My veiled won't eat

[myma81]

I've read threads about this before and hoped I would never have to go through it BUT my veiled has lost his appetite. He used to eat as much as he could (crickets, locusts & calci-worms) in 2 feeding sessions but a week ago he suddenly ceased eating. If I really persevere he will eat 1-2 each day but that's it. I am going to order silkworms today and see if he'll take to those. Can someone tell me what I should feed the silkworms and how they should be housed please? xx

 

[AllFallDown]

I've read threads about this before and hoped I would never have to go through it BUT my veiled has lost his appetite. He used to eat as much as he could (crickets, locusts & calci-worms) in 2 feeding sessions but a week ago he suddenly ceased eating. If I really persevere he will eat 1-2 each day but that's it. I am going to order silkworms today and see if he'll take to those. Can someone tell me what I should feed the silkworms and how they should be housed please? xx

You only have two options with silkworms: Fresh mulberry leaves and silkworm chow which is made from mulberry leaves. Thats pretty much it (although I feel like I read somewhere that someone did get them to eat something else but such reports are not typical and deviate quite a bit from their natural diet).

They like to stay around 80F. Once they are over about an inch long (I think its closer to 1.5 inches, but I dont remember off the top of my head), you can relax on the temperature a bit. Real critical for younger ones. They will die without the heat.

I keep mine in a plastic container. Make sure you clean it out periodically. They eat fast, and well... make messes fast.

 

[myma81]

You only have two options with silkworms: Fresh mulberry leaves and silkworm chow which is made from mulberry leaves. Thats pretty much it (although I feel like I read somewhere that someone did get them to eat something else but such reports are not typical and deviate quite a bit from their natural diet).

They like to stay around 80F. Once they are over about an inch long (I think its closer to 1.5 inches, but I dont remember off the top of my head), you can relax on the temperature a bit. Real critical for younger ones. They will die without the heat.

I keep mine in a plastic container. Make sure you clean it out periodically. They eat fast, and well... make messes fast.

Thank you for the quick reply. How do I keep them @ that temp? Should I keep them in my chams enclosure? And do I need some sort of bedding/substrate for them?

 

[myma81]

Keeping my options open, just remembered he seems to be interested in flies. A couple of my calci-worms hatched into soldier flies and he ate them. So are there any type of flies that I can get in the UK? If not maybe I'll try and hatch more calci-worms instead.

 

[AllFallDown]

I used fresh leaves that I found, uh, around... lol.

I just threw them into the container I had them in and removed the old stuff. They usually climb all over the leaves.

Avoid getting them wet.

I did not use substrate. Not sure if it can cause a problem or not but I would not be inclined to try.

As far as heating goes. I put them under my grow lights and that seemed to work ok when the light was on. In the evening, I lost a bunch of smaller ones but the larger worms made it ok- they were big enough to where I did not fret about it.

Might look into a heating mat- preferably one with a variable setting on it so you can tweet the temps. I would be cautious about putting the enclosure directly on the mat itself, might be better to put a towel or blanket between depending on the temp and temp differential.

Another option (I have never tried this) would be to get an el cheapo styrofoam cooler box from a store (these are usually really cheap) and put some wattage of bulb in there to provide some heat. I doubt you would need a very high power rated bulb.

 

[AllFallDown]

Keeping my options open, just remembered he seems to be interested in flies. A couple of my calci-worms hatched into soldier flies and he ate them. So are there any type of flies that I can get in the UK? If not maybe I'll try and hatch more calci-worms instead.

Not too sure about what is available in the UK. I tried calciworms for a while, LB just kind of snubbed his nose at them (the bearded dragon loves them). I know with the larvae their skin is hard to digest so to ensure proper nutritional utility you are suppose to poke them with a needle before feeding. It would be worth your time to check to see if this (or any other issues) applies to hatched adults. Hopefully someone wiser than I on this will jump in here.

 

[myma81]

What is a styrofoam cooler box? (I'm english), is it something you use to keep your picnic cool? I have a heat mat, that's a great idea - thanks.

 

[myma81]

Not too sure about what is available in the UK. I tried calciworms for a while, LB just kind of snubbed his nose at them (the bearded dragon loves them). I know with the larvae their skin is hard to digest so to ensure proper nutritional utility you are suppose to poke them with a needle before feeding. It would be worth your time to check to see if this (or any other issues) applies to hatched adults. Hopefully someone wiser than I on this will jump in here.

A pin? Don't know if I could do that? Are you saying the soldier fly is no good?

 

[AllFallDown]

A pin? Don't know if I could do that? Are you saying the soldier fly is no good?

I am not sure about the adults. The larvae are hard to digest from what I have read. The pin prick is done to ensure digestive enzymes penetrate the hard to digest skin and thus that nutrition is made availible to your chameleon. Otherwise, as I have read, the worm may just "pass right through" the digestive system.

 

[AllFallDown]

What is a styrofoam cooler box? (I'm english), is it something you use to keep your picnic cool? I have a heat mat, that's a great idea - thanks.

Something like this:

I suspect other, less crude, options exist- this is simply what popped into my head. An incubator might be a better, more reliable option if the expense is compatible with your circumstances. That would also come in handy down the road of you decide to let your mini-dinosaur have babies.

 

[AngieL]

Hi there! You can get silkworms and silkworm chow here
http://www.silkwormstore.co.uk/
They provide a promt and friendly service.

I would recomend the powdered chow, you can just mix a couple of spoons with some boiled water to 'cook' it, the cooking instructions will tell you otherwise but it's a waste of time microwaving it and such!

 

[myma81]

Hi there! You can get silkworms and silkworm chow here
http://www.silkwormstore.co.uk/
They provide a promt and friendly service.

I would recomend the powdered chow, you can just mix a couple of spoons with some boiled water to 'cook' it, the cooking instructions will tell you otherwise but it's a waste of time microwaving it and such!

Thanks AngieL that's brill, will go look now xx

 

[myma81]

OK I've purchased medium silkworms & chow. Hope they hurry!!

 

[myma81]

Can anyone tell me how long a 4.5 month old veiled can go without eating before I should take him to the vet?

 

[myma81]

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[Kate]

Hi ya. I ordered silkworms and chow from that site 10 days ago. I think they are on holiday as the site says that there is none avalable till end of week beg 17th. Have sent an email but haven't had a reply yet. Did you get a confirming email?

 

[myma81]

Hi ya. I ordered silkworms and chow from that site 10 days ago. I think they are on holiday as the site says that there is none avalable till end of week beg 17th. Have sent an email but haven't had a reply yet. Did you get a confirming email?

Hi ya Kate,
I never received mine, but now I'm not so sure if I pressed the "pay" button properly. Knowing me that is the case. Ordered calci-worms instead and got them the next day. He ate loads, so must have just been bored of critters.
Did you get your silkworms?

 

[Kate]

Yes they came 2 days ago. Not as gross as I imagined. In very good condition from Silkfarm. I ordered 200g of powder but it comes with a small block of made up food. Popeye not sure but he has had a few. Out of all feeders he seems to prefer crickets.