Ginormous hornworms

[stephga]

Er, I mean, Goliath Hornworms. I ordered some of these for my juvenile chameleon and have been feeding him 1-2 of them a day. The ones he hasn't eaten yet are now about 3 inches long, and I feel like they are too big! What do I do with them now?! My daughter has been feeding them to her Bearded Dragon, but I don't think he is supposed to have them daily, more like an occasional treat...
I didn't realize they would multiply in size so quickly!

 

[carol5208]

you can put them in some dirt and they will dig down and pupate. They will turn into moths in about 3 weeks. The moths are very large but not as large as the worms and their wings are a big part of their size but the wings are not really solid if you know what I mean. I still would not feed them to a juvenile but it is cool to see them turn into the moths. The moths can mate if you get a female and male but there is a process to all of that too.

 

[stephga]

Hmmm, I will have to do some research on that. It might be a fun thing to do with the kids, and then just release the moths?

 

[carol5208]

I am not sure if you should release them or not. I don't think they have a very long lifespan anyways so I don't know if they would go out and reproduce and cause any harm to the ecosystem. I know they say never to release captive bred animals into the wild but I don't know if that would go for moths!!

 

[carol5208]

Acouple of links for you to check out from one of our members

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/pigglett79/723-hornworm-pupating.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/pigglett79/724-hornworm-moth-set-up-care.html

 

[pigglett79]

Also, next time you buy them purchase horn worm eggs or small worms. You can put them in the refrigerator for a day or two at a time to slow their growth once they are approaching the appropriate size.

 

[nick barta]

Horn Worms are mostly water and soft skinned, the Beardie can eat them, they are not just for occasional treats.