Hatching Silkworms... WHAT was I thinking???

[Beman]

The food looks a little too wet. It will get moldy and could kill off your colony. It should be similar texture to cheese if you cook it right. Use very small, thin strips to feed them. I went through alot of trial and error with silks...

Yeah I cooked some quite a bit more this morning lol. It was way too wet.

 

[Rst_Cham]

Yeah I cooked it longer to get it a bit dryer.... I think my biggest issue with this is the fact that I feel bad when things die... I have come to terms with the bugs dying when I feed them but these are little helpless things that I am responsible for so I am all concerned about killing them. lol

I learnt this the hard way with too-wet chow. Luckily my silks were large by the time I made that mistake but I came home to a bunch a green silk worms stuck in chow and some dead ones. I had to give 100+ silkworms baths, one by one, and gently scrubbed the chow off each one, then dried them off. It worked, they lived, cocooned, and are now mating, but yeah, lesson learned.

 

[Beman]

I learnt this the hard way with too-wet chow. Luckily my silks were large by the time I made that mistake but I came home to a bunch a green silk worms stuck in chow and some dead ones. I had to give 100+ silkworms baths, one by one, and gently scrubbed the chow off each one, then dried them off. It worked, they lived, cocooned, and are now mating, but yeah, lesson learned.

Robin.... I do not think I am that devoted... Props to you!

 

[Rlc1994]

To get a perfect consistency of chow where it’s not to wet and not to dry i make small batches of 1/2 cup of powdered chow then add very hot water from the stove top to the chow in small amounts. So add a little water then mix if it’s still to dry add a little water then mix keep doing this until you get a consistency of about wet clay maybe a little softer. This is what I do and it seems to come out perfect because you can control the amount of moisture you put into.

 

[Rst_Cham]

Robin.... I do not think I am that devoted... Props to you!

I'm like you, it's hard for me to have things die.

 

[Beman]

To get a perfect consistency of chow where it’s not to wet and not to dry i make small batches of 1/2 cup of powdered chow then add very hot water from the stove top to the chow in small amounts. So add a little water then mix if it’s still to dry add a little water then mix keep doing this until you get a consistency of about wet clay maybe a little softer. This is what I do and it seems to come out perfect because you can control the amount of moisture you put into.

Yeah I am doing it in 1/2 cup batches but I am adding too much water or not heating it enough... Hopefully I finally figured it out because the chow is too expensive to waste.

 

[Rst_Cham]

To get a perfect consistency of chow where it’s not to wet and not to dry i make small batches of 1/2 cup of powdered chow then add very hot water from the stove top to the chow in small amounts. So add a little water then mix if it’s still to dry add a little water then mix keep doing this until you get a consistency of about wet clay maybe a little softer. This is what I do and it seems to come out perfect because you can control the amount of moisture you put into.

But are you still microwaving it to cook it?

 

[Beman]

I'm like you, it's hard for me to have things die.

Thank god I am not the only one. My mind is like your gonna feed them anyways so you will be killing them but then I get all squishy emotional about them being so tiny and helpless lol. I am hoping the ones that got stuck in it will make it. They are so tiny I could not do anything but try to move them.

 

[Rlc1994]

Yeah I am doing it in 1/2 cup batches but I am adding too much water or not heating it enough... Hopefully I finally figured it out because the chow is too expensive to waste.

I wait until I just start to see little bubbles in the water Not fully boiling but close. Don’t microwave it or anything either if you are. The very hot water will do the cooking for you.

 

[Rst_Cham]

Thank god I am not the only one. My mind is like your gonna feed them anyways so you will be killing them but then I get all squishy emotional about them being so tiny and helpless lol. I am hoping the ones that got stuck in it will make it. They are so tiny I could not do anything but try to move them.

You definitely aren't the only one. I take it a step father even and say a little "I'm sorry" to the bugs before I fed them off sometimes, lol. But not to the crickets, I don't like them.

I have a couple silk moths right now that are alive but done laying eggs. I should feed them off to Max, but I haven't been able to talk myself into it yet even though I understand they will be dying soon.

 

[Tony_S]

I learnt this the hard way with too-wet chow. Luckily my silks were large by the time I made that mistake but I came home to a bunch a green silk worms stuck in chow and some dead ones. I had to give 100+ silkworms baths, one by one, and gently scrubbed the chow off each one, then dried them off. It worked, they lived, cocooned, and are now mating, but yeah, lesson learned.

LOL, I just pictured you running a silkworm day spa. Just missing the message.

 

[Beman]

You definitely aren't the only one. I take it a step father even and say a little "I'm sorry" to the bugs before I fed them off sometimes, lol. But not to the crickets, I don't like them.

I have a couple silk moths right now that are alive but done laying eggs. I should feed them off to Max, but I haven't been able to talk myself into it yet even though I understand they will be dying soon.

I was not able to feed my moths either... I was like all that to become a moth and lay eggs to be eaten... So not fair. The only ones I have a hard time feeding are the silks and the horns. They are cute and I feel bad. The dubia and the BSFL not at all. They can be eaten without remorse.

 

[snitz427]

They arent good climbers in my experience, at all. I’d lay the net down flat on the food, not vertically, with the food on top of it. The net/screen is only intended to keep the food from touching the poop.

Also your food is too wet and too much. It will likely mold quickly. Do smaller chunks. If you want to avoid them every day still do small chunks, but slightly larger small chunks . Youll need to change food every 2-3 days at max to avoid overly dried out food or moldy food.

Its really not bad once you get your system down.

 

[AnamCara]

Yeah I cooked it longer to get it a bit dryer.... I think my biggest issue with this is the fact that I feel bad when things die... I have come to terms with the bugs dying when I feed them but these are little helpless things that I am responsible for so I am all concerned about killing them. lol

This is the real struggle with reptile keeping. I've come to terms with being the Hansel & Gretel Witch to bugs, fattening them up for her breakfast -- but when they die uneaten there is a certain sting I can't shake especially youngins

 

[Beman]

They arent good climbers in my experience, at all. I’d lay the net down flat on the food, not vertically, with the food on top of it. The net/screen is only intended to keep the food from touching the poop.

Also your food is too wet and too much. It will likely mold quickly. Do smaller chunks. If you want to avoid them every day still do small chunks, but slightly larger small chunks . Youll need to change food every 2-3 days at max to avoid overly dried out food or moldy food.

Its really not bad once you get your system down.

Ok well I will try that in the next day or so if this runs a muck lol. it looks wetter in the pics then it really is. Now they can crawl on it without it coming off on them or getting stuck.

 

[Beman]

This is the real struggle with reptile keeping. I've come to terms with being the Hansel & Gretel Witch to bugs, fattening them up for her breakfast -- but when they die uneaten there is a certain sting I can't shake especially youngins

Yeah right there with you lol

 

[Rlc1994]

You’ll figure out a system like snitz said. I have faith in you don’t give up!

 

[Rst_Cham]

I was not able to feed my moths either... I was like all that to become a moth and lay eggs to be eaten... So not fair. The only ones I have a hard time feeding are the silks and the horns. They are cute and I feel bad. The dubia and the BSFL not at all. They can be eaten without remorse.

OK, true, I have no remorse for fly larvae. BSFs I like though, but not blue bottle flies, those also get fed without remorse. Lol

 

[Rst_Cham]

P. S. I like dubia though! They have cute little faces. I especially like newly molted white ones!

 

[Beman]

P. S. I like dubia though! They have cute little faces. I especially like newly molted white ones!

I don't mind the small ones.. But I still would not give them cute status... I have larger ones though and they creep me out. ickkkkkk