Silkworm Questions??

[Kbullock]

Hey everyone I need some help with two questions.
1. Can silkworms be a staple item for a cham? My cham is getting picky and is refusing to eat crickets or roaches only silk worms so I want to know if its okay to just feed him silks or not.
2. I have a few silkworms that are HUGE !!!! so I wanted to know what I need to do to get them to coccon up and turn into moths. I have them in a plastic container but not sure if they need to hang or what?

Any advise is always greatly appreciated. TY

 

[jdog1027]

You pretty much need access to Mulberry tree leaves. It seems to be the only food that they eat.
http://www.suekayton.com/Silkworms/raising.htm

 

[Kbullock]

I know that I'm speaking of feeding the silkworms to my cham I know what the silkworms eat they are eating there weight everyday.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Well I would say silks worms being a PART of a staple diet is fine
but you really should try and feed them their crickets too,
you cant really gut load silk worms because they only eat one kind of food
and gut loading is how our chams get alot of their nutrients and what not.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Oh and P.S
Nick barta on the forums sells silk worms at a good price
He lives here in washington so no crazy shipping fees
I just drive out there and I buy all mine from him.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Chameleons need some chinton / roughage in their diets, so you will need to feed it superworms or crickets or mealworms or roaches at least occassionally in addition to the silkworms.

Silkworms CAN be gutloaded. Mulberry leaves or mulberry chow is a gutload, and while that is their primary food they will also eat dandelion leaves, shaved carrot, and a few other things.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

I thought those killed them after a while?
Or if they eat too much? o-o

 

[joeandsoph]

I hope you can gutload silkworms! I've just brought a load! Hehe

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Well if sandra says you can, trust me you can
I was on the assumption that if they ate too much of carrots, ect, ect.
They would die o-o but apperently they dont

 

[sandrachameleon]

No you are RIGHT. I found that the silkworms diet had to be at least 50% mulberry based over the long term. In a short term, like in the days before feeding off, you can feed them whatever they will eat, and none of it has to be mulberry. But in my experience if you want to grow small silkworms up to large size, you need to give them mulberry chow or fresh mulberry leaves for at least 50% of their diet. I choose to feed them one third dandelion and two-thirds mulberry. I think the dandelion mulberry combo is a great gutload

 

[ladysilkworm]

Hey everyone I need some help with two questions.
1. Can silkworms be a staple item for a cham? My cham is getting picky and is refusing to eat crickets or roaches only silk worms so I want to know if its okay to just feed him silks or not.
2. I have a few silkworms that are HUGE !!!! so I wanted to know what I need to do to get them to coccon up and turn into moths. I have them in a plastic container but not sure if they need to hang or what?

Any advise is always greatly appreciated. TY

The silkworms need corners to anchor themselves. So ppl use paper rolls. They will just look up, swirl their heads and spin silk.. they will eventually find their way to a corner or edge, but sometimes some would need help. But if it is already spinning a good amount, just let it be.. because if you pick it up it will try to find another place to spin but would've ran out of silk to cocoon.. as a naked pupae it will most likely die.

IN about two weeks they will emerge.

 

[nick barta]

The moths don't fly, so you can do the pupation and hatching of the cocoon in a plastic container.

Let the moths mate, lay eggs, and THEN let them meet your little chameleon friend!

Nick

 

[joeandsoph]

My silkies arrive this morning. Disgusting...that's all I'm saying. Yuk yuk yuk. Not looking forward to feeding these little beasts.

 

[ladysilkworm]

My silkies arrive this morning. Disgusting...that's all I'm saying. Yuk yuk yuk. Not looking forward to feeding these little beasts.

why do you find them disgusting??? Probably because they came with chow and smell rancid??

If you raise them on leaves, they are adorable, they were my very first pets!!

 

[Kbullock]

I agree how can they be soooo discusting?? they are just like caterpilars I like my worms I almost feel bad when I cham freaks out trying to rip them off his wood.. lol almsot feel bad..

 

[PedroANDAshley]

My silkies arrive this morning. Disgusting...that's all I'm saying. Yuk yuk yuk. Not looking forward to feeding these little beasts.

Ohhhh you have no idea.
You have to be SOOOOOOO CLEAN with these feeder or they will die.
Make sure you wash your hands before dealing with them or
youll have pools of nasty silk worm goo.
Your gonna have to clean their poo like daily
They POO SOOOOOOOOOOOO much!
And clean their dead bodieds daily too.
Pretty much their environment should be really clean.
I hate the way their food smells and the way the way they smell after they die
I made the mistake of not washing my hands and I would take them out and handle them and let my nephews handle them and my husband handled them.... the nest day like half were dead lmao!

 

[Kbullock]

LOL Ashley your so crazy..... You have a pet cham you dont need a pet silkworm. I know I clean up after my worms more then the cham I feel like a bug keeper.. All the neighbors think I'm weird with all the worm packages that get delivered day after day hehe.. I want to get some butterflies I would love to see if my cham will hunt them down.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Oh but theyre so cute I love to take them out, my nephews set up obsticle courses for them LMAO but they dont go too far

Ditto, Id love to find some butterflies for feeders I hate letting the flies that I got for Nick out cuz some times I forget and open the cage and then I gotta go hunt them down cuz they get out :/

Oh and I feel ya on the packages I live in an apartment and if I dont answer the door they send the package to the office....Im not so sure that my office/apartment manger people will be so thrilled I have bugs in my apt >.>"

 

[Kbullock]

LOL i hear ya there thats one of the reasons I waited to buy my cham after I got a house.