen smaller than your mealworms makes this process easy. Repeat steps 1-5, and you are all set. Congratulations! You are now a successful mealworm farmer!!!!!!

   For more information or starter cultures, contact Julie at the Gecko Ranch!