Huge hornworms

Karyme18

Member
So I got hornworms at an expo last week? I think. Well some of them have grown way too big for my 6month old veiled chameleon and I read about letting them Cacoon but I’m not a big fan of moths. I don’t know what to do with them!! I don’t want them to go to waste though.
 

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If you have a local pet store that sells feeders they may be willing to take them off you. :)
 
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I think they are large it’s just hard to show you the size but they are much bigger in person.

How big is your Vailed?

Here's ours eating a good size hornworm as part of his taming session. He's eaten ones twice the size and has for a while. Of course, if you don't feel comfortable or believe there is a risk, don't feed them. They are quite capable though.

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I always air on the side of caution with feeder size when it comes to horns. I have a 9 month old that I still wont feed really large horns too. Just because their diameter can get quite large. I worry about choking so I have had one get too large and I put him in some dirt when he was done eating finally and he dug a hole. He is currently cocooned lol. But my first round with horns I ordered a pod and did not realize how fast they grew so those ones I took to my local pet store. They happily took them :)
 
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she’s
How big is your Vailed?

Here's ours eating a good size hornworm as part of his taming session. He's eaten ones twice the size and has for a while. Of course, if you don't feel comfortable or believe there is a risk, don't feed them. They are quite capable though.

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shes about 4 inches and the worms are the size of her body. So I don’t fee comfortable feeding her larger ones right now. But I’m the future I will definitely try it out!
 
She is about

she’s
shes about 4 inches and the worms are the size of her body. So I don’t fee comfortable feeding her larger ones right now. But I’m the future I will definitely try it out!

Yes, she is too small. I agree. Play it safe. They do grow wicket fast, so if you let the worms become moths, she will be big enough to eat them by the time. The moths are kind of gross though, I agree. They spray. Yuck.
 
they grow based on temp keep em cool or even in the fridge to slow down growth. keep em fed and warm and they explode in size. they are soft body i think your 6 mo can handle
Ooh I was keeping them in my room at the chameleons temperature. Thanks for informing me I’ll keep them in the drive next time.
 
Yes, she is too small. I agree. Play it safe. They do grow wicket fast, so if you let the worms become moths, she will be big enough to eat them by the time. The moths are kind of gross though, I agree. They spray. Yuck.
what!!!!! The moths spray ewwwwww like when eaten or just spray to spray?
 
Ooh I was keeping them in my room at the chameleons temperature. Thanks for informing me I’ll keep them in the drive next time.
HMMMM Do you have a basking bulb and T5 HO linear UVB fixture? How hot are you keeping your room because you don't want the room hot? They need a gradient from 85 at basking level down to low 70's in the bottom of the cage. This link will give you more info on their husbandry. You are good to keep your room in high 60's to low 70's. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
 
Yes, she is too small. I agree. Play it safe. They do grow wicket fast, so if you let the worms become moths, she will be big enough to eat them by the time. The moths are kind of gross though, I agree. They spray. Yuck.
they become hawk moths are are huge as well. feed them before the wings "dry" and spread out. and yes they spray. lol
 
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what!!!!! The moths spray ewwwwww like when eaten or just spray to spray?

I don't know if it's a defense mechanism because I haven't really looked into it much, but they do spray this horrible brown spray. It does't really smell. It's just gross.
 
I don't know if it's a defense mechanism because I haven't really looked into it much, but they do spray this horrible brown spray. It does't really smell. It's just gross.
Ok thank you for the heads up on that one lol
 
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don't feel bad, I ordered 25 horn worms because my guy scarfed down all of them when I just had 12, well....now he doesn't want any of them :rolleyes:, so now I have 25 horn worms about the size of my index finger, he even has two in his enclosure, I think he has made them his friends because he lets them crawl all over him and just hang out on his basking branch next to him and he totally ignores them, oh well, more food for the local birds :LOL: the are like bad toddlers, one minute they love something you feed, the next they won't even look at it!!
 
I don't know if it's a defense mechanism because I haven't really looked into it much, but they do spray this horrible brown spray. It does't really smell. It's just gross.

Gross! I guess that's why the breeding page I found on them shows the moth net enclosure surrounded by plastic tarp. I have 6 hornworm pupae now, and more close to pupating. I don't even know that I want to breed them now! My local petstore did tell me that they will take big worms back so I'm going to that from now on since my chickens didn't like them.
 
HMMMM Do you have a basking bulb and T5 HO linear UVB fixture? How hot are you keeping your room because you don't want the room hot? They need a gradient from 85 at basking level down to low 70's in the bottom of the cage. This link will give you more info on their husbandry. You are good to keep your room in high 60's to low 70's. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
This is what I have and yeah her basking bulb gets up to around 95F and the temperature at the top is usually around 80-85 and the temperature at the bottom is about 70-75.
 

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