Help Feeding!!!

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blackbetty

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So I just got my insects from Georgia Bugs. Unfortunately, the mail people tossed it around and the lid came off the Hornworm pod and a few were squished under the pressure of the mud slab.:( So I have 7 left...My question is..what do I do now? Ive never seen these much less fed them. The hornworms seem to be very sticky so I assume they can get out of the feeding dish..and Im just not sure what to do with 100 silkworms..they are all intertwined in webbing.. Do I feed the insects? Ah, I feel retarded but Im staring at them in utter confusion!
 
Uhm, no? I was just told to buy a hornworm pod and some zebra silkies.. No one mentioned chow!! Usually I dont buy things that last long enough to eat.. Ugh...Im so lost! I dont know how to feed these to her or what to feed them or where to put them..Do I take them out of the plastic things they came in!? I feel like a spazz right now!
The hornworms have 2 hunks of mud, its not green.. the silkies have some green gunk in their container...
 
LOL,

I understand, Yes you have to keep your insects fed, remember what goes into them goes into your cham, so make sure it is nutritious.

I was told for silk worms to get Blueberry leaves if they run out of that mud type substance they eat. You can go to www.canadiansilkworms.com for info on them and what you can feed them. I would say call but it would be Long Distance for you, so maybe find a store that sells them and ask how they feed them I am sure they will help. Silks have alot of calcium in them already so you don't need to dust them with calcium powder, and I don't think you have to dust the Horn worms either.

As for Horn Worms, I am not too sure what they eat, it looks like a piece of wet compacted bread that they eat when you get a shipment in.

Try here

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=50156

It is a forum on raising them you may find some useful info on it. I am sure someone here can help you but look in the mean time.

horns and silks are like caterpillars, they shouldn't be used as a staple food, more of a treat, make sure the cham sees them and they are usually gone in seconds. Just put them on a vine in the cage, and once they start moving the chams normally eat them all up.
 
You will need to feed the silkies

move the silkworms to a container and take half the stuff from the hornworms use a grater to grate the food on top of the silkworms. The silk worms will climb on top of the food. Then order some silk chow.

Leave the horn worms in the cup with the remainder of the food. Stick one a day on a branch in the chams cage and the will gobble them up.

Cup feed the silkies but they will not live long without food.
 
Ugh.. Thanks.. Guess I shoulda knownt hat but i just assumed they came with something.. If I get the silkie chow form the same place, it will take 2-3 more days and prolly wont get here until sat/mon..so what do I do between then? I feel retarded! :()
 
I will call canadian silk worms for you and ask them what to do in the interim they breed them and sell them. I will post back in a few minutes.

I got their voice mail and left them a message to call me back as soon as I hear I will post it.
 
Shaner said:
I will call canadian silk worms for you and ask them what to do in the interim they breed them and sell them. I will post back in a few minutes.
Click to expand...

Aw, thanks! Im like spazzing out.. I feel terrible.. I was just recommended to buy them so I did..I wasnt informed that they needed food.. and man, hornworms are esssspensiiiive! so that "mud" in the horworm thing is its food? It killed 3 of them..aw, death by mud food..how sad.
 
This is a complicated hobby on many levels.
;)
The trouble you take to keep silkworms properly is worth it.
They are an excellent food for chameleons.

-Brad
 
Okay.. You guys will have to explain in the simplest format possible.. I get anxiety when Im confused and it makes it hard to concentrate much less comprehend technical terms. You all are pros..this is my first time ever even seeing these things and now Im all spastic because Im afraid I just wasted $24 on something that Im gonna kill before she gets to eat it! Especially since she aint even eating right now.. whew, must go breathe............
 
Brad Ramsey said:
This is a complicated hobby on many levels.
;)
The trouble you take to keep silkworms properly is worth it.
They are an excellent food for chameleons.

-Brad
Click to expand...

If I could understand what Im supposed to do, I might feel better.. Trouble is right..thats what Im in right now! Ahhhh.. This must be how a headless chicken feels! :(
 
The tutorial thread I posted is very good, but here you go:

prepare 2 clean sterlite or rubbermaid containers (shoebox size or a little larger) by laying clean paper towel on the bottom.

Place the worms in them, horns in one, silks in the other.

give them whatever food they came with.

keep them in a warm closet.

order chow.

-Brad
 
Well, I put a hornworm in and Ben ran to the other side of the cage..so now I have a rogue hornworm.. and now sure how to feed the silkies as you cant even see them in the container! :( Ugh.. seriously..I feel like Im gonna start crying because Im so darn confused and feel absolutely stupid right now. I put them in a kritter keeper but the slots are bigger than they are so Im afraid they will escape.. ANyone wants anys ilkies? Ill mail em to ya because Im so lost on what to do with them that Id rather someone KNOW what to do than them die.:( I have about 90 small..maybe 100 if some didnt get squished...
 
Brad Ramsey said:
The tutorial thread I posted is very good, but here you go:

prepare 2 clean sterlite or rubbermaid containers (shoebox size or a little larger) by laying clean paper towel on the bottom.

Place the worms in them, horns in one, silks in the other.

give them whatever food they came with.

keep them in a warm closet.

order chow.

-Brad
Click to expand...

What about egg carton or something canvas?
 
relax, you said the silkworms are all tangled in their silk; well first you pick them out one by one and put in another container temporarily. once you do this go to walmart or craft store and get a 12" x4" or so container. also buy plastic canvas(looks like plastic with a bunch of holes in it). cut the plastic canvas to fit directly into the container you bought. take a toilet paper roll and cut a (2) 1/2" slivers of the end, this is what will keep your canvas from laying on the bottom of the container( and thus creating a poop area, so you worms arent crawling around in their own poop). place the half inch circles in the bottom of the container and then put the cut to size canvas on top of the circles.

place your silkies on top of the canvas and your done, except for daily food. like someone said before, take some of the hornworm food and grate over the silkies daily until your food arrives. if you run outa food you can grate carrots over the silkies(temporarily) to keep em alive. and you can always feed more silkies daily to get rid of em, I have fed over 10 a day when i ran outa food.

as far as the hornworms, keep em in their pod and they should be ok, but i wouldnt feed off more than 1 a day or those or you will have some nasty runny poo from your chams.

hope this helps.
 
JoshCrane1 said:
relax, you said the silkworms are all tangled in their silk; well first you pick them out one by one and put in another container temporarily. once you do this go to walmart or craft store and get a 12" x4" or so container. also buy plastic canvas(looks like plastic with a bunch of holes in it). cut the plastic canvas to fit directly into the container you bought. take a toilet paper roll and cut a (2) 1/2" slivers of the end, this is what will keep your canvas from laying on the bottom of the container( and thus creating a poop area, so you worms arent crawling around in their own poop). place the half inch circles in the bottom of the container and then put the cut to size canvas on top of the circles.

place your silkies on top of the canvas and your done, except for daily food. like someone said before, take some of the hornworm food and grate over the silkies daily until your food arrives. if you run outa food you can grate carrots over the silkies(temporarily) to keep em alive. and you can always feed more silkies daily to get rid of em, I have fed over 10 a day when i ran outa food.

as far as the hornworms, keep em in their pod and they should be ok, but i wouldnt feed off more than 1 a day or those or you will have some nasty runny poo from your chams.

hope this helps.
Click to expand...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN UNDERSTAND THIS! THANK YOU!!!!!

and yes, Wine it is.. after I go to walmart of course..:) Whew... Chest pains are now ceasing..:)
 
Q: Do I poke holes in the container? I noticed theirs had holes but no one mentioned this. Also, is there any place that is closer to me that people know of that might be able to get faster shipping on the chow? Im in TN. Our mail lady hates us and I have a feeling it wouldnt "show up" until next week if its not labeled RUSH like the insects.
 
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