Hornworm colony? Silkworm colony?
- Thread starter xephyr17
- Start date
pigglett79
Avid Member
I usually order 4 packets of silk worm chow and 4 of the 1/2 lb dry hornworm chow at a time and it usually lasts me at least 3-4 months. So I guess about 1 packet of chow per month. But that will depend on how many worms you keep and how much you feed them etc.
I start my hornworms out in deli cups with the chow, once they out grow the cups I put them in Tupperware and feed them daily, but also put them in the frig for a day or so at a time to slow their growth. While in the frig they do not eat. I may also feed the ones I use as feeders some fresh veggies instead of chow occasionally. While the ones that are intended to be breeders are fed chow the whole time. I keep a couple hundred at a time and sell the rest in the deli cup habitats that I make, so that food counts as food I go through. But I don't have worms all the time, I may go 3 weeks between worm cycles which means less food is used.
silkworms: I may feed less as they get bigger to slow their growth which also means the chow will last longer. and I don't keep more than 200-300 at a time. I also dont have worms all the time, there are weeks between cycles.
You also may not want to have your breeding cycles back to back as you will notice your chameleons get tired of the worms and it is nice to have a break between. I usually try to have silk worms and hornworms on opposite cycles as it never fails that my boys will be tired of them in no time and I am left with a ton of unwanted worms.
I start my hornworms out in deli cups with the chow, once they out grow the cups I put them in Tupperware and feed them daily, but also put them in the frig for a day or so at a time to slow their growth. While in the frig they do not eat. I may also feed the ones I use as feeders some fresh veggies instead of chow occasionally. While the ones that are intended to be breeders are fed chow the whole time. I keep a couple hundred at a time and sell the rest in the deli cup habitats that I make, so that food counts as food I go through. But I don't have worms all the time, I may go 3 weeks between worm cycles which means less food is used.
silkworms: I may feed less as they get bigger to slow their growth which also means the chow will last longer. and I don't keep more than 200-300 at a time. I also dont have worms all the time, there are weeks between cycles.
You also may not want to have your breeding cycles back to back as you will notice your chameleons get tired of the worms and it is nice to have a break between. I usually try to have silk worms and hornworms on opposite cycles as it never fails that my boys will be tired of them in no time and I am left with a ton of unwanted worms.
xephyr17
New Member
Awesome, thanks for that info!!
Do you have care sheets on these so I could do it like you do? I only have 2 chameleons, so I might want to keep less at a time. Right now I have about 1500 roaches that I've been feeding off like crazy.
