Silkworms getting too big.

[Brenda R]

I bought small silkworms for my 5 and 6 month old chams. Two of them like them and the other might eat one if I am lucky. The silkworms are growing so fast that now I have very few small ones and most of them have gotten too big too feed to the chams. How long do they last when they get to full grown size? I don't know how big they can get before I can't give the chams anymore.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Your chams can handle a pretty big silkworm...
bigger than you probably think they can.
Beyond that once they finish growing they will start to spin
cocoons. If you let them, you'll get moths who cannot fly and will breed
and lay eggs. Then you can start all over again.
Google silkworm care.

-Brad

 

[gab_to_me]

Don't feed your silkies everyday. I feed them every other day and during the morning. Don't feed at night. This will help them stay smaller longer.

 

[Brenda R]

Yeah I usually feed them when they run out so a lot has been getting big. I thought you had to keep them fed. I do feed them in the morning also.

Brad, I thought the size of their food had to be the size in between their eyes. Or does this not go for silkworms? I am so new to chams that I was afraid they would choke. Even crickets if I was not sure I would set them free and buy more. How many do you give them if they are larger?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Since the silkworm is soft and squishy the rule does not apply.
I feed silkworms that are easily 4 to 5 times larger than the
distance between the eyes with no problems.
Usually no more than 2 or 3 a day. 70% protein times that size
equals a lot of crickets!
At 7 to 8 months old my veiled will (on a normal day) consume 3 silkworms, 3 to 5 roaches, 3 or 4 zophobas or other insects equivalent to that.
Keep in mind that Kitty is a boy and he's a little fat piggy.

-Brad

 

[CammieNLeno]

This is a great question you had. I was wondering the same as well, and I made a video last week of this exact question- well i acutally fed em and then was striken with guilt over the possibility that i might have fed em one too large. Hope this link works with the tag that brad setup.



Is that too big? I thought it was, but man, he loves those silkies like noneother

brad- i used the but with no avail?

direct url - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6cfFc4IYA

 

[Heika]

Loved the comments in your film clip! I don't think that silk was too big.. looks like he had no problems eating it.

Heika

 

[Brenda R]

Wow from the looks of the size of that silkworm compared to your cham I should have no problem with mine.

Another question I have for you guys. Since I am new with chams I was wondering about how much you should be feeding a day to your chams at 5 and 6 month olds? They are almost 6 and 7 months old. I feed them one day fruit flies which look so small and maybe on other days silkworms and on others small crickets. I just want to make sure I am feeding enough. I don't want to over or under feed.

 

[Heika]

Wow from the looks of the size of that silkworm compared to your cham I should have no problem with mine.

Another question I have for you guys. Since I am new with chams I was wondering about how much you should be feeding a day to your chams at 5 and 6 month olds? They are almost 6 and 7 months old. I feed them one day fruit flies which look so small and maybe on other days silkworms and on others small crickets. I just want to make sure I am feeding enough. I don't want to over or under feed.

Are your chameleons still eating fruit flies at that age? Usually, they will quit eating them.. takes more energy to shoot at them than the energy they gain from eating them. I have a big fat panther that will shoot at gnats, but that is because he is a bit piggy. My veileds are a little younger than yours, and I am feeding them around 10 insects each a day right now. Type varies.. superworms, silkworms, crickets, roaches, moths, a few other bugs. But, I try to keep about the equivalent of 10 cricket sized insects. They are growing well on this diet, and are shedding every two or three weeks still. My big concern is the females.. I don't want to overfeed them because this could encourage early egg development. I want them to grow up to be strong healthy chameleons before they start producing eggs.

Heika

 

[Brenda R]

I put the fruit flies in a cup. They will eat them but kind of look at me like is that all. I was trying to finish off the little I have left. I feed them small crickets and I bought silkworms but I thought most of them were getting too big but now I know different. They were in heaven when I gave them a big juicy one. The panther and one of my veileds ate them no problem. The other veiled does not seeme to care for them very much. I have only seen them shed maybe twice since I have had them. I thought they were too small for superworms so I never bought any. I did not know they could eat moths and have not seen anyone sell them. As for roaches, I can't bring myself to get any.

 

[flpanther]

Large prey items

The main reason you shouldn't feed prey items that are too large is the risk of impaction(constipation) which can be fatal for chams. This isn't a problem when feeding caterpillars like silkies or hornworms because they are mostly moisture, your cham will have no problem passing it. The only drawback is you dont get to watch them zap as many bugs! A couple weeks ago my big panther ate a house gecko that ran into his cage when I was cleaning it(he is kept outdoors in south florida). He became impacted and looked like a pregnant female. Thankfully, increasing his misting to one hour a day helped him pass a 4 inch turd.

 

[Brenda R]

I have 3 silkworms cocoons now. How long does it take to hatch? Is there anything I should do for them? Do I remove them from where the worms are? I don't have and incubator for when they lay eggs. I tried to hatch some eggs I bought and they did hatch and were doing fine untill we had a cool night. Is there a way to make and incubator instead of buying them?