SpottedDragon
Member
I have tried reading online and can't really seem to find a good answer, so I figured I'd ask the collective minds here 
I know that all feeders need to be on a low phosphorus food, as well as some fresh veggies like dark greens and such. However, I currently have thousands of mealworms and they would blow through pro gutload if they were all on it 24/7.
Right now I am keeping the beetles on an oat and wheat bran blend since it's too large to fall through the screen bottoms of their boxes.
The eggs and micro-worms are on a pro gutload / bran mix until they are big enough to be sifted out with a mesh sieve. They seem to have difficulty breaking down oats when they are newly hatched.
I have been keeping the majority on bran and oats since it is very cheap, then moving the ones that are being fed into a separate container with just pro gutload until they are fed off. They are usually on this at a minimum of 3 days before being fed to the geckos.
I'm just wondering if anyone knows how long mealworms would clear the high phosphorus grain from their systems? Should I keep my reptile feeders on this longer - I can set up a separate set of bins if needed. Also, does anyone else seem to have issues with the pro gutload molding? Mine seems to get funky around the veggies, if they are removed / replaced daily it will start to mold.
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To be clear too, 99% of the mealworms are fed off to chickens and wild birds, so I'm not trying to mass produce them for reptiles other than what some of my friends need.
The male only gets mealworms maybe once a week at most. My female usually refuses to eat roaches so she gets them more often. They are always also supplemented as the usual 18+ month schedule with uvb use.
I know that all feeders need to be on a low phosphorus food, as well as some fresh veggies like dark greens and such. However, I currently have thousands of mealworms and they would blow through pro gutload if they were all on it 24/7.
Right now I am keeping the beetles on an oat and wheat bran blend since it's too large to fall through the screen bottoms of their boxes.
The eggs and micro-worms are on a pro gutload / bran mix until they are big enough to be sifted out with a mesh sieve. They seem to have difficulty breaking down oats when they are newly hatched.
I have been keeping the majority on bran and oats since it is very cheap, then moving the ones that are being fed into a separate container with just pro gutload until they are fed off. They are usually on this at a minimum of 3 days before being fed to the geckos.
I'm just wondering if anyone knows how long mealworms would clear the high phosphorus grain from their systems? Should I keep my reptile feeders on this longer - I can set up a separate set of bins if needed. Also, does anyone else seem to have issues with the pro gutload molding? Mine seems to get funky around the veggies, if they are removed / replaced daily it will start to mold.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be clear too, 99% of the mealworms are fed off to chickens and wild birds, so I'm not trying to mass produce them for reptiles other than what some of my friends need.
The male only gets mealworms maybe once a week at most. My female usually refuses to eat roaches so she gets them more often. They are always also supplemented as the usual 18+ month schedule with uvb use.