Species Profile & Temperament

The Golden Rule of Superworms

DO NOT REFRIGERATE THEM: This is the #1 mistake people make. People are used to putting standard mealworms in the fridge to stop them from turning into beetles. Superworms are a tropical species. If you put them in the refrigerator, they will die. Keep them at ordinary room temperature.

Nutrition & Gut-Loading

The Golden Rule of Feeders: An insect is only as nutritious as what it just ate. If you feed your reptile an empty insect, you are starving your reptile.

What is Gut-Loading?

Gut-loading is the process of feeding your insects a highly nutritious diet 24-48 hours before feeding them to your pet.

Best Gut-Loading Foods

• Base Bedding: They should live directly in their food. Wheat bran, rolled oats, or commercial insect bedding is perfect.
• Vegetables: Carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and dark leafy greens (collard/mustard greens).
• Commercial Diets: Zoo Med Cricket Care or Fluker's Orange Cube, used as the label says.

Foods to Avoid

• Avoid: Moldy or rotting food: Take out uneaten fresh food before it spoils.
• Bearded dragon owners: No citrus in the gut-load.

Hydration

• Water Source: Superworms get all their water from their food. Provide thick slices of carrots or potatoes.
• WARNING: Do not use water bowls or spray the enclosure. If their grain bedding gets wet, it will instantly mold and kill the entire colony.

Housing & Storage (Short Term)

If you are buying a cup or bag of superworms and keeping them alive to feed off over a few weeks:

Enclosure

• Type: A plastic Kritter Keeper, storage tub, or simply the plastic deli cup they came in (if there are ventilation holes).
• Substrate: A layer of dry wheat bran or oatmeal. They will burrow into it and eat it constantly.
• Hides/Surface Area: None required, they prefer to be buried in their food.

Environment

• Temperature: Ordinary room temperature. Not the fridge.
• Humidity: Keep them bone dry.

Culturing & Breeding (Long Term)

Breeding superworms requires a bit of science! Unlike mealworms, superworms will never pupate (turn into a cocoon) if they are touching other superworms. Their constant wiggling against each other prevents metamorphosis.

1. Forcing Pupation (The Isolation Phase)

• Select the largest, fattest worms.
• Place them individually into tiny, empty compartments (like a plastic bead organizer, a tackle box, or empty film canisters).
• Provide NO FOOD and NO WATER. Keep them in the dark and warm.
• After curling into a "C" shape, they will shed their skin and turn into a white, alien-looking pupa. How long this takes varies.

2. The Beetle Colony

• In time, a darkling beetle will emerge from the pupa. It will start white, turn red, and finally harden into black.
• Move the adult beetles into a large breeding bin with wheat bran and fresh vegetables.
• If you add heat, use a reptile heat mat, always on a thermostat. The beetles will mate and lay thousands of microscopic eggs in the bran.

3. Harvesting

• After a while, move the adult beetles to a completely new bin.
• Leave the old bin alone. In time you will see tiny superworms wriggling in the bran! Ask our team for timing details.

Maintenance & Cleaning

• Frass (Waste): Their waste looks like fine, grey sand. When the bedding stops looking like oats/bran and starts looking like dusty sand, it's time to sift the worms out and give them fresh bedding.
• Mold Prevention: Always remove uneaten vegetables before they rot.

What We Use & Recommend

These are products we use and recommend for this feeder. Stock varies by store, so ask us what we have in store today.

Last updated: 2026-08-04

How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply

• Dry Bedding All Year: We keep superworms in dry bedding such as wheat bran or oats, with good airflow. No water dish and no misting. Wet bedding molds fast, and mold kills the whole batch.
• Room Temperature, Never the Fridge: Superworms are a tropical species. Keep them at ordinary room temperature. Cold kills them.
• Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, cork bark, substrates, springtails and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.

Common Questions (FAQ)

How do I keep my Superworms warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?

Keep them at ordinary room temperature, never in the fridge. Keep the bedding dry. Do not add a water dish or mist the tub. A slice of carrot or potato gives moisture; take it out before it molds.

What size enclosure does a Superworms need?

A smooth-sided plastic tub or Critter Keeper with a ventilated lid, with a layer of dry bedding like wheat bran or oats.

Can I put isopods in a Superworms bioactive enclosure?

No. Superworms live in dry bedding. Isopods and springtails need damp soil, and wet bedding molds and kills superworms.

Where can I find Superworms, cork bark, and feeder insects in Oregon?

Ask us what we have in store today at our two exotic animal stores: Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).