Help with mealworms!

BensBeasts1

BensBeasts1

Cerambycidae
Some of my mealworm adult beetles are having "seizures" where the move their legs and on their backs. I try to flip them over but the just won't stop moving their legs. I had to euthanize some of them so they don't suffer. Does anyone have any ideas? Should I get rid of it and restart? Is it a nutrition thing? I really don't want to get rid of them, I have had them for 6-7 years probably more. Because I have found this problem I am no longer feeding them to my frog until I find out what is wrong. I will be switching to dubia roaches. Anyone sell them for good price?

 
6-7 years?! I had no idea they lived that long. I mean my niece has one that's over a year old now and I thought that was old. But I have the same exact problem. Do they like stretch their legs and wings constantly? Mine does that and falls on his back constantly too.  My darkling beetle "drowned" in his water dish and came back to life like a zombie. Ever since the incident, he started that behavior, so it could be neurological  damage. You may want to switch their substrate to something more "clingy" like coconut fiber. I use that for mine and he walks much better on it than soil. It could be age,. Like humans and other animals, when elderly, they become more susceptible to neurological disorders. In this case, probably not seizures, but lack of equilibrium and weakening of the joints. Get rid of non-wood items and remove any twigs, sticks, ball ups of substrate out to prevent tripping. You got to watch out for things they can trip on, including cage mates, so you may need to 2 enclosures to reduce numbers.  Instead of food dishes, keep food on substrate and use a water soaked paper towel or sponge as a source of water. 

Best of luck for you and your beetles!

 




 



 
Last edited by a moderator:
When I meant 6-7 years I mean same colony, but I add more from time to time. But the original genetics are probably way gone by now. I had a massive die off of the beetles when I was doing an experiment on their ability to eat Styrofoam. Only about 250-350 were left. Now I keep them on oatmeal and wheat-germ and I feed them fruits and veggies often, but not so they mold. I was thinking about making them into a wild type, sort of thing, but I don't know if they are forest darklings or desert.

 
Oh, lol, thank you for clearing that up for me. Since you were feeding them to your frog, I assume they are Tenebrio molitor or zophobas morio. They are forest type.

 
Those guys are pretty hardy to any set up. I just kept mine with the rest of my insects. I'm trying think forest like, so  you could use some leaf litter for substrate, add some critter soil to it.  Add some plants if you would like. Use things from nature for the enclosure, like instead of castles, decor caves, and those wooden caves you get from the store, you can strip off bark from tree limbs for wood caves. They have food dishes that are plastic, but look like real rocks you can put their food and water in.  How big is your enclosure going to be?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Like a 2 gal tank. I am just tired of the oats and wheat germ they look so bland.  Because this was is what is next to it.

F67C4762-ACC4-4A64-B29F-25643321C00C.jpeg

 
Last edited by a moderator:
That probably isn't suitable for the ill beetles(how are they doing?) , but great for any healthy ones. Just put their food in a dish, that'll eat out of it. Before Steve(the darkling beetle) became ill, he ate out of a dish just fine. Steve just passed away yesterday. He  just turned  a year old. Oldest bug we ever owned!

 
That tank is for my frog. I was just saying that the container they are in right now. Looks like crap because it is right next to their tank :)  

 
Don't know why they'd be spazzing out like that, doubt you'd need to restart the culture though, just keep culling those individuals out. Could be due to some sort of poisoning, any unwashed produce or new foods offered lately?

As far as a "naturalistic" setup goes, you could just use plain coconut fiber and then throw in whatever decor you want, I went with some old chunks of driftwood for mine, as I didn't much care if it got partially buried or chewed up. I think they are technically forest darklings but are accustomed to very dry conditions, I just gave mine a couple inches of substrate and rarely had to offer moisture beside the very occasional apple slice or light misting. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for the idea Hisserdude 

Hisserdude said:
Don't know why they'd be spazzing out like that, doubt you'd need to restart the culture though, just keep culling those individuals out. Could be due to some sort of poisoning, any unwashed produce or new foods offered lately?

As far as a "naturalistic" setup goes, you could just use plain coconut fiber and then throw in whatever decor you want, I went with some old chunks of driftwood for mine, as I didn't much care if it got partially buried or chewed up. I think they are technically forest darklings but are accustomed to very dry conditions, I just gave mine a couple inches of substrate and rarely had to offer moisture beside the very occasional apple slice or light misting. 
Click to expand...
You all helped me solve this problem. It indeed was either poisoning or inbreeding and I fixed both. There has been no seizures for about 3 weeks.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top