Breeding Live Foods
Mealworms
Mealworms are beetle larvae. Cultivate mealworms in an ice cream container with a hole covered with fly wire in the lid or a fish tank with the top covered in flywire. This keeps the pest and predators out and allows the air to circulate.
| Mealworms are slow-moving and will rarely escape. Mealworms obtain water from their food. To feed the mealworms, put a 2cm layer of unprocessed bran and Wombaroo insectivore mix on the bottom on the container. Lay a piece of hessian over this to give the larvae something to crawl through. As an extra source of food, lay thinly sliced carrot, banana skins or other vegetable matter on the hessian. Keep the hessian damp and the container warm. Replace the vegetable matter when it dries out. You should occasionally sieve the food through medium sized wire mesh to remove the scats. |  Mealworms close up |
 Mealworms in bran |
A mealworm begins as an egg, develops through the larval worm stages, forms a chrysalis (without a cocoon) and transforms into an egg-laying adult within four to six months. The adult beetle can be used for breeding stock for up to three months. This can be sped up with a slight increase in temperature by placing the container on top of a water heater or refrigerator. Once the adults are laying eggs, move them to another box. They should be moved every two weeks. |
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are an ideal food source for native animals, provided they have not been in contact with poison baits. You can catch cockroaches in sticky board traps or by smearing Vaseline on the inner surface of a baited jar. Alternatively, you can breed them yourself.
Cockroaches like dark places close to other cockroaches. Create this atmosphere by rolling up corrugated cardboard and placing it in a bucket. Put food and water in the bucket and put a fly lid on top.
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Ideally, you should feed the cockroaches mouse cubes or dog or cat biscuits. However, you can use any food scraps as long as they are changed regularly. For water, attach an inverted screw top bottle with a small hole in the lid to the bucket. This will form a suspended droplet. Make sure the lid is secure. |
| Wood roaches |
Maggots
One of the easiest ways to breed maggots is to pierce 5mm holes in the lid of a tin of pet food and put it outside. After at least five days, remove the lid, tip it into a bucket of water and strain it through fly wire to get the maggots. Rinse the maggots in running water for 15 minutes to release the contents of their intestine. This will prevent bacteria being passed on to your animal. You can store maggots in a jar of flour in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
Earthworms
Earthworms are an excellent source of food for carnivores, as more than 70 percent of an earthworm's dry weight is protein. You will find earthworms in well mulched soil or soil that has a thick layer of leaf litter.
During the dry season, you will have to dig deeper, as they head toward softer, moist soil. It is important not to use worms that come from soil that has been sprayed with chemicals. If you do not feel like digging, you can buy earthworms at worm farms or bait and tackle shops. Keep them in a plastic bag or container with a layer of moist, unprocessed bran. They will live for a couple of weeks in the crisper section of the fridge. |
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Earthworms |
Worms are easy to breed. You will need a 30cm deep container with drainage holes. Fill the container with 5cm of light, loamy soil with neutral pH (not acid, not alkaline), add a 10cm layer of partly made compost (a combination of animal manure, lawn clippings, kitchen scraps) and finish with another 5cm of the loamy soil. Cover the container with corrugated iron or similar. Keep the container's contents moderately moist and put the farm in a shady part of the garden to keep cool. As the bed subsides, add layers of kitchen scraps to the surface.
Earthworms have both male and female reproductive organs and most species reproduce all year round. Tiger worms can produce up to 300 egg casts each year, with eggs taking two to five weeks to hatch. Most species will reach maturity in six to nine months.
Mice and rats
The best way to keep rats and mice is in a plastic container lined with sawdust, newspaper, oaten or lucerne chaff. A glass fish tanks or specially designed mice cage are also effective. Any materials used in cage construction should be reasonably thick, as mice and rats can chew through almost anything. The animals should always have access to food and water. Water should be supplied via a water bottle with a metal drinking tube. Commercially prepared rodent food (cubes) are available at most pet shops. The sawdust should be replaced twice a week.
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Rats and mice have a gestation period of 21 days. They wean their young in 21 days and immediately produce another litter. Rats and mice can be mated at 10 weeks of age and should be retired from breeding at six months. Replacement breeders should be obtained from the third or fourth litters and can be mated brother to sister. A ratio of 1:2 males to females per container is ideal. Rats are larger than mice and require more food and space. However, you can use rat young as food from birth, as they are larger than baby mice. A young rat is the same size as an adult mouse at weaning. Moreover, rats do not smell and rarely bite. |
| Mouse breeding containers |
Male and female weaners (three weeks old) should be kept apart to prevent breeding. Mice can become pregnant at five weeks, although they may not have a large enough pelvis to give birth.
You should keep a breeding record, which will tell you breeding performances and the age of the offspring.
Last updated: 11 January 2005