My guide to breeding waxworms (with pics!)

Sambee · #1 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:02 PM

Ok so we've decided that we need to cut down the feeding costs of our reptiles so the answer is to breed our own live food.

We've got a successful dubia roach on the go at the moment and today I thought I would give it a go with wax worms.

I hope you find this guide useful and even perhaps give it a go yourself! I will update this thread as the wax worms grow and progress.

So firstly, we headed off to Tesco and grabbed the following:

A cheaper alternative to Weetabix

80p jar of honey

Glycerine (this can be found in the baking isle of your local supermarket, usually near the food dye).

To start off, I added 2 of the wheat biscuits to a bowl and crumbled it with my hands to a fine texture like this:

Then I put half a teaspoon of calcium powder into the crushed biscuits and sitrred it all up. (This is optional)

Next I added 2 teaspoons of glycerine and about 1/4 of the jar of honey and mixed it up to a moist but firm consistancy, like this:

I used an old tub to put the mixture in:

And then I put 2 small pieces of cardboard in the container for the moths to sit on:

Then I took a whole tub of wax worms that I bought from livefoods.co.uk and added them to the container, being careful not to let too much of the shavings in:

Lastly, I used an old piece of netting and an elastic band as a lid, so air can flow through easily:

I've put them in a warm dark place, moths should appear in 2-3 weeks and then there should be lotsa wax worms in there in another 4-5 weeks.

That's all for now folks! I shall be back when these babies turn into moths and lay more wormies!

Liam09 · #2 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:10 PM

How long do they take to turn into moths?

Sambee · #3 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:40 PM

2-3 weeks and then there should be worms after another 4-5 weeks!

It's a waiting game - you have to have patience.

hopper · #4 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:44 PM

mine have been moths now for about 2or3 weeks and im waiting

Sambee · #5 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:48 PM

They have probably already laid the wax worm larvae but it's so small you can't see it.

Give it time, you will have to wait until the moths die off before you can have a peek in the tub properly anyway lol.

Liam09 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 08:00 PM

Let me know how everything goes!

animal addict · #7 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 08:02 PM

oh brill guide - I'm going to have a go too I think and will follow your instructions and thread for the updates - how big are the moths? I take it that size jar you are using is plenty big enough??

hopper · #8 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 08:04 PM

looking at your i think i went a little big as i used a full pack off 24 wheatabics and a old 2ft fish tank

so its going to be fun for me trying to find my wax worms

Sambee · #9 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 08:09 PM

This is my first attempt so your guesses are as good as mine! I think it should be big enough but who knows. If this doesn't work out, i'll try it again with less wax worms and a bigger container. Hopefully it'll be ok though!
I don't think the moths get that big, probably the same size as the average house moth.

fantapants · #10 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 08:30 PM

you are going to need MUCH finer netting on top of that......we used clingfilm and the little buggers still got out! they can also eat through cloth so you risk loosing them all. i have ended up with my colony in a massive 15 inch square high tupperware box with the lid on tight. i open it every day to let air in and they are doing fine, my waxies are about 1 cm long. i also made my substrate a little drier than yours to stop it going moldy. and 50 moths will probably need more space to fly and mate. but you will end up with loads ifyu do it right, but be VERY patient, my colony has been going for over 2 months and is still growing.

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