Dark coloration on hornworm

Chalu

New Member
Hey i have my 6 month old panther chameleon,
i usually feed him silk,crickets,supers,mealworms,hornworms.
Today i noticed one of the horn worms had some black coloration on the back of him.. but the hornworm is healthy and alive..
i was wondering if this would be safe to feed my panther. wouldnt want him to get sick.
 

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Goober.. trying to give him a cricket. but hes about 5-6 month old.
 

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It does happen to a small percentage of the hornworms as they grow. It does not appear to be a fungus or mold, but more in the pigment.

An email to Great Lakes Hornworms and Mulberry Farms may produce a more accurate answer.

CHEERS!

Nick:D
 
Hornworms aren't too friendly towards each other and bite, so that will leave black mark. It depends how big is discoloration. If you can post a picture that will help.
 
Hornworms aren't too friendly towards each other and bite, so that will leave black mark. It depends how big is discoloration. If you can post a picture that will help.

This is exactly what I think it is. If your hornworms are running low on food, or the cup is to crowded and one cannot reach food, they will bite and try to eat each other. This is probably just a bite mark. I would feel safe feeding it to my chameleons.
 
It could be that they hit eachother .. i had 13 hornworms in one cup.. i playd it safe and didnt feed it to my cham.. im not exactly starving on hornworms & money so i played it safe. i did post a pic.
 
the coloration was along the white lines of the hornworm and had it all on its back.. i wish i could post more pics but i disposed of it.
 
It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like bite marks to me. Poor little Hornworm some other worm took it really hard on him and then he got discarded at the end. But sure, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Once Hornworms reach size of 1-1/2" it is recommended to keep no more than 12-15 Hornworms in the cup or transfer them to a larger size container, so they will have enough space and will not hurt each other.
 
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