Cham loves crickets... won't touch silkworms

[bombadillo2]

Hi! New to the forums... got a baby named Miles.

I usually feed him crickets and roaches. I've only seen him eat the crickets but he doesn't like being stared at so I probably have missed him eating the roaches, as they're nowhere to be found. I decided to get him a supplementary treat of silkworms... and he won't touch them!

They are very move-y so I'm sure he sees them. I ordered the smallest size I could find but they still seem a little large. Are they just too big for him maybe? Or does he just not like silkworms (no judgement! lol.)?

Anyone have experience with this? If no silkworms, then what should I supp his diet with?

 

[GoodKarma19]

It could be a size thing, or it could very well be that Miles has never seen one and therefore doesn't immediately recognize silks as food! You can try mixing them in a feeder cup with feeders he does eat (i.e. the crickets and/or roaches) and see if that inspires him to give it a try. That's how I tricked Lily into eating a hornworm - I put it in with a couple supers. Now she comes running for hornworms!

 

[snitz427]

Took a few tries (and a little hunger) before my guys got on the silkworm train. I roll them over the silks wiggle more and get their attention. Now all 4 of my guys love them... but now they won’t touch dubia. DOH!!!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Give him time, he’ll change his mind.

 

[Ruthless]

Your going to have to show some tough love. And not give in he will become hungry enough to give them a try and then will love them. I to had a issue getting mine off crickets but I held strong. I only feed Dubia,silkworms and BSFL. Crickets drive me crazy plus don’t have as much nutrition as the other feeders I mentioned . Also silkworms can be used as a staple food source not like hornworms where those are treated as a treat. And for the them being a little bigger then your crickets or Dubia you should be fine because silkworms are soft bodied and your Cham should be able to handle a little bit larger feeder.

 

[Beman]

When you say baby.... How old are we talking? Do you have a pic of him next to a silkworm?

 

[snitz427]

Based on your photos from the other thread, you need very small/young silkworms. They grow pretty quickly once they reach about an 1" in length. 1" or smaller is probably where you wan to be... and you'll probably have a hard time finding those without hatching them yourself. No matter how you slice it, getting your own eggs or hatching some you bought will take a few weeks before they're the right size. Maybe @Spyro has some for sale that are small enough?

Silkworms are soft, but not as soft and squishy as hornworms, so I would still use caution when feeding any that are questionable size. My guys don't get them beyond a certain point, and 2 are full grown.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Hi! New to the forums... got a baby named Miles.

I usually feed him crickets and roaches. I've only seen him eat the crickets but he doesn't like being stared at so I probably have missed him eating the roaches, as they're nowhere to be found. I decided to get him a supplementary treat of silkworms... and he won't touch them!

They are very move-y so I'm sure he sees them. I ordered the smallest size I could find but they still seem a little large. Are they just too big for him maybe? Or does he just not like silkworms (no judgement! lol.)?

Anyone have experience with this? If no silkworms, then what should I supp his diet with?

He might not know what to think about them . Keep offering or he just might not like them all together . Our Oliver was so scared of super worms . He would run from them as a baby . Our wasabi get VERY OFFENDED from super worms . He’s a monster big huge beautiful male veiled . He see’s them in his cup or container and he walks away (stink eye galore). If there’s other feeders he eats everything but them . There all different . What one may like another not so much .