Feeding Day Tasks

While on most days, it isn't necessary to completely change the water, it is on feeding day, regardless of if it is empty or visibly dirty.

To refill the water, first empty any remaining water and debris in a sink, and spray down the water dish with the provided cleaning solution, and wipe the dish dry with a paper towel. Afterward, use the provided bottle of treated water to re-fill the dish.

If you have run out of treated water, please refer to the emergency guide.

The humidity box is the plastic container full of dirt in the enclosure. To ensure that it does not dry out, it needs to be sprayed down generously on feeding day.

To maintain the humidity box, remove the box from the enclosure, and remove the lid. Inspect the substrate and the plastic for mold; the dirt will have some white pebbles in it; this should not be an issue since the dirt should be new. But, if fuzzy mold is growing, replace the dirt with a paper towel, and continue onto the next step.

Use the provided spray bottle of treated water to spray down the humidity box. You should see water start to collect on top of the dirt briefly when you've sprayed enough. Replace the lid and place it back where it was previously in the enclosure.

If you have run out of treated water, please refer to the emergency guide.

To feed Lexi, you must first prepare her insects. I have provided mealworms in a plastic cage, and several supplement containers.

Select 8 or 9 mealworms to feed to Lexi for the day, and place them in the appropriate supplement dish. Refer to the feeding schedule to know which supplement is required for each day. Be sure to prioritize any pupae if they form. Pupae are very distinct; they will be white, and will not have the long, worm-like shape of the larvae. These can sometimes go for as long as a week or two before they become adult beetles, but it is best to make sure that they are eaten as soon as possible to avoid the risk. If you see pupae between feeding days, it is nothing to worry about, as long as they are fed on the next feeding day. After pupae, prioritize the largest mealworms that you notice. I recommend picking them up with the provided feeding tongs; they aren't known to bite, but they can sometimes be difficult to avoid dropping because they wiggle around and are very smooth.

After they are all in the supplement container, place the lid on the container, and shake to coat the insects. Place the mealworms in the brown mealworm dish, and Lexi should take care of the rest. If there is not much supplement powder, then use the provided supplements to refill the container. The calcium and calcium with vitamin D come with scoops, which should give you a decent idea of how much powder to add at once. Be careful when adding supplements to the containers; the calcium container is calcium without Vitamin D. The D3 container has calcium with Vitamin D.

Just remember: Do not feed Lexi dead insects. She should not eat dead insects, and will not do so without encouragement.

If you run out of mealworms, refer to the emergency guide for more information.

The provided mealworms should be relatively low maintenance, but it is important to make sure that they are properly maintained on feeding day.

After feeding Lexi, remove any food items that were in the container before, and replace them with 1 bag of provided food items. These additional food items should be pre-cut and refrigerated. Be sure to remove any insects from the food items as you lift them out to avoid escapees.

At this time, if you notice any dead mealworms, then remove them and throw them away. Dead mealworms will have a shriveled appearance, and usually will turn dark brown or black.

If the vegetables look a little shriveled between feedings, this is normal, and nothing to be concerned with, unless mold is present.