Uploaded April 2013 | Updated September 2026, 15 minutes ago
[part 2] youtube.com/watch?v=NuS0Htw1Yq8
[temporary setup] American Toad eating Mealworms (april-2013) out of a brand new glass ashtray in a tote with hydrated coconut fiber (on the toads also) and blue shop towels and a piece of notebook paper under the feeding dish [for visibility contrast] (both paper products were promptly removed after this video was recorded and then the feeding tray was removed and fresh clean spring water was put in it's place in a different container). I took the water dish out of the container to feed him. The toad eating is a male. These are not my pets, I just wanted to see if they would eat.
My video-camera (Sony Bloggie) has autofocus that can't be disabled and I have no clamp-tripod to steady the camera. Also, the original audio of this video, contained things that had to be removed, so it was replaced with augustambience.com . I also trimmed out some sections of the video where no eating an no attention was being given to the mealworms but did not remove any of the eating/stalking process to make the video more action-packed. Sorry for the less than perfect issues with this video, but I still wanted to share it because I think it is fun and funny to watch them eat.
Tip #1: Only give them Spring Water for everything you use with water for them. Do not use Tap Water, Pool Water, Well Water, Ocean Water, Distilled water or anything else if you can.
Tip #2: They only eat live food.
Tip #3: Wash hands with soap and rinse very well before and after handling toads.
Tip #4: hydrated Coconut Fiber is great for bedding/burrowing.
Tip #5: Avoid food with hard shells.
Not my video below, but interesting.
Neuroethology of Toads (Part 1 of 3; English): Behavioral Responses to Prey Features
youtube.com/watch?v=l3Es9cNH7I8
[part 2] youtube.com/watch?v=NuS0Htw1Yq8
[temporary setup] American Toad eating Mealworms (april-2013) out of a brand new glass ashtray in a tote with hydrated coconut fiber (on the toads also) and blue shop towels and a piece of notebook paper under the feeding dish [for visibility contrast] (both paper products were promptly removed after this video was recorded and then the feeding tray was removed and fresh clean spring water was put in it's place in a different container). I took the water dish out of the container to feed him. The toad eating is a male. These are not my pets, I just wanted to see if they would eat.
My video-camera (Sony Bloggie) has autofocus that can't be disabled and I have no clamp-tripod to steady the camera. Also, the original audio of this video, contained things that had to be removed, so it was replaced with augustambience.com . I also trimmed out some sections of the video where no eating an no attention was being given to the mealworms but did not remove any of the eating/stalking process to make the video more action-packed. Sorry for the less than perfect issues with this video, but I still wanted to share it because I think it is fun and funny to watch them eat.
Tip #1: Only give them Spring Water for everything you use with water for them. Do not use Tap Water, Pool Water, Well Water, Ocean Water, Distilled water or anything else if you can.
Tip #2: They only eat live food.
Tip #3: Wash hands with soap and rinse very well before and after handling toads.
Tip #4: hydrated Coconut Fiber is great for bedding/burrowing.
Tip #5: Avoid food with hard shells.
Not my video below, but interesting.
Neuroethology of Toads (Part 1 of 3; English): Behavioral Responses to Prey Features
youtube.com/watch?v=l3Es9cNH7I8









![Unity3D 5.2 Lose Health Collision (C# SOURCE CODE)
// C# Unity 5.2. Reference and more details (set as trigger) from AkiUnity3D @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSAwaop3Mg8
using UnityEngine.UI; //REQUIRED FOR TEXT on the Canvas TO WORK!
public int playerHealth; //This will be set in Inspector, to a number such as 10
public Text canPlayerHealthText; //This will be where you drag your
// canvas TEXT object onto the slot created on your Player in Inspector.
// If Text is underlined in red, then you forgot the using UnityEngine.UI; at the top of the program
void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)
{
playerHealth = playerHealth - 1; //subtract 1 from player health
canPlayerHealthText.text = playerHealth.ToString(); //set the Text to the new player health
}
//OKAY HERE IS SOME MORE details, but using different variable names.
//On trigger enter.
//
//Setup in Editor:
//
//@Moving Object
// Add this class to the [moving object].
// Add a rigidbody to that object.
// Make sure {Gravity} = false.
// and {Kinematic} = false.
// Use a regular collider.
//@End GameObject
// Make sure the [end object] has a collider.
// Set [end]s {trigger} = true.
//
// This setup makes [movingObj] collide with walls and stuff (as usual)
// However, the endObject is a trigger, which means stuff can move through it,
// but an event is still sent.
//
// When the [movingObj] hits the trigger, OnTriggerEnter is called.
// The parameter, [other], is the collider script of the end object. Unity3D 5.2 Lose Health Collision (C# SOURCE CODE)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/smdCBq62tCI/mqdefault.jpg)
![◙ Alternative to sifting mealworm pupae. Separate while still worms instead.
Updated ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of0e9lW4Rkw
How to Maintain a Healthy Mealworm Farm (Rancher Mike June 19, 2019)
◙ Warning (okay not warning), In this video I show Sifting out mealworm pupae is a difficult and potentially harmful method. Just separate while still worms. (This method is no longer recommended.)◙
sift pupae
Item used (either of these two, their the same hole size):
vvvvvvvv... [link to product below!]... vvvvvvvvvvv
Commenter said (3/2022):
Wal-Mart 10x8x6 Mainstays Mesh Basket $4.98
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Mesh-Basket-Kitchen-Pantry-Organization-with-Keyhole-Handles-for-Easy-Carry-Steel-10-x8-x6/501014422
What I used (may be no longer available):
Style Selections 10.69-in W x 5.5-in H x 14.25-in D Silver Iron Bin
Item #: 8314 | Model #: HD-138597C ($13)
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?productId=4076122
Style Selections 10.69-in W x 11-in H x 10.69-in D Silver Iron Milk Crate
Item #: 8268 | Model #: HD-138597B ($12)
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?productId=4076120
(3/21/2017: http://i.imgur.com/ADh1lz8.png or http://i.imgur.com/sTBMJjM.png which could be stacked and easy to expand a little at a time)
New idea to increase your population without losing pupae to beetle cannibalism. What you do, is put mealworms (any size) in individual micro drawers with food/carrot piece and once they become beetles, they can be put in with the rest of the beetles. The advantage of this, is that you do all the sorting during the *Mealworm phase, which is by far the easiest time to sort.* Once you sort out the worms to single occupant homes, there is no more sorting to be done. Even if you dont build/buy enough to do all your mealworms, just having a 99% guarantee to survive into the beetle stage and be unable to kill any pupae, that will keep your population going.
If you are suffering deaths of mealworms, and you decide to use 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 mealworms in each, know that you should only count on a single beetle surviving from each, since the first beetle will likely kill all pupae it can. If you scale this up to 100/500/1000/10000 in each, you end up with the problem I had, which is having 60-90% HEALTHY pupae killed by beetles.
I think their name Darkling Beetle, should be changed to Pupae Assassin Beetles. Honestly, the beetles are vicious cannibals. The next task, is to figure out, how to minimize the beetles from eating the eggs, since the beetles WILL lay their eggs in and on EVERYTHING. You can put screens at high spots, where there is a chance they will lay eggs through the screen and drop down into food below where no beetles can get to, but they seem to find a way to get food up there eventually. Another idea is to change their bedding/food out frequently, but this seems impractical, especially since you will likely have hundreds of beetles and need a hefty amount of food, and setting aside large amounts of food on a possible daily basis, is impractical, due to the cost and since the hatched eggs would eat about 0.00000001% of that food. If you have any ideas, such as having smaller groups of beetles together or some 75%+ estimated success rate at saving the eggs, let me know! Even though Im not raising these anymore, I would LOVE to know how to conquer this, in case I ever get back into it. I want to be creating so many mealworms, that Im giving them away by the cup full, because I have nowhere to put them and need the room for the new mealworms which could even become a business either online or locally.
One last thing, one of the biggest issues, is that their waste becomes airborne and causes respiratory problems, when raising for population growth. This means it is best if they are raised in a place outside of your home, like in a shed and wearing a dust mask when working with them, but then you have to consider the temperature may reach levels that could kill them. Im sure you could rig up a science lab looking place with a HEPA and Carbon filter, but now your talking about spending a LOT of money, because those filters would clog VERY FAST and the cost of electricity to run those fans, for worms that are worth around 1 to 3 cents each, so that is impractical. Maybe in a shed, have the normal cheap fan evacuate the air on a timer, and it could be electric or solar powered. ◙ Alternative to sifting mealworm pupae. Separate while still worms instead.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/swkyjs8MW9E/mqdefault.jpg)