Silkie Feeding

[Ellron]

I just fed my 3.5 male veiled a silkworm. I set it on a branch and walked away, still watching. He ran up to below the branch and shot. He hit it, but the worm had too good of a hold on the branch. It reeled in his body and he was right under the worm with it in his mouth. He had to chew alot to get the worm to give up its grip on the branch. The worm was about .5" Is that too much for a 2.5 inch cham? I know the distance between the eye rule, but I figured it would be ok since it was a flexible worm....

 

[Ellron]

Also, his UVB light is on the top, but he spends most of his time hiding in the foliage more than 12" away from the light... It is a 5.0, so it has 12" effectiveness. Should i get a 10.0?

 

[sarah777]

Silkies are gushy, that size should be fine for him.

 

[Ellron]

What about the whole tongue reeling in deal?

 

[sarah777]

Do you mean his whole body was pulled toward the silkie because of it's grip?

 

[PedroANDAshley]

That should be fine for him.
Worms like hornworms and silk worms have a soft outer body and a exception for the distantance between the eye rule (but dont over do it lol).
Insects with hard exoskeletons you should follow the rule for.
And thats odd how he was reeled up like that...
Is his grip weak? That wouldnt be good...
Then again I wouldnt know the stregnth of a silk worms grip either.

 

[ghettomike]

The first few times I fed silikies to my Carmie when she was younger the same thing happened, the silkies grip was so good that her tongue stuck to the silkie and she had to walk up to the worm to eat it. It was quite amusing really but it doesnt happen like that anymore, I think she learned a new technique for grabbing the silkies.

 

[pantherlover]

try to put the silk on a leaf. it wont be able to grip as strong as if it was on a vine

 

[Ellron]

@Sarah777, Yes his whole body reeled in.
@Ghettomike, glad it isn't just mine...
@pantherlover, I'll try that.

A second question. I have a 5.0 uvb on the roof, but he spends most of his time more than 12" away from it hiding in foliage. Will the bulb have effect, or should I upgrade to 10.0?

 

[pantherlover]

whats your basking temp? maybe the cham is retreating from the basking light? my vet advised for me to use a 10.0... my breeder said otherwise. some people say they regulate their own uvb intake but its debatable as far as i know. what kind of cage ae you using on the top? the forum user, summoner has a great blog with uvb readings for a 10.0 & 5.0 & different variables. i found it helpful in knowing the capabilities of the uvb output of both. id be careful with a 10.0 because it emits a lot more uvb.

 

[Ellron]

whats your basking temp? maybe the cham is retreating from the basking light? my vet advised for me to use a 10.0... my breeder said otherwise. some people say they regulate their own uvb intake but its debatable as far as i know. what kind of cage ae you using on the top? the forum user, summoner has a great blog with uvb readings for a 10.0 & 5.0 & different variables. i found it helpful in knowing the capabilities of the uvb output of both. id be careful with a 10.0 because it emits a lot more uvb.

Basking temps are not high, 83-85F. I think he might be goining to the umbrella plant to escape the openness of the upper cage. I will post a picture of the cage in a minute.

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

If you cham is an adult veiled he should have no problem ripping a silkie off a branch with his tongue. Panthers 6 months and older do it without a problem. Is his grip very strong and does his tongue shoot very fast? I use reptisun 10.0's on my cages that are bigger than 4ft tall, for example my 6ft and 8ft tall cages all have reptisun 10.0's.


Justin

 

[Ellron]

If you cham is an adult veiled he should have no problem ripping a silkie off a branch with his tongue. Panthers 6 months and older do it without a problem. Is his grip very strong and does his tongue shoot very fast? I use reptisun 10.0's on my cages that are bigger than 4ft tall, for example my 6ft and 8ft tall cages all have reptisun 10.0's.


Justin

He is a 3.5 month old male veiled. His grip is strong and his tounge shoots out fast. I fed him another silkie today, putting it on a leaf to lessen its grip, and he got it and ate it fine. I guess I will refrain from putting it on the biovine. I will stick to the 5.0 unless advised otherwise (Cage 18x18x36 )