Are treated wax worms safe?

[MzLaurie11]

Wax worms are now being treated so they wont spin silk. I do not know what the chemical is called but it keeps them from cacooning. Also you cant breed them they will hatch into moths but the moths cant cacoon the eggs. My cham wont eat treated wax worms and they used to be a fav treat. I listen to him but i would really like to know if they are safe. oh i get the need to protect our bee poplulation so i always freeze the cacooned worm before trashing. for those of you who dont know wax worms destroy beehives. The moths lay eggs on the hive and hatchlings burtow in and eat the wax

 

[kinyonga]

According to this they are non-chemically treated....
https://flukerfarms.com/reptile-u/care-sheets/wax-worms-care-sheet

Cycle...wax worm cocoons up...moth comes out...moth lays eggs...eggs hatch into worms. There is no cocooning of the eggs....do you mean lay the eggs?

 

[MzLaurie11]

According to this they are non-chemically treated....
https://flukerfarms.com/reptile-u/care-sheets/wax-worms-care-sheet

Cycle...wax worm cocoons up...moth comes out...moth lays eggs...eggs hatch into worms. There is no cocooning of the eggs....do you mean lay the eggs?

Yes the moths make a silk sack to protect eggs untill they hatch. without it they lay what looks like little brown drops of something that dries up and no worms. this is from personal experience. Untreated wax worms make a cacoon that they change in. Treated wax worms exoskelton hardens to make a cacoon that the moth emerges from. I found very little info what wax worms are being treated with, but i did find some info on it. also wax worms in the stores usef to have silk in the containers. I dont see this anymore either. This seems to be hush huzh which is why i am asking

 

[Beman]

Just so you know wax worms should not be fed except as a rare treat. They are very high in fat and do not gutload.

 

[Persnickety Parson's]

Just so you know wax worms should not be fed except as a rare treat. They are very high in fat and do not gutload.

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To further split the hairs, you can gut load waxies, BUT it's rather labor intensive in my opinion.

 

[Chameleoking]

I wouldn't feed anything treated to my cham. But that's just me.

 

[MzLaurie11]

I wouldn't feed anything treated to my cham. But that's just me.

Thank you evryone for your replies. I awant to make everyone aware that wax worms are being treated with something which changes them to slow down the transformation process but it may not be safe for chams. My cham wont eat them at all now so its not an issue for me. But wax worms are good for sickly underweight chams especially young underweight chams with issuses because they are easy to eat.

 

[nightanole]

I cant find squat on "treated" wax worms. But ALL butter worms are irradiated to prevent pupation. So it might be the same deal. And no they do not "pick up" radiation etc, we humans eat irradiated fruits and meats all the time, much safer than chemical treatment.

 

[kinyonga]

The intro to the site I gave the link to above said...
"treated wax worms from flukerfarms.com"...
"Before being shipped, the worms are non-chemically treated to slow or completely stop the cocooning process" ...
Which is why I posted it....so maybe you should ask them how they are treated?

 

[kinyonga]

Yes the moths make a silk sack to protect eggs untill they hatch. without it they lay what looks like little brown drops of something that dries up and no worms. this is from personal experience. Untreated wax worms make a cacoon that they change in. Treated wax worms exoskelton hardens to make a cacoon that the moth emerges from. I found very little info what wax worms are being treated with, but i did find some info on it. also wax worms in the stores usef to have silk in the containers. I dont see this anymore either. This seems to be hush huzh which is why i am asking

Wax moths lay very very tiny eggs and they hatch into very very tiny waxworms which are fed oatmeal and honey and grow bigger...to the size we usually buy at the store to feed to the chameleons. These worms eventually turn brown and harden up...this is the cocoon form and the wax worms transform into moths inside and break out...and the cycle repeats itself.




After further reading, I've found out that in warmer climates they do spin cocoons! You learn something every day!
I live in a cooler climate...so I guess that's why I didn't see it.