Is it possible to purchase frass? If it is where should I look for it. I'm not sure I'll be able to make time to cultivate my own.
I've never checked before but there seems to be
a seller here. It seems awfully expensive though. You could try looking for mealworm suppliers and see if they would be willing to give you some. They probably throw it out anyways so if you paid for the shipping and threw in a couple bucks for a container, they might send it to you. If I had some to spare I'd send it to you. Unfortunately I just cleaned the cages a few days ago so I won't have any frass for a while. You could lurk around reptile forums too. A lot of owners breed their own feeders.
It doesn't normally take too long though. I just happen to have all babies right now. I ordered some more adults but they won't be here fore a bit. It's not that much effort either. I go to school full time, plus work 20-30 hours a week and I'm easily able to fit it into my schedule.
I buy my mealworms from Rainbow Mealworms from Amazon; it's about $14 for 1000 of them. I prefer to buy the medium sized since I feed them off. You could probably buy the smaller ones so they make more frass in their lifetime. After that I grind up enough oatmeal to fill the container about an inch full and I toss all the mealworms in it. I give them some toilet paper to play with and some veggies. I toss in maybe a cup of oatmeal every other week or so and clean them out about once a month. I'd recommend not grinding it up though, it makes it easier for me to sift through to get the mealworms out, but if you left the oats whole then you could save any uneaten oats.
It really doesn't take much time. Here's what time I spend:
Getting Mealworms out of the bag: 10 minutes. Up to 20 if some are being stubborn and hiding in the corners.
-A bag of 1000 will last me about 2 months between feeding (around 5-15 a night eaten) and from what turn to beetles. It can take a while to get the whole rotation set up though. I just bought my third set of 1000 and I've finally got babies. They've probably got another month or two until they're ready to pupa and the whole cycle will be set up. I'd say expect to have around 5-7 months before the whole thing is set up and going.
Sifting bedding: I spend around half an hour, but I like to pick out any dead ones and sort the livelier ones out for feeding. It'd take about 10 minutes if you just sifted the frass out and kept the rest.
-I do this about once a month or every other month, if I feel lazy I just keep adding oatmeal and let it build up. I wouldn't suggest letting it go over 2 inches though because it can get really warm - warmer than what the air temp is.
Sorting: I prefer to pick the pupa out of the mealworm cage, and to pick the beetles out of the pupa cage. You don't have to, but the beetles will eat the pupa, and the beetles like to bury so it's hard to find them in the mealworm cage. I find it easier to just pick them out when I can.
-This takes me around 2 minutes 2-3 times a week. I bought some 12 inch tweezers and it makes it really easy. I don't go crazy about it, I just look through and move around the big piles to find them. If I miss one, no big deal. It can take a while to sort the eggs from the beetles though. I just bought some bug screen which I plan to glue to the bottom of the beetle cage so when the mealworms hatch they can fall down to a different area. I've also found that putting in toilet paper, and using whole oats makes them much more likely to lay on the toilet paper sheets. I just throw them in another container every other week or so and give them fresh paper.
Cleaning: I choose to clean the cages. I guess you don't really have to but it helps with the smell.
-I do this after sifting. I just scrub them down with some clorox, spray it out with water, let it sit around to dry and then toss everything back in. It takes around an hour total, only about 5 minutes spent cleaning all 3 cages plus the small containers. You could let it sit for less time but I like to let it air out just in case. Plus if it's wet, the stuff will get stuck to the bottom and make cleaning next time slightly more difficult.
So overall I spend about 45 minutes for sifting and washing. Plus an hour waiting for things to dry each month. I spend about 5-6 minutes a week to sort them. I spend about 20 minutes a month to mix up their food (which you can skip entirely if you're not raising feeders). I also spend about 5 minutes a month cutting up veggies for them. You could always just cut up a bit extra during dinner preparation and toss it in with them. I cut up celery and just pick out pieces when I remember. Just be careful of onions, garlic, and other strong veggies. I'm not sure if mealworms can handle them them but many bugs don't.
Assuming for the shortcuts that I mentioned but don't do, you'd spend about 25 minutes a month actively doing something. Wait around an hour for the cage to dry. And spend about 5 minutes a week. It's primarily just waiting for them to do their thing.
