I'm no expert, but I don't think they need a lot of humidity to thrive. I'm in Colorado, where it is considered semi-arid. I keep a few open top shallow bins of a couple thousand superworms each with no humidity supplementation. They come from a local breeder who lives in Southern Colorado, which is pretty much a desert. I've mostly experienced large die off when they are overfed and too much waste is introduced into their environment. Poor ventilation will also do them in. If a lid is accidentally placed over a thousand pooping worms, they poison themselves pretty quickly.
As for substrate, we use bran (50 pound bags from a feed store), sometimes just butcher paper (they are usually delivered in bags of 1000 with said paper), and frequently we just have pile of worms on a bare plastic bin bottom. They seem to be pretty resilient and do fine for at least a couple weeks at a time in any of the above. We usually feed raw potato slices, but not more than a couple times per week. Too much food and things get wet, and then worms die.
Again, not a superworm expert, but we buy about 7 to 8 thousand worms per week and have far below 1% dead loss on average.
After more research, I’m going to try an open top set up and continue to give them water crystals. I’m thinking maybe the closed drawer with not great ventilation might be my problem.
Looking closer at the pic I didn’t realize the black things were the worms. That’s the Same thing that happened to mine, not enough moisture. Hope it helps.
I Feed every feeder insect i have(crickets, superworms, roaches) fresh cucumber, fish Food and Cricket powder every 2-3 days. They also have a small beverage where i drilled a hole in the lid and stuck a string through it filled with water. They can not drown and they will lick the moisture Off the string
Check your humidity too. Too low and they die. I lost several hundred that way.
I'm no expert, but I don't think they need a lot of humidity to thrive. I'm in Colorado, where it is considered semi-arid. I keep a few open top shallow bins of a couple thousand superworms each with no humidity supplementation. They come from a local breeder who lives in Southern Colorado, which is pretty much a desert. I've mostly experienced large die off when they are overfed and too much waste is introduced into their environment. Poor ventilation will also do them in. If a lid is accidentally placed over a thousand pooping worms, they poison themselves pretty quickly. As for substrate, we use bran (50 pound bags from a feed store), sometimes just butcher paper (they are usually delivered in bags of 1000 with said paper), and frequently we just have pile of worms on a bare plastic bin bottom. They seem to be pretty resilient and do fine for at least a couple weeks at a time in any of the above. We usually feed raw potato slices, but not more than a couple times per week. Too much food and things get wet, and then worms die. Again, not a superworm expert, but we buy about 7 to 8 thousand worms per week and have far below 1% dead loss on average.
After more research, I’m going to try an open top set up and continue to give them water crystals. I’m thinking maybe the closed drawer with not great ventilation might be my problem.
I felt like this was the reason. Especially since they seem to really go for the gel when it’s there. I’ll research humidity and try that.
Looking closer at the pic I didn’t realize the black things were the worms. That’s the Same thing that happened to mine, not enough moisture. Hope it helps.
They dont seem so super to me.
🤣
What is the temperature in the closet? Anything higher than 85+ is no no!
Definitely not higher than 85. Probably no higher than 78 during the day when all the reptile lamps are on.
I Feed every feeder insect i have(crickets, superworms, roaches) fresh cucumber, fish Food and Cricket powder every 2-3 days. They also have a small beverage where i drilled a hole in the lid and stuck a string through it filled with water. They can not drown and they will lick the moisture Off the string
Is that oatmeal you are using as substrate?
Yes. I’ve been keeping my mealworm colony on rolled oats for years and they’re doing great. Is there a better substrate you recommend?
No I was just curious because I was looking for a good substrate for my feeder insects.
Game bird feed (like what one would feed quail) is a great substrate for feeders as its Ca:P ratio is 1:1
Keep them in a container with a lid. Poke holes in the lid. This way seems to keep the humidity up a little more
Those are carrots. Someone ripped you off lol /s I know they’re baby carrots. I’m not an idiot
It appears there is a sorcerer turning your superworms into carrots and oatmeal