Pupation

[Beppo]

Good morning everyone. I just got an order of horn worms and they are huuuuuge, the biggest size I have seen yet, and it got me thinking about pupation and I have a couple questions if anyone knows or has a method that works for them. I was reading to keep them at around 80 to have successful pupation? Do I buy a heat mat? Put them outside in the sun? I just honestly don’t know how all of this works, what I do know is my chameleon as I’m sure all do, loves to have flying insects or winged insects and I would love to give him that enrichment and variety. What are some ways you guys keep them to have successful pupation? Just looking for some methods that have worked for any of my fellow forum friends. I have had success with my silk worms/bsfl and even a few wax worms pupating but I did nothing to help them and never changed the temps or put them somewhere other then the bathroom cabinet I store i my bugs in I’ve never had my horn worms pupate or live long enough to…

 

[JacksJill]

the bathroom cabinet I store i my bugs in

Are you just hoping some snoopy guest will find them there? Do you listen for a scream every time some one asks to use your bathroom?

 

[Beppo]

Are you just hoping some snoopy guest will find them there? Do you listen for a scream every time some one asks to use your bathroom?

Maaaaybe

 

[MissSkittles]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/hornworm-adventure-aka-what-have-i-done.187201/
If you want them to cocoon, place them in a small bin of lightly moistened soil or coco coir about 4+ inches deep with a lid. (Learned that one the hard way ) They’ll dig down and do their thing. I can’t recall time frame, but I think it was several weeks…long time…before they emerged. They need to be able to climb and hang from something once they emerge in order for their wings to unfurl and dry properly. I set up an old chameleon kit enclosure for them. After a couple of weeks in the soil, I carefully dug them out and put them in the enclosure. It doesn’t show in this pic, but I had a couple of sticks for them to climb out of the little dish where they hatched. For ease of collecting the eggs, I lined the inside sides of the whole enclosure with landscape fabric. I also learned it’s best to just use pool noodles as it’s hard to remove the eggs off anything else.

 

[Beppo]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/hornworm-adventure-aka-what-have-i-done.187201/
If you want them to cocoon, place them in a small bin of lightly moistened soil or coco coir about 4+ inches deep with a lid. (Learned that one the hard way ) They’ll dig down and do their thing. I can’t recall time frame, but I think it was several weeks…long time…before they emerged. They need to be able to climb and hang from something once they emerge in order for their wings to unfurl and dry properly. I set up an old chameleon kit enclosure for them. After a couple of weeks in the soil, I carefully dug them out and put them in the enclosure. It doesn’t show in this pic, but I had a couple of sticks for them to climb out of the little dish where they hatched. For ease of collecting the eggs, I lined the inside sides of the whole enclosure with landscape fabric. I also learned it’s best to just use pool noodles as it’s hard to remove the eggs off anything else.
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Thank you so much!! I love your thorough responses as always

 

[Beppo]

I now we wait muahaha

 

[SauceGandhi]

Be prepared for moth diarrhea spray btw

 

[MissSkittles]

Be prepared for moth diarrhea spray btw

Is that what all that stuff is? I was thinking it was pheromones.

 

[Beppo]

Is that what all that stuff is? I was thinking it was pheromones.

Yeah I wasn’t sure what the orange stuff was at first either, first time it happen I screamed it really startled me. Now I’ve noticed if I let them climb onto something other then my finger they don’t squirt me

 

[MissSkittles]

Thankfully I didn’t handle the moths unless they tried to escape when I was collecting the eggs and filling their nectar. All the spray all over the inside of their enclosure though…yikes!