Breeding hornworms!
- Thread starter chamalam
- Start date
You do not want to have them anywhere near a tomato plant. When they ingest these they then become toxic for the chameleon because tomato plants are in the nightshade family.
Google it and do a search on the forum. They produce a ton of eggs and they hatch out really fast. You need hornworm food for them. You need a butterfly cage. And the moths drink nectar.
Google it and do a search on the forum. They produce a ton of eggs and they hatch out really fast. You need hornworm food for them. You need a butterfly cage. And the moths drink nectar.
You are braver then I am lol
I find google search to be a fabulous tool. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=Breeding+hornworms
Most of us do not bother breeding hornworms. They produce a lot of eggs and then you have to deal with an overflow of hornworms. Since these are a treat and not a staple feeder it just does not make sense to breed them when you only have a few chams.
Most of us do not bother breeding hornworms. They produce a lot of eggs and then you have to deal with an overflow of hornworms. Since these are a treat and not a staple feeder it just does not make sense to breed them when you only have a few chams.
summerseeking
Avid Member
My moths just laid eggs yesterday. I'm using tomato plants. the moths only eat sugar water and the ass long as you harvest before the egg hatch and start eating I think you are golden.
The moths lay eggs on everything...the cage, the feeder, the dirt they came out of, and the plants. I would guess other plants may work because they laid on so many surfaces BUT the majority of the eggs were on the tomato plant. I would research it more before deciding other plants could be effective or just experiment with the mindset you may not get very many eggs. My hunch is they lay the eggs on plants in the Solanaceae family because that's what they eat and they want the babies to have a high chance of survival. Other plants may result in less productive lays...but I'm shooting from the hip with that.
The moths lay eggs on everything...the cage, the feeder, the dirt they came out of, and the plants. I would guess other plants may work because they laid on so many surfaces BUT the majority of the eggs were on the tomato plant. I would research it more before deciding other plants could be effective or just experiment with the mindset you may not get very many eggs. My hunch is they lay the eggs on plants in the Solanaceae family because that's what they eat and they want the babies to have a high chance of survival. Other plants may result in less productive lays...but I'm shooting from the hip with that.
TheLeastOfThese
New Member
What kind of plants are in the Solanceae family?
summerseeking
Avid Member
Plants like tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant…they are all nightshade plants. I research that they will all eat mulberry and sweet potatoes leaves which are a different family than regular potatoes (they are night shades). I’m experimenting with growing them up on both as a food source. Mulberry is definitely reptile safe, I think sweet potatoes leaves are as well.
TheLeastOfThese
New Member
Been giving mine Dandelion leafs and they seem to like them as well
summerseeking
Avid Member
The you just reminded me I picked up dandelion seeds to plant in my new horn worm/silk worm setups. Thank you lol
TheLeastOfThese
New Member
Your welcome. How are they doing?
