Butter worms

[RandellTheCham]

My cham loves worms, he would kill for a worm.

So i have been researching to find a worm that i could feed my male cham regularly as he's getting bored of locus, crickets ect.

Im from the uk so i cannot get horn worms or silk worms but ive seen butter worms are these ok and can these be fed often? Is there any other worm i can use in uk?

Thanks alot.

 

[Twitchet]

Hi there, I'm from the u.k too, silkworms are easy- ish to get here, the site mentioned below usually has most sizes in stock or grows them to order, better still you can raise your own, Remkon here has written a silkworm care sheet.
I think butterworms are super high in calcium but quite high in fat too, a bit like waxworms, they are more of a treat than a staple however silkworms are goodness through and through. I'd look into silkworms rather than Butterworms which are also imported from Chile and difficult to get, I buy my chow, eggs or microworms from www.silkwormstore.co.uk Tom is very helpful, there are articles about care and also nutritional info, you'll see how well silkies rate, calciworms are great and cheaper than silkworms or butterworms, my chams love calciworms( black soldier fly grubs they are called in u.s ) I put a few in a feeding cup, they wriggle a lot which makes them attractive to chams, and I know they are good for them too.
Good luck.

 

[RandellTheCham]

Hi there, I'm from the u.k too, silkworms are easy- ish to get here, the site mentioned below usually has most sizes in stock or grows them to order, better still you can raise your own, Remkon here has written a silkworm care sheet.
I think butterworms are super high in calcium but quite high in fat too, a bit like waxworms, they are more of a treat than a staple however silkworms are goodness through and through. I'd look into silkworms rather than Butterworms which are also imported from Chile and difficult to get, I buy my chow, eggs or microworms from www.silkwormstore.co.uk Tom is very helpful, there are articles about care and also nutritional info, you'll see how well silkies rate, calciworms are great and cheaper than silkworms or butterworms, my chams love calciworms( black soldier fly grubs they are called in u.s ) I put a few in a feeding cup, they wriggle a lot which makes them attractive to chams, and I know they are good for them too.
Good luck.

So can calci worms be used as a stable?

 

[Twitchet]

Read the page on the site above, he says you can , I'm sure someone else will offer their view too, but it's definitely best to try and feed a varied diet, I keep or offer silkworms, butterworms, waxworms, two roach types, locusts, crickets, stick insects, calciworms- grubs and flies- house flies, and pachnoda grubs. My panther is picky and sometimes will only favour certain foods but I still try to offer a good range and well gut loaded too.
Cheers.

 

[Remkon]

Calci worms are the devil!!!
If you feed them something that gives of even a bit of moist they can climb everything and will escape almost everything!
You either need a very well sealed container or better keep em outside!
They also smell like the devil's farts!
They also don't grow to big so for an adult veiled or panther they may become to small.

 

[Twitchet]

How dare you Remkon! . They are super - funny you say they niff - I've never found that- i've also never found them crawling out of their container- I know they are small but my panther loves them and will eat 10 in one session! Even the younger parsons eats them- apparently they are a great food for ill animals - ( hence phoenix worm ) because their wriggling makes them appear are extremely tempting even for an animal off it's food, as well have having the ideal calcium to phosphorous ratio.
I get some lovely big ones from www.onlinereptileshop.co.uk- got some yesterday actually and they are really big- almost as big as a waxworm, nice and plump.
They are only a few quid so worth a try- I know my panther will go for one food over another then change and favour something else so i just keep rotating what I offer.

 

[Remkon]

I would keep em, especially because they will become BSF but I've had em twice now and both times it was a big smelly mess...

One site said I could put in half an orange and they would eat it but that was a nightmare, they went in the orange but never came out and the whole container became gross.

What do you do to keep em?

 

[RandellTheCham]

I currently have 500 crickets and they smell like a million *** holes

 

[Twitchet]

To be honest I buy 100 large at a time and keep them in the container they come in - a push on lidded 4" square plastic box and supplied with slightly moist compost- I get through them quite quickly and dont bother to feed them anything- any that pupate I keep and let them hatch for flies- they are popular as they don't fly fast, the Phelsuma love them too.
Now crickets DO niff- freak the hell out of me too as they bite! They are the only creature I won't pick up !

 

[RandellTheCham]

To be honest I buy 100 large at a time and keep them in the container they come in - a push on lidded 4" square plastic box and supplied with slightly moist compost- I get through them quite quickly and dont bother to feed them anything- any that pupate I keep and let them hatch for flies- they are popular as they don't fly fast, the Phelsuma love them too.
Now crickets DO niff- freak the hell out of me too as they bite! They are the only creature I won't pick up !

Thanks alot for the info. Ill get some saturday

 

[pgr7]

Let the calcium worms sit undisturbed few weeks at room temp, they will start to become black soldier flies my panther loves em!

 

[Remkon]

To be honest I buy 100 large at a time and keep them in the container they come in - a push on lidded 4" square plastic box and supplied with slightly moist compost- I get through them quite quickly and dont bother to feed them anything- any that pupate I keep and let them hatch for flies- they are popular as they don't fly fast, the Phelsuma love them too.
Now crickets DO niff- freak the hell out of me too as they bite! They are the only creature I won't pick up !

So I guess I will get em and just won't feed em the next time... or maybe just something like grains.

My crickets don't really smell or at least I don't smell them.

 

[KeopiCat]

My crickets don't really smell or at least I don't smell them.

How is this possible?

 

[Peachypink]

Have you even noticed what the hornworm poo smells like?!?! That's the one that makes me gag, I can't even explain it but if smell had a feel it would be fuzzy.

DZ loves the flies, they are like crack for him. I just let the larvae sit too. I got a locking lid smaller than a shoebox size bin at the dollar store, used push pins to make small holes but then took a paper towel and laid it over the opening before I put the lid on to keep them from escaping. I throw them ripe banana once and a while and maybe a little cooked squash.

 

[Peachypink]

I currently have 500 crickets and they smell like a million *** holes

I HATE crickets. I don't keep them. My main feeder is dubia roaches. WAY less hassle.

 

[Remkon]

How is this possible?

I don't know...
They smell more than my dubia but not nearly as much as phoenixworms...

Especially since I started making their food into icecubes and feed it to them on a dish instead of tossing in fruits and veggies in the container stays really clean..
I have a low die off usually so no smell from that either.

 

[KeopiCat]

I don't know...
They smell more than my dubia but not nearly as much as phoenixworms...

Especially since I started making their food into icecubes and feed it to them on a dish instead of tossing in fruits and veggies in the container stays really clean..
I have a low die off usually so no smell from that either.

I guess I don't have phoenixworms as a comparison, but my crickets smell nasty T-T
I'll have to try your method