Raiseing Hornworms?

[Thezillaman21]

I have bn wanting to expand Zilla's food base since winter hit he has only had crickets and mealwOrms and the occasional fly and earthworm(from walmart)
But I was wondering if anyone has experience with hornworm breeding they are very expensive cheapest I seen was $8 for 30 babies which ain't to bad but id still like to raise my own since Zilla will eat 8-10 babies in a day. What do they eat since tomato is poison to reptiles? How long does it take for a complete life cycle? Any information is greatly appreciated

 

[Whatcamo]

They will eat silk worm chow or a lot of places carry yellow horn worm chow which makes them turn a turquoise / teal color they'll also eat sweat red bell pepper as well as many other fruits and veggies much easier to raise in that sense than silk worms but you'll need a pot of moist potting soil and a screen cage for the moths to hatch out in and breed that's about all I know!

 

[reptoman]

http://youtu.be/VF0z8Sc3Rco

I recently had a bunch of moths that mated and laid eggs. Those worms are now too big to feed off and I have around 25 that are pupating so I will start the process all over again. I used the yellow hornworm chow from Mulberry farms and it seems to hold together better than silk chow in the cups. I included a link to the album i made for the hatchling worms.

https://picasaweb.google.com/101247792033429755142/ChameleonFood#

 

[Thezillaman21]

thanks, how\ big\ should\ the\ screen\ cage\ be?

 

[byrnesr]

Some quick photos

I just let my first hornworm pupate and hatch.
Photos here

I certainly don't have a free enclosure large enough. But I would think something along the lines the size of my cham enclosure to keep the adults, just sparsely decorated.

See enclosure size, materials and details here

 

[pssh]

Most lepidoptera breeders recommend a cage of at least 1x1x1 meters. Hawkmoths need a lot of room to fly.

 

[Thezillaman21]

Most lepidoptera breeders recommend a cage of at least 1x1x1 meters. Hawkmoths need a lot of room to fly.

alright\ im\ still\ not\ sure\ if\ this\ is\ something\ i\ should\ try\ my\ bed\ room\ is\ filling\ up\ fast\ maybe\ ill\ just\ try\ dubias\ although\ partents\ are\ conserened\ about\ roaches\ in\ the\ house.