Has anyone raised silkworms?

[Chameleon_mama]

Thank goodness just about all of my remaining silkworms are nice and snug in their little cocoons and in about a week or two, they’ll be emerging as beautiful and cute little moths. This recent batch of 500 eggs, was much closer to 1000 and keeping them clean and fed was a chore.
Quick tip - If you ever have a silkie that didn’t quite have enough silk or energy to make it into a cocoon, it does still have a chance. You can either gently and loosely wrap some spare silk around it or, reuse an old hatched cocoon and carefully place the pupae inside. I always keep some old cocoons for this. So far, every time I’ve had these naked pupae, they all hatch just fine.
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Nice job!!

 

[animalsbeach360]

Are silkworms are good as a food for chameleons? make a little guide

 

[MissSkittles]

Yes, silkworms are great staple feeders. I can’t tell you their nutritional content without looking it up, but they are nutritious and have enough liquid in them to also be good at giving a little extra hydration. I’m not sure what kind of guide you’d like, but I can give you this for now.

 

[Chameleon_mama]

Ooh! You are literally asking for me to bore you to tears with how I’ve hatched and raised my silkworms. Instead, I’ll try to be kind. Most of what I learned is from @snitz427 and her post https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/posting-my-silkworm-experience.168402/ plus lots of random tips/tricks from forum members. I’ll happily share what I do/know, but you know how much I talk and have been warned. For now, read the link and enjoy some pics of my silkies. The freshly hatched babies (aka kegoes) just make me happy for some reason.
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My silkworms hatched!! What’s the first thing I do again? Haha. Feed them some chow?

 

[MissSkittles]

My silkworms hatched!! What’s the first thing I do again? Haha. Feed them some chow?

Yay! Aren’t they just darling? Don’t they make you happy inside? Yes, you want to feed them tiny amounts of chow. I pick off tiny amounts with a toothpick to give them. It dries out super fast, so you’ll have to keep adding more at least daily. If you happen to have a decent sized syringe just laying around (doesn’t everyone?! ) you can force some chow into it and then squeeze tiny amounts out for them.
My silk moths are starting to emerge from their cocoons today…cycle of life coincidence.

 

[Chameleon_mama]

Yay! Aren’t they just darling? Don’t they make you happy inside? Yes, you want to feed them tiny amounts of chow. I pick off tiny amounts with a toothpick to give them. It dries out super fast, so you’ll have to keep adding more at least daily. If you happen to have a decent sized syringe just laying around (doesn’t everyone?! ) you can force some chow into it and then squeeze tiny amounts out for them.
My silk moths are starting to emerge from their cocoons today…cycle of life coincidence.

Yes, they are so cute!! I almost feel bad knowing the fate they face, being a delicious meal for Rainy. Haha. I actually might have a syringe honestly for my cats but ok cool. I cooked up my batch of chow today and will feed them small bits. I noticed that right when I put the food in they all started moving toward it. Smart little buggers!

 

[MissSkittles]

These have got to be the most unusual silk moths I’ve ever had. Yesterday, something flew across the room and when I checked, it was a silk moth. I’ve been under the belief that they’ve lost the ability to truly fly. There are a few cocoons which have been massive and those have secreted their stuff, but weren’t able to escape their cocoons (not very unusual) so I helped and there were two moths in the same cocoon! Not just once, but so far three of them! One of the cocoons looked like the escape juice was secreted at each end. Only one of the moths was alive (a male)and inside next to the dead one, was a pile of eggs! If they are fertile, it’ll be extra crazy. Lastly so far, at least a couple of them have markings on their wings. I’ve never seen anything but the solid cream color.
They were a little unusual when they were silkworms too. Usually, a good number tends to die off for unknown reasons. These were extra hardy and probably from egg to cocoon, only about 20 died. So far I’ll be getting lots of eggs from them and I’ll see if the off spring is just as hardy.

 

[elizaann2]

These have got to be the most unusual silk moths I’ve ever had. Yesterday, something flew across the room and when I checked, it was a silk moth. I’ve been under the belief that they’ve lost the ability to truly fly. There are a few cocoons which have been massive and those have secreted their stuff, but weren’t able to escape their cocoons (not very unusual) so I helped and there were two moths in the same cocoon! Not just once, but so far three of them! One of the cocoons looked like the escape juice was secreted at each end. Only one of the moths was alive (a male)and inside next to the dead one, was a pile of eggs! If they are fertile, it’ll be extra crazy. Lastly so far, at least a couple of them have markings on their wings. I’ve never seen anything but the solid cream color.
They were a little unusual when they were silkworms too. Usually, a good number tends to die off for unknown reasons. These were extra hardy and probably from egg to cocoon, only about 20 died. So far I’ll be getting lots of eggs from them and I’ll see if the off spring is just as hardy.
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The moths are so beautiful

 

[Chameleon_mama]

These have got to be the most unusual silk moths I’ve ever had. Yesterday, something flew across the room and when I checked, it was a silk moth. I’ve been under the belief that they’ve lost the ability to truly fly. There are a few cocoons which have been massive and those have secreted their stuff, but weren’t able to escape their cocoons (not very unusual) so I helped and there were two moths in the same cocoon! Not just once, but so far three of them! One of the cocoons looked like the escape juice was secreted at each end. Only one of the moths was alive (a male)and inside next to the dead one, was a pile of eggs! If they are fertile, it’ll be extra crazy. Lastly so far, at least a couple of them have markings on their wings. I’ve never seen anything but the solid cream color.
They were a little unusual when they were silkworms too. Usually, a good number tends to die off for unknown reasons. These were extra hardy and probably from egg to cocoon, only about 20 died. So far I’ll be getting lots of eggs from them and I’ll see if the off spring is just as hardy.
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Twins!!!

 

[Chameleon_mama]

Yay! Aren’t they just darling? Don’t they make you happy inside? Yes, you want to feed them tiny amounts of chow. I pick off tiny amounts with a toothpick to give them. It dries out super fast, so you’ll have to keep adding more at least daily. If you happen to have a decent sized syringe just laying around (doesn’t everyone?! ) you can force some chow into it and then squeeze tiny amounts out for them.
My silk moths are starting to emerge from their cocoons today…cycle of life coincidence.

Do you have any techniques of how to make the food stay moist for longer? I feel like some of my worms have died because I don’t have time to feed them 3x/day haha

 

[MissSkittles]

Do you have any techniques of how to make the food stay moist for longer? I feel like some of my worms have died because I don’t have time to feed them 3x/day haha

Afraid I don’t. In the past I have put a blob of food in a small container and moved them onto it. The problem with that though is they cover it with a silk netting and aren’t smart enough to get thru to eat the food below.Bigger chunks of food will dry out slower.

 

[elizaann2]

You are all amazing, I tried raising silkworms from eggs once and it was so much work and so hard...I can't do it

 

[dinomom]

Do you have any techniques of how to make the food stay moist for longer? I feel like some of my worms have died because I don’t have time to feed them 3x/day haha

I mist it with a fine sprayer. This works to rehydrate the dried food. But replace after 3 days of this or you can get mold.

 

[Chameleon_mama]

I mist it with a fine sprayer. This works to rehydrate the dried food. But replace after 3 days of this or you can get mold.

Oh this is a good idea!

 

[dinomom]

Oh this is a good idea!

My other top tip is to use a paint brush to move them around if you need to when they are tiny

 

[elizaann2]

My other top tip is to use a paint brush to move them around if you need to when they are tiny

So smart! I never would have thought of that.