Breeding silks step by step?????

[chameleoman]

I NEED TO KNOW STEP BY STEP ON HOW TO BREED THEM BECAUSE I WANT TO BREED THEM EVERY TIME I BUY THEM THOUGH THEY DIE????THEY GET REALLY SQUISHY GET STUCK TO THE GLASS AND DIE ANY TIPS!?!?!?!? OR ANY ONE NO WHY THEY ARE DIENG?!?!?!

 

[suzi]

They are very susceptible to bacteria and everything has to be super sterile while handling them and there food. www.wormspit.com has a lot of info on silkworms. I put the worms in a cricket keeper type box and have hardwood cloth at the bottom so the frass falls through and keep the food on the top of the mesh, you can line the bottom with freezer paper for easy cleaning. When they get larger I cut toilet paper rolls in 1/2 and lay them down horizontally after the worms cocoon it it I take them out and place them in another cricket keeper with paper towel on the bottom. When they hatch out they will pair up and mate, they will stay joined together for days, if you want you can cover them up with a deli cup to prevent males fighting over the females, if you ave a lot. Then the females will lay hundreds of eggs. They don't eat or drink when they are moths, they just mate lay eggs and die like a week or so later

Edit: I also use a petri dish for the first two weeks and kept them in an incubator with the temperature between 80 a d 85.

 

[chameleoman]

http://www.wormspit.com/grasserie.htm
just though i would share

 

[d3s5]

I hatch mine out in a covered petri dish. When they hatch, I put in a strip of chow and keep it covered. About 5 to 7 days later (I put in fresh chow if needed after 3 days) I move them into plastic shoeboxes with a paper towel at the bottom and two layers of the stuff you put under rugs with 1/4 inch mesh. But then I never have them covered again. I used to keep them covered for awile to eat, but they eat so fast the chow doesn't get a chance to dry out anyway. I think you will have great success if you just remove your lid! That has been my experience. And I have a bit of experience since when I first started I hatched out 1000 worms! Oops! I learned that what looks like not many eggs is really 1,000! They all did well though. And I have a ton of refrigerated eggs now!
Deb

 

[Psychodrake]

Silkworms just need gentle care and a clean environment. In my case, I don't have any mesh to use as a base, so I just replace the tissue at the bottom daily and get any poop out, feed them and keep them warm with a heat mat. Only 4 have died so far out of the 60 I bought, which is the next important thing, dead ones should be taken out as soon as possible.

Hopefully I'll have the resources to keep them better before any moths emerge.

 

[chameleoman]

i wanna but im not sure if they sell them at the reptile super show but if they do im gunna buy some so if any one knows if they sell them there that would be great to know thanks and if any one does know the answer can u pm it to me thanks

 

[chameleonoobie]

They seem awfully labor intensive and dang they eat a lot! Better have a few mulberry trees handy.

 

[x KaveManKush o]

How Do You Gut Load a Cricket?

 

[suzi]

How Do You Gut Load a Cricket?

You feed the cricket 24 hours before the chameleon eats the cricket, then the nutrients are in the "gut" so when the chameleon eats the cricket he gets all the nutrients. It is best to feed them after the 24 hours before the cricket empties his gut

 

[LeorandtheChameleon]

some ways to do this are to by cricket food at pet stores, some major petstores like petco or pets smart (which double check everything they say for aquircy) i use a product called flucker's high calcium cricket diet.

some people can use other things, someone told me they used fruits for their crickets.

 

[carol5208]

here is a great thread for you to read! It should answer all your questions!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/silkworms-101-a-7906/