Question on meal worm growth

[tapkoote]

I got a tub (50) small meal worms, they were kept in a refrigerator to stunt growth. How do i grow them? They are in what appears to be wheat bran, don't they need water? What else do they eat?
Thanks tap

 

[Whitelightning777]

Keep them chilled out they'll die off quickly. The substrate also functions as their food source. Do not freeze them, fridge only!!

 

[Dave Jay]

I think this is in the wrong section, but anyway....
Mealworms couldn't be easier to grow and breed, put a couple of inches of rolled oats in a kritter keeper, add egg cartons and cardboard, you can layer them, leave a gap at one end so that you can drop food straight onto the oats. Add a tub of mealworms. Feed carrot for moisture, but add a variety of vegetables to make your mealworms more nutritious. A few hours before I use them I like to feed some leafy greens and fresh carrot to gutload them somewhat although if you're feeding them regularly it wont matter too much. One thing I found out by accident is that if you add crumpled brown paper bags to the top of tank there will usually be quite a few worms in them and you don't need to search through the oats to get a feed for your pets. I keep 3 of these in different places in the house so they are not all at the same stage at one time. I buy crickets, but I haven't bought mealworms in a decade or so.