# whats happened to my waxworms, Frozen in Time?



## baba o'riley (May 9, 2010)

my lesser wax worms were doing really well up to last night but I just had a look at them when i got home from work, (proud of my achievements keeping them alive thus far, when compared to my fungus or mite infested fruitfly cultures). They all appear dead, nothings moving, they're still holding onto whatever they were on when disaster struck. they're at different stages of development or at least they are all different sizes. They all look healthy they just aren't moving!

I store them under a towl on top of a viv, the temp is approx 80F and I noticed quite a bit of condensation on the lid, but the paper towel and cardboard I have in there are far from wet. They've been thriving up to now and I'd estimate a few hundred worms have hatched. I have them on a diet of muesli and honey

I've attaches some pics. I was planning on picking up my frogs this weekend but I'm going to postpone it until I get my cultures sorted. What am I doing wrong? 

I really appreciate the help from you guys on this site I wouldn't be able to do this without DB, the PDF as a hobby is still in its infancy here in Ireland.
So thanks for any input.
Al.


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## pl259 (Feb 27, 2006)

I do a lot of lessers. They need a lot of ventilation. In the culture, it will get a lot hotter than the ambient temps in the room. They also generate a lot of moisture which is another good reason for good ventilation. They like it on the dry side.

Add a fine stainless steel mesh to your lids. They will eat through anything else and the larve are very small. Get rid of the towel and put them in a loosely closed cardboard box. Closed enough to keep it a little dark and open enough for good airflow. A dark closet is better.

Even cultures that appear dead can come back to life with new media. Start some new ones and seed with the freshest media from the "dead" cultures.


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## baba o'riley (May 9, 2010)

pl259 said:


> I do a lot of lessers. They need a lot of ventilation. In the culture, it will get a lot hotter than the ambient temps in the room. They also generate a lot of moisture which is another good reason for good ventilation. They like it on the dry side.
> 
> Add a fine stainless steel mesh to your lids. They will eat through anything else and the larve are very small. Get rid of the towel and put them in a loosely closed cardboard box. Closed enough to keep it a little dark and open enough for good airflow. A dark closet is better.
> 
> Even cultures that appear dead can come back to life with new media. Start some new ones and seed with the freshest media from the "dead" cultures.


Cheers mate,
I'll take that on board


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## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

Could there be gas build up from being inside a sealed container? My springtails sometime will stop moving if they have had a lot of food and I had not opened the lid in a while. I leave the lid off for a few minutes to let them breathe and then they start moving again.


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