I am totally new to reptiles, we just got our Leopard Geckos last night. So I feel silly asking this basic question, but I just have to know. Sometimes it's hard to trust what the petstore employees say.

We bought mealworms yesterday and I was asking how to keep them, and the guy said to keep them in the fridge except, of course, the ones in the tank with the geckos. So then he said if they get too warm, they will turn into beetles.

So I was wondering, if they are in the tank with the geckos, and the tank has to be kept pretty warm, how soon before I have a tank full of beetles?

It will be a while, depending on the size of the worm. They will turn into pulpa and stay that way for a week or two or longer. But it will take them a while. Dont be alarmed if you see skins of them in your dish you feed in. They just grow and shed that. Its also best to feed them in a glass dish, like an ashtray. They cant climb out of it.

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Yep, keep them in the fridge. I get 5000 at a time so I definitely want them to stay dormant. And just remember one thing. No question is a silly question no matter how basic....ask away...that's why we are here!!!!

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

Thanks for the advice. I'm glad it will take awhile, hopefully my geckos will eat them before they metamorphize, or whatever it's called. I'm not much of an entymologist, can you tell? lol I already have seen their skins shedded, so I kind of figured that one out.

I guess when we decided to get a new species to take care of in our house (geckos) we ended up a bonus of two more species, crickets and mealworms!

Then one day maybe a snake and some mice or rats (frozen of course) .....

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

The beetles can also survive the washer intact. Not alive but in one piece.

LOL yes dealing with insect eaters does seem to involve having taken on an extra pet.
Just wait till you start raising your own mealworms!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Like everyone else said, it does take them awhile to pupate. The ones that do pupate are normally those that have gotten out of the dish and found a place to hide. Once they pupate (the stage between the worm and the beetle), it will be another few days before they will emerge as beetles.

If you happen to get any beetles, even though you hope they don't, try your hand at breeding the little buggers. Its very easy and we even have instructions to do so within our reptile feeder articles.

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