Feeder Question

[UrbanChameleon]

Phoenix or Butterworms?

I decided to go with mulberryfarms.com this time. Their site says that Butters can be kept in the fridge at 38-42 F. I checked my fridge, and it's currently at 32 degrees.

It says that Phoenix last longer at 50-60 F. My house stays 70-72 F.

I'm not sure which one would last longer. I've never ordered either of these and I'd like something easy. I'm about to go out of town for a week, and the cham-sitter will have to care for a Chameleon, Crested Gecko, crickets, and Silks. So whichever worm I get, it would be best if she doesn't have to worry about it.

Any advice would be helpful. I'd love to get Hornworms but they are out. It seems like they are pretty big too. Loki is still eating small feeders. He's really small for his age. I'll worry about Horns another time.

 

[jannb]

32 would be really cold for your frig. Your food would freeze. Are you sure that's the correct temp? I keep butter worms in my frig which is mid 40's and they last for a couple months. I keep Phoenix worms in the wine cooler at 65 and they last maybe a month. Phoenix worms are very tiny even large ones. I'd recommend butter worms. I buy butters from Sandy here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/but...eder-100-just-19-15-including-shipping-86987/

 

[sandrachameleon]

My house was 70-80 F while I was away on vaction last week for 8 days, and the butterworms were fine (butters are one of the bugs my pet sitter finds least offensive). I receive the butterworms about 4 days before I left, so they survived warmth for well over a week no trouble

 

[UrbanChameleon]

Thank you so much guys.

The temp on the thermometer was probably reading lower than it should have. I honestly didn't think that it was 32 F in there, but I went with what it said.

It sounds like Butters are the winner. Lol. They seemed to be easier to me, but I don't have experience with either of them. Should I just keep them in the container they come in? The site doesn't mention anything about hydration or gutloading. Do I need to purchase any kind of enclosure, food, or water source? Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Thank you so much guys.

The temp on the thermometer was probably reading lower than it should have. I honestly didn't think that it was 32 F in there, but I went with what it said.

It sounds like Butters are the winner. Lol. They seemed to be easier to me, but I don't have experience with either of them. Should I just keep them in the container they come in? The site doesn't mention anything about hydration or gutloading. Do I need to purchase any kind of enclosure, food, or water source? Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.

if you're going to use them up in a week, dont bother with anything - just the container they come in is likely sufficient.
If keeping longer-term, they can be somewhat gutloaded on squash or carrot or similar.

 

[romulan]

i ordered the 50 ct butterworms from mulberry a few weeks ago. They come with enough chow to last forever. Keeping them refrigerated slows their metabolism and will make them last longer. It may take a few minutes of sitting at room temperature until they start moving around again, so don't assume they are dead .

 

[UrbanChameleon]

Okay great!

Thanks so much. I'm really excited to be switching up his diet. He was raised eating Silks and I could tell he missed them. I'm new to dealing with worms, so I've done as much research as possible.

I hate to badger you all more.. but I have one more question. I have an enclosure for the silks, and I'm pretty sure I've got all of that covered (except for finding a good net for the frass). But my question is temp related. I've read that they like it a little higher than I keep my house. Will they die without that extra 5-7 degrees, or will they just grow slower?

I don't want to kill the entire batch for something I could easily fix. I understand that a very low wattage bulb isn't the best solution, but that's about my only option. I don't plan on breeding them. I just want to keep them alive and grow them to the right size for my little guy.

 

[romulan]

I don't think silks are overly sensitive to temperature. I just keep mine in a rubbermaid container with the lid loosely on top outside all the time. Day temps have been about 75-85 where I live and drop to about 60 at night. No casualties. So a constant house temp of 70-72 is fine I think

 

[UrbanChameleon]

I don't think silks are overly sensitive to temperature. I just keep mine in a rubbermaid container with the lid loosely on top outside all the time. Day temps have been about 75-85 where I live and drop to about 60 at night. No casualties. So a constant house temp of 70-72 is fine I think

I really appreciate you answering all of my questions Rom.

I ended up ordering crix and butters. I'm holding off on the silks until I get back from Chicago. I took some pics of Loki eating his Butterworms. He lovvvved them! And I love them because they are so easy to keep. Thank you to everyone for the advice.

And shedding today..

 

[AlecWade]

I really appreciate you answering all of my questions Rom.

I ended up ordering crix and butters. I'm holding off on the silks until I get back from Chicago. I took some pics of Loki eating his Butterworms. He lovvvved them! And I love them because they are so easy to keep. Thank you to everyone for the advice.

And shedding today..

What a great first picture! One happy looking cham hahaha

 

[UrbanChameleon]

Haha! Thank you!

He is one happy fella. I couldn't have asked for better. There are so many Panther locales I want to keep, but he is all I need. Maybe one day when I have the room for it. I do like the fact that he's my little buddy and gets all of my attention. I don't like picking favorites, but I know if I got another Cham it would never compare to Loki. He's my special boy. Lol.

 

[romulan]

No sweat. His colors are looking awesome!