Which one is easier breeding silk or horn worms?

[kwengkynator]

I was thinking of breeding some additional source of feeders for my chams but I came to a conclusion that in order for me to distribute my time in a more realistic fashion I should focus on a few feeders for now. I currently have a dubia colony they are really easy to breed! Im planning on breeding some supers with that. Also have some mantis eggs around (I'm not sure how efficient they are yet needs more research). Lastly Im torn between a soft bodied worm feeder. Silkworm or hornworm?

From your experience which one is easier to breed? Im currently going to college living alone and have 2 jobs. As you can see time is a scarce commodity for me. I want my chams to get the best they can without sacrificing my studies, work and peer life. Which of these 2 feeders would you recommend?

Thank you!

 

[kwengkynator]

Well damn.. I posted it in the wrong section of the forums. Apologies... Can a mod move it to the right section or should I just delete this and start a new one?

 

[Trace]

Well damn.. I posted it in the wrong section of the forums. Apologies... Can a mod move it to the right section or should I just delete this and start a new one?

Done. Now don't do it again! I kid of course!

 

[Rango3d]

Silks are really easy to breed. Never been able to breed horns.
That's just me. Hopefully that helps point you in the right direction.

 

[kwengkynator]

Done. Now don't do it again! I kid of course!

Thank you oh great one. I swear on my 25th born son I wont do it again.

Thank you, all I saw was "breeding" and just zoomed in on it

Silks are really easy to breed. Never been able to breed horns.
That's just me. Hopefully that helps point you in the right direction.

I keep getting that same answer. Hmmm.. I think I'm gonna go with silks instead. Quick question what are your food source from them?

 

[Rango3d]

Only thing they will eat is mulberry.
Fresh leaves when in season or chow.

 

[kwengkynator]

I see, I guess time for me to buy mulberry plants

 

[Lazy Boy]

500 silks can put the mulberry leaves down. I was having to feed 2-3 times a day with fresh leaves. Chow they grow a little slower but you only need to put food in every 2-3 days. So much less work. Hornworms you need a good size screen cage just to breed them. Silks you can breed in a shoe box if needed.

 

[kplatvoet]

On breeding silks
You might be able to find mulbery trees growing in the spring - just make sure they aren't sprayed with pesticides

http://forestry.about.com/od/silviculture/p/mulberry.htm

Native Range:

Red mulberry extends from Massachusetts and southern Vermont west through the southern half of New York to extreme southern Ontario, southern Michigan, central Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota; south to Iowa, southeastern Nebraska, central Kansas, western Oklahoma and central Texas; and east to southern Florida.

I think that you can switch from chow to fresh leaves but not from leaves to chow -
I'm an old lady,new to bug raising, and I only have one job but figure if I can raise them - which I did all summer long anyone can.
They do eat a lot of leaves if you have to search for them it can be time consuming - I had a harder time getting the chow right to feed them when they first hatched with the chow but managed it (quite a few died in the learning process though)

 

[Rango3d]

Oh and silks are the best feeder you can possible give.

 

[LilBlue]

Alrighty I'm going to put my two cents worth in here.

My experience with silkworms:
My first batch was May of this year. It was perfect, practically 100% hatch out, less than 10% loss. I had big healthy silkworms up to 4 months old when I fed off the last of them. Since then, 20,000 eggs later I can't hatch nothing. Well a few but nothing to be proud of lol. I've tried every temperature and humidity range with those 20k eggs and no luck yet. I even adjusted temps in my reptile room. Im thinking my thermostat needs to be replaced, as there is almost a 5F differance from side to side of the incubator now. Even brand new eggs from my supplier aren't hatching.

On hornworms:
I've been successful so far with pupating and moths emerging. This is my first go at them. I'm expecting more moths in a couple weeks. Only problem with my first 3 moths I have at this moment are one didn't shed the casing on its proboscis(tongue) and won't be able to feed. I followed pigglett79's bug rearing guide.

Hope that helps