SilkWorms 101

[growing zoo]

I am so excited to have read this thread and all the info provided will be so much use since i am on day 5 of egg watch !!!!!
my question is, what do eggs look like?
my eggs i had delivered look like poppy seeds ??!! i think they are changing colour although i am not sure and wonder if i am willing them to change
do they look like flat-ish black crusty things?

 

[Ellron]

I have some cocoons about to hatch.
One of them has developed a brown spot on the end.
What does that mean?

 

[Vegas Chad]

That it went poop?

 

[Silkyslim]

Nah I read that the brownign of the cocoon is a chemical called cacoonaise or something similar. It is used by the moth to help the breakdown of the cocoon so it can escape and get out.

 

[Vegas Chad]

I still say he went poop...

 

[Lindz]

I'm confused on the cleaning of the frass. I don't understand the nets and canvas parts of it. Does anyone have any pictures? I read on the Mulberry Farms site that you don't need to clean the frass or old chow just as long as it was dried out, or did I miss read that? Also how long will it take for the worms to grow about 3/4" long from the time they hatch?

I'm just trying to make sure i've got everything right so I can go ahead and order some to hatch.

 

[ladysilkworm]

I'm confused on the cleaning of the frass. I don't understand the nets and canvas parts of it. Does anyone have any pictures? I read on the Mulberry Farms site that you don't need to clean the frass or old chow just as long as it was dried out, or did I miss read that? Also how long will it take for the worms to grow about 3/4" long from the time they hatch?

I'm just trying to make sure i've got everything right so I can go ahead and order some to hatch.

Some ppl use nets and canvas. Some don't. It's up to you. During 1st and 2nd instar I don't use anything. I let it dry out. After they are 3/4 I do use a canvas. You can see picture of the cocooning kit which has a canvas on my website. ladysilkworm.weebly.com.

THey should grow 3/4 by 10 days under ideal condition.

 

[ladysilkworm]

I still say he went poop...

hahah.. you might as well call it poop. It is cocoonaise that helps soften the silk. But when they get agitated they do that too. They spray!



The cocoon should have emerged pretty soon after. Sometimes you may need to help it out by cutting away the silk.

 

[SycoSquirl]

sorry to be bringing this back again...

do you HAVE to refrigerate the eggs in order for them to hatch? my eggs have been black for about 2-3 weeks ish and are just sitting by my cage, idk if i ruined them this way or what but just trying to figure out what my next step should be?

 

[Tyzoone]

hey this thread is awesome and I'm super excited to try this out! question though, is it worth the time/cost of raising these for one chameleon alone in your opinions? would I actually be saving any dough? And yes i'm considering buying silkies before I even own another cham haha (nerd)

 

[SirCal]

I just recently made a order of 500 eggs so hopefully they arrive this week. I think I may need to read threw this thread another 10x to make sure I got all the information LOTS of good info here. Im sure i'll be having lots of questions along the way. I just discovered the benefits of silkworms on another forum I belong too for my kio and when I use the search engine for "raising silkworms" many chameleonforums topics pop up so I figured this must be the place to be if you want to learn about silkworms!

 

[SirCal]

I received my eggs and kept them at room temp (about 78 in my area) and they hatched in 8 days. Luckily its the spring so the mulberry trees in my area are in full bloom , soon as these guys hatched I chopped up some fresh mulberry leaves and they were eating. They are extremely small so far I will take more pics at 7 days old

 

[KapitalJ]

So I had a batch of silks hatch about 2.5 weeks ago. This is my first attempt at this. After watching some you tube vids, seems as though my worm are super small for 2.5 weeks old. I see people whos silks are 1" long after a week. Mine are only about 1/4 long. Is it most likely because they are just kept at room temp 19C, or am I not feeding enough?

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

Mine are only about 1/4 long. Is it most likely because they are just kept at room temp 19C, or am I not feeding enough?

19 ºC translates to 66.2 ºF - That is a bit cold and probably why yours are so small. You want to keep them above 75 degrees for them to do best. If you want them to really grow nice and fast and healthy then you need to be keeping them between 80-85 degrees. That temp will make their growth rate shoot through the roof. Anything hotter than that and they can quickly dry up and die.

Best of luck.

 

[KapitalJ]

I will add some heat tape to my silky shelf when I get home from work. It will keep them around 83F, same as I did to hatch them.

Thanks you sir! @trickedoutbiker

 

[KapitalJ]

wow!! @trickedoutbiker what a difference a few days with heat has made!! They have exploded in size!!
Thanks again for the help!

 

[SirCal]

Couple updated pics I have been feeding them 2x daily at 8am and 8pm I cover them with mulberry leaves each feeding which are gone in about 3hrs! I'm thinking of adding and additional feeding maybe a midnight snack

 

[SirCal]

UPDATE: I have had some make it to cocoons while others are still spinning I hope to have months in a few weeks if any one has any questions i'll be happy to answer to the best of my abilities thanks