Live Giant Mealworms Care Sheet

GIANT MEALWORMS:

Giant Mealworms (Zophobas morio) are the larvae of Giant Mealworm beetles and grow to 4 to 6cm. These are a tropical species different to regular Giant Mealworms. They have four stages of life: egg, larvae, pupa and adult beetle. Giant Mealworms eat and grow until they have stored sufficient energy to transform into a pupa ….. and then into a beetle.

PetWave Premium Quality Giant Mealworms can be added to the diet of many animals to help provide variety in a balanced and naturally nutritious diet. As active movers, live Giant Mealworms are also perfect for animals who are stimulated by the movement of live food in order to eat. They are a clean and easily handled food.

Giant Mealworms are high in protein and fat so are good for treats and building up young, sick, injured or gravid animals. Like any treat, Giant Mealworms should not be regarded as a stable food and always offered as part of a varied and well-balanced diet.

Giant Mealworms contain: 59% Moisture, 10% Protein, 13% Fat, 330mg/kg Calcium and 1650mg/kg Phosphorus. No feeders supplied by PetWave are fed hormones.

Giant Mealworms are suitable for feeding to the following pets:

  • Large Lizards
  • Predatory Fish
  • Chickens
  • Wildlife
  • Frogs & Turtles
  • Large Insect eating birds
  • Rats & Mice
  • Spiders

Both the larva and the beetles are edible.

Feeding Giant Mealworms to Your Pet: Feed the Giant Mealworms at a rate that allows your pet to eat them immediately.

Type of Animal

Examples

Suggested No of Giant Mealworms per Meal

Medium birds, medium lizards, large fish & rats

ButcherBirds, Bearded Dragons, Blue Tongue Lizard, Large Turtles, Large Green Frogs, etc

2-3

Large Birds

Kookaburras, Magpies, Chickens, etc

5

Gutloading is the simple process of feeding your Giant Mealworms high quality nutritious foods containing healthy minerals and vitamins supplements, so that the nutrition is passed to your pet. Feed the Gutload to the Giant Mealworms up to 24 hours before by putting them in a dedicated container with food covered with Gutload and calcium powder on your Mealworms immediately before you feed them to your pet. Organic Gutload and Calcium Powder can be purchased online from PetWave.

Feeding Your Giant Mealworms: Giant Mealworms are veracious feeders and will eat any fresh or rotting fruit, vegetables, grains or grain products. Thoroughly washed fresh fruit and vegetables such as carrot, potato, pumpkin, apple, etc are ideal to meet both their food and water requirements. Always ensure that there is sufficient food for the Giant Mealworms, otherwise they might resort to cannibalism.

Housing Your Giant Mealworms: Live Giant Mealworms should be storedat room temperatures ideally above 20 degrees C. Temperatures below 15 Degrees C can be of harm. Being a tropical species, hey cannot be stored in the refrigerator. Their storage container should have a bed of dry bran or oatmeal which serves as both a food and a substrate for the Giant Mealworms to burrow in.

If you want to keep your Giant Mealworms for a longer period of time, top up their food (such as carrot or apple) daily and top up their bran regularly. Remove any uneaten food and waste daily.

Toxic fumes can be very dangerous to your Giant Mealworms including insecticides, cleaning products, dog shampoos, flea products, car fumes, smoke, etc.

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