Help! Quick please!

[FiffelGoesWest]

I just got my shipment from mulberry farms. i have got sillkworms. butterworms and hornworms. It says to remove the silkworms upon arrival. what shouls i keep them in and do i need to get them some kind of food. the others have some directions such as the degrees i should keep them well the butterworms do and it is 35 to 40 degrees. where should the be kept should they be kept in the refrigerator or what? and im guessing they eat thier bedding. also what do i do about hte hornworms keep them in what they were sent in? PLEASE HELP!

thanks
Jessica

 

[hallenhe]

Silkworms 101 is a very good thread; I learned how to handle my silkworms from it. I don't know how many or what size silkworms you got; if your shipment is like mine, they're in a petri dish with greenish mush that is silkworm chow, and they'll be all right on that while you set things up. I put mine in a Critter Keeper (cricket cage); it probably held a liter or slightly less in volume. They'll need food - either silkworm chow (the greenish stuff; Mulberry Farms sells it and hopefully you bought some with your order) or mulberry leaves; if neither are available, look about on the forums; there are recipes for do-it-yourself silkworm chow out there. They'll want to be kept relatively warm; I had a ceramic heat lamp clamped to hover about four inches above the cage.
The hornworms were probably sent in a "pod" (largish deli cup with mush at the bottom; kind of smelly); this mush is their food and will suffice for them provided they're fed off over the week or so. They will grow very quickly. Room temperature should be good for them, provided you're lows aren't below 60 F or so.
Can't help with the butterworms.

 

[Metric]

I just got my shipment from mulberry farms. i have got sillkworms. butterworms and hornworms. It says to remove the silkworms upon arrival. what shouls i keep them in and do i need to get them some kind of food. the others have some directions such as the degrees i should keep them well the butterworms do and it is 35 to 40 degrees. where should the be kept should they be kept in the refrigerator or what? and im guessing they eat thier bedding. also what do i do about hte hornworms keep them in what they were sent in? PLEASE HELP!

thanks
Jessica

Butterworms can be kept in the fridge. As for silkworms and Hornworms the only thing they will eat (at least to grow) is something called "mulberry chow" "silk worm chow" or Mulberry leafs themself. The so called "chow" is made of mulberry leafs and it looks like a beige pasty substance, you might have received some with your shipment unless it all got eaten.

If you don't have access to mulberry leafs or the "chow" there isn't much you can do it terms of feeding your silk/horm worms. Carrot shavings can keep them alive for a bit, but its not a substitute for mulberry leafs or chow.

You can house them in any type of container so long as you keep it very clean, sanitized and you clean up their poop.

Some members have created multi level containers that filter the poop by having the worms live on a surface with many small holes so the poop falls through rather then collect.



This passage is quoted from "dodolah" from the thread SilkWorms 101


Silkworm 101:
Part A: The Facts
SAFE HUMILITY

I. SAnitize, Sanitize, Sanitize
Always keep your utensils, hands, or food, or anything that come in contact
with silkies clean and bacteria free.
The reason being is the silkies' low immune systems against disease and
mold.

With this, it is imperative for you to check any development of mold and
any signs of sick silkies. It is best for you to get rid of the sick one..

Do not mix one batch with another to avoid cross contaminations.

Wash your hand with antibacterial soap be4 and after handling silkies.
Purell alcohol sanitizer is very handy. Avoid anything scented and the one
that come with moisturizer.

II. FEed, Feed, Feed
Silky only has 3 jobs in its life. Eat, poop, and Mate.
During the worm phase, they will only eat n poop, eat n poop, and eat n
poop .
and during the moth phase, they will only mate mate and mate.
So, always have food readily available for silkies.

III. HUMIdity
Silkies needs their environment humid enough for them and yet not
too humid so that the molds can grow.
Unfortunately, I do not know the exact number (perhaps someone can fill
me in for this). General rule is:
open the enclosure if you see condensation form in the cage.

IV. LIght
Avoid direct sunlight. They don't like it period.

V. Temperature
Keep the temp between 78 - 85F for a healthy growth. any place above
72F will suffice. The best way to keep a stable temperature is incubation.
or heat up the whole room until it's 78 F rather than putting a basking
spot lamp. After all, they are not chameleons.. They do not know how to
bask. They only know 3 jobs, remember? eat, poop, and mate..
Basking is not listed in their resume . You can use heat pack.. but
beware of mold.


VI. Yummy foods
Silkies only eat 2 kind of foods. They are silkworm chow made by
silkworm farm and Mulberry leaves.
Just so you know, it is easy to change the gutload from chow to the
fresh leaves but not the other way around. So, before introducing the
leaves to them, be sure you will have a constant supply of mulberry
leaves.

Here is what the chow looked like:

(Please be aware.. this is not my image. I took it from a random site i found during google search. I hope it's ok)

"OMG, I ran out of chows and All my mulberry trees are dead! What am I
gonna do?"

Don't panic. Order your chow online and meanwhile supply your silkies
with shredded carrots.
Be aware, your silkies will not survive forever with shredded carrots. It is
only a temporary solution.. After all, they are not rabbits.

"What about water?"

again, they only know how to eat, poop, and mate.
So, giving a water crystal or a drop of water is totally useless.
The only source of water they need comes from the food.
So, the chow needs to be moist. once it dries, it is useless.
and the leaves have to be fresh.

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Let's go to part B: The Enclosure
Chances are you have silkworms already in your arsenals of feeders.

"What do you keep them in?"

Get a large cricket keeper (again, you probably already have it)
Get a white plastic canvas at Walmart (not the one Van Gogh or Michelangelo use... but the one that Martha Stewart might use. It look like a net made from plastic) Cut it according to your cricket keeper size and put it inside.
Since cricket keeper's bottom is slightly smaller than the top, putting the canvas there will leave a gap underneath.
i use red to symbolize the canvas
Others use some kind of an L shape carton on the bottom for extra stability.


Put your silkies and the chow for the day on the plastic canvas (not the whole pound of chow, ok! it doesn't work that way).

When they poop, the frass (silkies' poop) will fell down to the bottom. making it easy for you to clean everyday. You'll be amazed on how fast it is be4 your
next cleaning.
Thank God that silkies frass are not stinky like crickets nasty poop!

O yea.. No substrate necessary. Unless if you have nothing to do, and you love cleaning after silkies every 15 minutes.


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Anyways, i hope that helps, you can also use the forums "search" option for any further info you might need.

good luck