• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
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    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

bedding ideas for raising worms...not a new keeper question ;)

Tenor Goddess

Tenor Goddess

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Greetings all!

I've been raising my on Mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) and Zophobas morio for the past 3 years now.

I have been keeping them on various beddings to see what cleans best and such from shaved aspen to flour to washed playground sand.

Here's a question for ya.....
Given we often like to offer beddings they can ingest as well, does it seem like a logical thing to offer something like Vita-sand so if/when the worms eat the calcium carbonate, THEY are digesting it, so that would offer more calcium for the reptiles eating them?
Just something I was pondering about. The calcium sands out there are a huge controversy of some saying it is a horrible risk while others state they've used them for years with zero issues (I don't keep my reptiles on sand just for my personal fear of impaction though). So if it seems viable that this would offer more calcium since the worms would be breaking it down (assuming they CAN break it down). Thoughts? Feedback?

Kindest regards,

Amanda Rose
 
Despite thier exoskeleton being composed of a complex carbohydrate (chitin), it seems that a variety of invertebrates are prone to molting issues when an access of calcium is provided in their diet. I've noted it most frequently with crickets, buts its also been observed in some species of roach. Perhaps calcium ions play some fundamental role in how the molting process is carried out... I'm really not sure, but I would have to push for the "better to be safe than sorry" route and say avoid high calcium supplementation in your worm gutload. Besides, you can actually purchase pure calcium carbonate at a fairly reasonable price and simply add it to the gutload if you really wanted to (and it would be substantialy cheaper than the overpriced calcium-based sands) ;)

I would actually consider putting more emphasis on foods that are more benficial for both the herps and the insects - things with a complex of amino acids for example like bee pollen and superfoods like spirulina algae are absolutely fantastic gutload supplements.

If your looking to invest in a large scale gutload at an economical/wholesale price, I would look into something like Chick Starter that can be purchased at farm and fleet style stores, or Tractor Supply at very reasonable prices in bulk. If you wanted to go a step further for your own herps for a small batch of bugs that will be fed within a couple of days, you could always add a dash of some kind of multivitamin supplement, calcium citrate, bee pollen, and/or spirulina algae. Although, as mentioned earlier, avoid an extreme excess of calcium in the diet. I prefer to keep my cal : phos ratio in the bug diet around 50:50 or slightly lower, and compensate through dusting as the instructions on supplementation bottles recommend = )

The whole key to gutloading is providing herps with nutrients they would not normally obtain - insectivores still need certain vitamins, minerals, and other macro/micronutrients that would typically be derived from grains and plants. They obtain these from the insects they consume that have eaten these things in the wild. Although, gutloading is most vital within 48 hours of feeding to the herp... Sand simply lacks anything essential that can be given to the things that eat them, its just going to be a substrate they will burrow in with some calcium added. I'd use a good quality grain based gutload, with a few addititves, and use quality vegetables and greens as a moisture source to get the full benefit of gutloading your worms = )
 
I always keep my mealworms on wheat bran. Since it's cheap, odorless, and seems to keep the worms happy, I never thought to change it. I get 40 lbs for about $10 I think. That 40 lbs lasts forever too. I've given away a ton, used a bunch and still look like I have a full bag.
 
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