All in one superworm colony

jamest0o0

Chameleon Enthusiast
Just posting a picture, they're so ravenous. Threw this banana peel in, within minutes it was swarmed!
 

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Nice James! What substrate do you use? Mine seems to get stinky and too moist, unless I keep the lid off. I was using coco earth.

Hey thanks! my original substrate was coco fiber, leaf litter, sphagnum, and some charcoal. Now lots of chewed up cork in there too. It's very silky feeling. I leave the lid half off and tend to let it stay on the dry side, but the lower layers have some moisture.
 
Hey thanks! my original substrate was coco fiber, leaf litter, sphagnum, and some charcoal. Now lots of chewed up cork in there too. It's very silky feeling. I leave the lid half off and tend to let it stay on the dry side, but the lower layers have some moisture.
What are you using for heat? I know you have many colonies so how do you provide heat to all
 
What are you using for heat? I know you have many colonies so how do you provide heat to all

I have a small basement room that I insulated(it's not pretty but does the job). Then I have a good quality space heater running at the lowest setting to keep the floor at about 78-80 and higher up being around 90. I stack the bins by how much heat the species like.
 
I have a small basement room that I insulated(it's not pretty but does the job). Then I have a good quality space heater running at the lowest setting to keep the floor at about 78-80 and higher up being around 90. I stack the bins by how much heat the species like.
Ah, great idea, my collection is beginning to grow so trying to figure out how to supply needed heat to them all.
Thanks for the tip😉
 
Ah, great idea, my collection is beginning to grow so trying to figure out how to supply needed heat to them all.
Thanks for the tip😉

People with larger collections like the flex watt tape as well. I figure the fire risk is pretty low with a space heater on a stone floor on it's lowest power heat setting so that's what I went with.
 
That is a mature colony of super worms and beetles!

I have got to start my colony up again. I had to remove my colony for space reasons (a Tortoise terrarium upgrade) from the reptile room last month.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
James

How is your superworm colony going? My was producing. However not as much as I would prefer. I was going to add more heat although the reptile/aquarium room is in the 85-75 Fahrenheit range. My colony did not have a problem eating.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
James

How is your superworm colony going? My was producing. However not as much as I would prefer. I was going to add more heat although the reptile/aquarium room is in the 85-75 Fahrenheit range. My colony did not have a problem eating.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

Mine produces enough to feed off from, but I don't get the thousands that you would from separating the beetles.
 
Mine produces enough to feed off from, but I don't get the thousands that you would from separating the beetles.

That is neat. I had a keeper colleague who had a colony going where he could produce is own supply of superworms. I am not there yet!

Can you feed the actual bugs to chameleons too?

I have had past chameleons that relished making a meal out o the beetles. I have found that mostly the larger species of chameleons eat superworm beetles.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
That is neat. I had a keeper colleague who had a colony going where he could produce is own supply of superworms. I am not there yet!



I have had past chameleons that relished making a meal out o the beetles. I have found that mostly the larger species of chameleons eat superworm beetles.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

Yeah I think the key is to just have a lot of wood for the supers to burrow and pupate in. I have also found that my Parsons will eat the beetles occasionally, don't remember my Panthers doing it though.
 
Yeah I think the key is to just have a lot of wood for the supers to burrow and pupate in. I have also found that my Parsons will eat the beetles occasionally, don't remember my Panthers doing it though.

I think higher temperature helps. I had a wood based substrate with chucks of wood for the beetles.

I have had Calumma parsonii parsonii, Furcifer oustaleti, and Furcifer verrucosus make regular meals out of the beetles.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
I think Trioceros melleri would make a meal out of the beetles too. I have not seen them accept the beetles though. My Furcifer pardalis did not show any interest in superworm beetles either.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
If superworm were to chameleons like hotdogs are to people. Roaches are the hamburgers (sometime health burgers) to a chameleons diet.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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