hornworms
- Thread starter dodolah
- Start date
Justin Carl
Avid Member
i didnt dust mine, but they eat so darn much its crazy!!!!!!! once they are 3 inches you better have pounds of food. they would seem a little exspensive to keep. i feed him silkies, hornworms, and crickets at the same time and only dusted crix.
Justin Carl
Avid Member
nope didnt touch them
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
I feed hornworms....
I feed hornworms. I usually have them. You have to make sure you feed them out before they get too big. They can become totally huge before you know it. Only the biggest adult male chams can handle them safely then. The larger ones also have a habit of whipping around and hitting the cham as it is being eaten. The juice from the worm can also then get in the cham's eye. When I feed the larger ones out I let the cham get into it's mouth. Then I hold on to the end of the worm to keep it from whipping around. I keep holding it until it is almost all the way eaten. It is much easier to feed them out when they are only one to two inches long. They are very nutritious. I don't dust them.
I feed hornworms. I usually have them. You have to make sure you feed them out before they get too big. They can become totally huge before you know it. Only the biggest adult male chams can handle them safely then. The larger ones also have a habit of whipping around and hitting the cham as it is being eaten. The juice from the worm can also then get in the cham's eye. When I feed the larger ones out I let the cham get into it's mouth. Then I hold on to the end of the worm to keep it from whipping around. I keep holding it until it is almost all the way eaten. It is much easier to feed them out when they are only one to two inches long. They are very nutritious. I don't dust them.
Jeweledchameleons
Avid Member
They're great
I've had mind go after them with gusto then turn off after the first half dozen or so
Be forewarned, they develop rapidly when the temp's are warm.
I buy a few tubs and keep most of them in a mini fridge to slow the growth.
If the chams start refusing to eat them
I've found it useful to let them grow out and pupate
I'll then use the hatching adults as feed a few months later.
Larvae are useful for getting added fluids into your animal in the summer
and to serve as a green sausage to inject meds and added vitamins into their diet.
They "Can Bite" but it's very rare.. still I prefer to handle them with large
tweezers for feeding placement.
(you may also wish to get some additional chow just in case).
I've had mind go after them with gusto then turn off after the first half dozen or so
Be forewarned, they develop rapidly when the temp's are warm.
I buy a few tubs and keep most of them in a mini fridge to slow the growth.
If the chams start refusing to eat them
I've found it useful to let them grow out and pupate
I'll then use the hatching adults as feed a few months later.
Larvae are useful for getting added fluids into your animal in the summer
and to serve as a green sausage to inject meds and added vitamins into their diet.
They "Can Bite" but it's very rare.. still I prefer to handle them with large
tweezers for feeding placement.
(you may also wish to get some additional chow just in case).
MollyGreen
New Member
Where do u guys find these sorts of bugs!!!! I have been looking for silk worms for 3 weeks now. All of the pet stores only carry meal worms, crickets, and sometimes waxworms, and sometimes superworms. Do pet stores in big cities carry them. Like, say, st. Louis or Indianapolis?(Preferably indianapolis) I would really like to feed my veiled something new, i found a pet store that could order me "giant cockroaches" but apparently they are expensive and i have a female not a male. (she eats like a lady 
)
Sorry for the newbie-ness
P.S.
Bash on Petland! They tried to sell me waxworms as silkies i was like um.. i need something that transforms into a moth and doesnt make my veiled have a heart attack if i feed her 8 of them!
)Sorry for the newbie-ness
P.S.
Bash on Petland! They tried to sell me waxworms as silkies i was like um.. i need something that transforms into a moth and doesnt make my veiled have a heart attack if i feed her 8 of them!
dodolah
Retired Moderator
Where do u guys find these sorts of bugs!!!! I have been looking for silk worms for 3 weeks now. All of the pet stores only carry meal worms, crickets, and sometimes waxworms, and sometimes superworms. Do pet stores in big cities carry them. Like, say, st. Louis or Indianapolis?(Preferably indianapolis) I would really like to feed my veiled something new, i found a pet store that could order me "giant cockroaches" but apparently they are expensive and i have a female not a male. (she eats like a lady
Sorry for the newbie-ness
P.S.
Bash on Petland! They tried to sell me waxworms as silkies i was like um.. i need something that transforms into a moth and doesnt make my veiled have a heart attack if i feed her 8 of them!
I order them online:
www.mulberryfarms.com
or
www.coastalsilkworms.com
MollyGreen
New Member
thanks dodolah your always a lot of help! i appreciate it!
NO U ARE AWESOME! I JUST ORDERED LOTS OF DIFFERENT BUGS! Do these websites come through for you?
NO U ARE AWESOME! I JUST ORDERED LOTS OF DIFFERENT BUGS! Do these websites come through for you?
Last edited:
dodolah
Retired Moderator
so far both companies have excellent service.
I often order from mulberry farm because they are closer to me (so, the shipping is a bit cheaper
)but, I order my first silkies batch from coastal (so far, I am liking their silkies quality than Mulberry farm).
Justin Carl
Avid Member
i also ordered from Mulberry Farms and everything came in great. i was very happy.
christyo2o2
New Member
hornworms love cellery, thats what we fed ours and they ate itup and grew well.
Calavera
Established Member
Do what i Do, culture your own horn worms. All you have to do is plant as many tomato plants as you desire (Moths will instinctively find them and lay horn-worm eggs on them). Just make sure that you use ABSOLUTELY NO INSECTICIDE OR MIRACLE GROW! I cover my tomato plants with a fine mesh net, to prevent any contamination. You will find that your plants will eventually be teaming with horn-worms before you know it! And the icing on the cake, aside for bypassing the expensive cost of these worms, is being able to eat the tomatoes as well!
-Cala-
-Cala-
dodolah
Retired Moderator
I thought about it before. I am right now culturing my own silkies and found out that my cham seem to like hornworms more than silkies.
But, one thing that i learn somewhere
)) is that in the wild, Hornworms are considered to be one of the toxic caterpillar due to what they eat in nature (they eat tomato leaves and potato leaves).I know for a fact that Tomato and Potato leaves are poisonous. Isn't it dangerous to feed chameleons with hornworms that has been exposed to Tomato leaves?
RhettusMaximus
New Member
What you say is true, if the hornworms are eating tomato, tobacco , or potatoe leaves then they are poisonous to your reptiles! Don't do it! Hornworms are a great feeder but are very expensive to invest in. So far, the best things i have done for myself when it comes to feeding my chams is i got 5 different species of roaches to feed and i started culturing my own silkworms. Roaches and silkes can be a bang for your buck and in my opinion (and many others share this opinion) are MUCH better for your chameleons. If you properly gutoald your roaches and if you get the silkworms on a the silkworm food you will have the highest quality feeders you can ask for!
