A number of animals do best when fed live bugs, such as mealworms. Lizards, some birds, and even some frogs enjoy mealworms as part of their diet. However, feeding your pet mealworms is quite different than feeding, say, pelleted feed. There's a bit of a learning curve, but the following tips should help you out.
Buy a small quantity at first.
Keeping mealworms alive is not too hard, but you do need to learn how to do it. While you're working on these skills, don't buy large batches of mealworms. Buy enough for a week or two to start out. This way, if you are not successful in keeping your mealworms alive at first, you won't have such a financial loss to contend with, and you can gradually increase your buying size as you get used to keeping the mealworms alive.
Keep them in a ventilated container.
When you get your live mealworms home, transfer them to a plastic container with some oatmeal in it. The plastic containers that restaurants use for dips and sauces tend to work well. You could also use a disposable container from the grocery store. Poke a few holes in the lid before placing it on the container, as the mealworms will need air to breathe.
Feed them fresh fruit now and then.
The oatmeal you put in the container with the mealworms will be the basis of their diet. However, if you plan on keeping them for more than a couple of days, you will also want to feed them some fresh fruit every day, or at least every couple of days. The fresh fruit will give them extra vitamins and nourishment, which will make them a more nutritious meal for your pets. It's also a good source of moisture. Some halved grapes, a piece of apple, or a slice of orange will work well.
Start fresh when you get new worms.
Each time you buy new mealworms, keep them in their own separate container. Don't mix the old worms with the new ones. This is a good practice to have as you raise mealworms.
With the tips above, you can have better luck keeping mealworms as food for your bird, lizard, or other pet. For additional tips, talk to your local pet store owner or employee.
For more information about feeding your pet live mealworm pet food, contact a local company, like Mealworm Mills.
For quite some time, my animals led a pretty straightforward life. They ate, slept, and sometimes played, but their activities weren't that fun or interesting. I started calculating the amount of time I had to spend with them, and it occurred to me that I wasn't doing my part as a pet owner. I began doing my research to learn more about pet care, and I quickly realized that I could do better. I wanted to start a new website that centered around improving your pet's life, because things can be difficult if you aren't familiar with how to make a noticeable difference each and every day.