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Superworms are one of the easiest feeder insect to house and can take up
very little space. Many people opt to keep their superworm colonies
in:
- Small glass aquariums
- Plastic storage boxes
- Plastic storage drawer systems
- Plastic food containers
For your colony, you will want to use a container that:
- Has smooth sides to prevent the worms from crawling out and
escaping.
- Is easy to disinfect periodically.
- Allows ample ventilation and air to circulate freely to avoid the
buildup of potentially harmful mold and bacteria.
For providing the necessary ventilation you can:
- Use a screened lid for your aquarium.
- Cut a large section out of a plastic lid (you can also cover this
with mesh).
- Or leave the lid off the container completely.
Its important to provide roughly 3 inches of high-quality and
nutritious substrate for the worms to burrow in and eat. Many people
keep their superworms on a simple substrate of oat bran. We prefer to
maximize the nutritional quality of the substrate since the superworms
actually eat it. We include a mix of:
| 12 grain cereal mix |
baby rice cereal |
rolled oats |
| white bran |
wheat germ |
red bran |
We also sprinkle in the following items to boost the nutritional
quality of the substrate even further:
| alfalfa flakes |
dandelion flakes |
spirulina flakes |
| bee pollen |
dried sea kelp |
tropical fish flakes |
Unlike mealworms, you cannot keep superworms in the fridge - this will
kill them. Superworms (at all life stages) thrive best when kept at
a temperature between 80 and 85F.
Its always a good idea to periodically replace and replenish the
substrate as well as remove any fecal matter that has accumulated on the
bottom. We do this at least every 2 months here. You should
also remove on a daily basis, any dead superworms/pupae/beetles that you
might see.
We also include pieces of egg crate and wood for the worms and beetles
to climb on in each container.
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