Losing silkies faster then I am buying them...

[Rosie42892]

I have ordered silkies twice now and lost them within a matter of days. I am keeping them in the enclosure bought at coastal silkworms, which is a plastic container with a mesh bottom with a cover that allows air flow. They are eating the pre made mullberry food, also bought at coastal silkworms. I am also keeping them at room temperature. Does anyone know why they just keep dieing?! What am I doing wrong, I really want to keep feeding silkies because my little cham loves them.

 

[draetish]

What is the room temp? They should be kept at temp between 78 - 88 degrees. Try putting them under a basking light and check the temp.

 

[james L]

Have you touched there food with your bare hands? They are super sensitive to germs and bacteria.

 

[draetish]

Have you touched there food with your bare hands? They are super sensitive to germs and bacteria.

True and they should be kept dry, no humidity.

 

[Rosie42892]

Thankyou! I think they have been cold AND I touched there food with my bare hands. :/ Should I change what I am keeping them in?

 

[draetish]

Thankyou! I think they have been cold AND I touched there food with my bare hands. :/ Should I change what I am keeping them in?

Is it the same container they came in? If so, I would just warm them up and try to feed them off quickly. We live and learn.

 

[summoner12]

If they are turning to mush they are deseased, this would be there issue, especialy if they are coming to you as mush. Be sure to clean the container with a light bleach solution and then seperate the 'bad' from the good asap.

It also helps if you use 'gutter gaurd' in the container... lay the food on the plastic mesh (gutter gaurd) and the worms will eat away at the chow and the poop falls to the bottom.

I use something simalar in plastic trays. I use aluminum foil in the tray because it holds form a lot better than wax paper. if you find that the chow is drying out, I take a piece of foil and fold the edges over a couple of times so the foil sheet is more ridged nad place it over the tray so that the moisture is trapped a little more. Becareful though, this can cause mold if you trap too much moisture, so play with it and keep an eye on it. Also, don't go too hot or too cold. silks grow and eat well at about 75-85*F. If you go above 85* you most likely will loose worms.

 

[Rosie42892]

Is it the same container they came in? If so, I would just warm them up and try to feed them off quickly. We live and learn.

No, they come in a small dish and coastal silkworms sells a "silkworm keeper" but is actually just a plastic container and top from walmart with mesh on the bottom. Should I just keep them in what they arrive in? Here is the link to the "enclosure"


http://coastalsilkworms.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=43

 

[summoner12]

lol wow how much is that? I didn't see a price... I useold dinner tray thingys from when you get stuff at CostCo or Trader Joe's. They are abuot 5x7"? some are bigger and some are deeper... I just line it with foil, place the plastic inside (it comes on a roll so when you cut it out it 'arches'),I place food on the plastic mesh and then put the worms on.

I can take a pic when I get home if you really wanna see what I am talking about.

 

[draetish]

I always buy the "pod" it is the complete deal. All you have to do is empty the frass (poop) once a day.

 

[Rosie42892]

I ordered some more silkies, but this time from mulberry farms. They do not havetheir pod/cup available so I had to just get the shipment in a dish. I will clean out my POS "silkworm keeper" and keep them under a basking light and NOT touch their food with my bare hands. Ahh. Crossing my fingers because my little ambilobe LOVES the silkies!

 

[chams1]

I just quit purchasing silks during the winter. I have found that it is hard to keep them (here) during the winter when they have to eat the pre-made food (since there are no leaves on the trees). In the summer, they totally thrive here on the mulberry leaves. I leave them in an open-air critter keeper filled with mulberry leaves and they grow like crazy. I know that you can keep mulberry leaves in the freezer and thaw them when you need to use them but there's no way I could keep enough of the leaves for the winter, even if I emptied out my deep freeze.

 

[Rosie42892]

I just quit purchasing silks during the winter. I have found that it is hard to keep them (here) during the winter when they have to eat the pre-made food (since there are no leaves on the trees). In the summer, they totally thrive here on the mulberry leaves. I leave them in an open-air critter keeper filled with mulberry leaves and they grow like crazy. I know that you can keep mulberry leaves in the freezer and thaw them when you need to use them but there's no way I could keep enough of the leaves for the winter, even if I emptied out my deep freeze.

Unfortunatly I do not have access to any fresh mulberry, so I feed the pre-made chow. Is this okay? Also I think I may purchase a plain critter keeper without the cricket tubes, so there is more ventilation.