Should I dust Hornworms?

[Escalade]

My friend gave me some hornworms and I want to feed them off before they get too big I'm going to give my cham about 3 or 4 tomorrow along with some crickets, should I be dusting the worms with calcium plus?

 

[chameleoman]

no they are high in water basically thats all they are is water so really theyre used for hydrating your cham and also as a snack

 

[GreathouseFarm]

I don't usually dust anything that is a treat

 

[carol5208]

I dust just about everything! lol

 

[sandrachameleon]

My friend gave me some hornworms and I want to feed them off before they get too big I'm going to give my cham about 3 or 4 tomorrow along with some crickets, should I be dusting the worms with calcium plus?

Depends on what you've been feeding the hornworms.

I dust just about everything! lol

My thinking is that supplements should be supplementary - used only when needed. When to use them, and what to use, should depend on the type of feeder, and what you gutload with.

 

[Dave]

Hornworms are best fed undusted to chams. They're so heavy that I find the cham's tongues have a hard time sticking to the insect when you dust them. And honestly, if you're buying from any reputable feeder company, your hornworms would be fed a generous diet of vitamins and nutrients, so dusting isn't necessary.

Plus, they're a treat. ;-)

-Dave
Small Pet Feeders

 

[ftw]

What is a good substrate to use for hornworms

 

[Dave]

If you're not keeping hornworms in a pod, you should at least keep them in a clean plastic container with food, either the tan wheat hornworm food or mulberry chow works well.

-Dave
SPF

 

[ftw]

well this is my first time ordering hornworms so what is the pod

 

[carol5208]

a pod is the plastic container they come in with the food alreadyin it. Alls you do is let them eat when they want and then dump the poop out! They get HUGE very quickly though, so beware. You will not be able to feed them to your cham if he is young if they get too big.

 

[ftw]

okay well i dont have my cham yet and i would be feeding to my beardie

 

[carol5208]

well then that is a different story I guess! They grow at an alarming rate! Within a week or so they are massive. IF they have access to food, they just basically eat night and day!! I am sure the large ones would be fine for a large beardie.

 

[lanlord510]

Also since no one else mentioned this, if your friend GAVE them to you, are they from your friends garden? if so then they may be tomatoe horn worms and those are posionus last I read.

 

[Escalade]

Also since no one else mentioned this, if your friend GAVE them to you, are they from your friends garden? if so then they may be tomatoe horn worms and those are posionus last I read.

there from an online store not sponsored by cham forums I forget the name, but my friend has like every reptile under the sun except the coolest of them all...a chameleon lol, but yea he has a ton of feeders, i'm going to tell him to try out smallpetfeeders.com

 

[Dave]

there from an online store not sponsored by cham forums I forget the name, but my friend has like every reptile under the sun except the coolest of them all...a chameleon lol, but yea he has a ton of feeders, i'm going to tell him to try out smallpetfeeders.com

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-Dave
SPF