pantherchameleon1
New Member
How do you house/care for silk worms. I think ill get some at the next reptile expo
thanks for the info
thanks for the info
silkworm care
- Thread starter pantherchameleon1
- Start date
ohiohousewife
New Member
Kameeldrift
New Member
I don't know what strain you get overseas but in South Africa we only get the univotine (single brood) strains. As mulberry is very common and every schoolkid tries to breed them, there are thousands available in our spring, September. During the rest of the year the eggs sit quietly in a garage waiting to start over the following spring. This is a shame as they are easy to breed year round.
We sell silkworms to local pet shops on a semi commercial basis and need to supply them throughout the year. It is a simple trick to get them to hatch when you want and we have been posting the information on our web site (www.sa-chameleons.com) so that chameleon keepers will follow suit.
Once the eggs are laid, leave them a for a week or two at room temperature. Then put them in the fridge (not the freezer!). Leave them there for 14 weeks. After that you can take out as many eggs as you need, leaving the rest in the fridge. About 7 to 10 days later the eggs out of the fridge will hatch. The rest of the eggs will remain viable for upto a year in the fridge, although we have found a drop in hatching rates in eggs kept over 9 months.
Following this simple method you can have silkworms at any time of the year. If you wrap cut branches of mulberry in newspaper and put it in a large plastic sack, the leaves should remain suable for up to 6 weeks, which can be very useful at the end of the season.
David
We sell silkworms to local pet shops on a semi commercial basis and need to supply them throughout the year. It is a simple trick to get them to hatch when you want and we have been posting the information on our web site (www.sa-chameleons.com) so that chameleon keepers will follow suit.
Once the eggs are laid, leave them a for a week or two at room temperature. Then put them in the fridge (not the freezer!). Leave them there for 14 weeks. After that you can take out as many eggs as you need, leaving the rest in the fridge. About 7 to 10 days later the eggs out of the fridge will hatch. The rest of the eggs will remain viable for upto a year in the fridge, although we have found a drop in hatching rates in eggs kept over 9 months.
Following this simple method you can have silkworms at any time of the year. If you wrap cut branches of mulberry in newspaper and put it in a large plastic sack, the leaves should remain suable for up to 6 weeks, which can be very useful at the end of the season.
David
dragongoddess
Established Member
Excellent link to SilkWorms 101 thread.
Follow the info on that thread and do not leave them in the petri dish they come in for long. If you only order a couple in a to-go cup, leaving them there as you feed them off will be fine. But if you order 100 or more in a petri dish, they will quickly over crowd each other. Remember to keep proper temperatures and dry out chow (if you are not using leaves) in between feedings to prevent mold. Mold will quickly kill silkworms as will contamination if you do not wash your hands before handling silkworms or food.
Follow the info on that thread and do not leave them in the petri dish they come in for long. If you only order a couple in a to-go cup, leaving them there as you feed them off will be fine. But if you order 100 or more in a petri dish, they will quickly over crowd each other. Remember to keep proper temperatures and dry out chow (if you are not using leaves) in between feedings to prevent mold. Mold will quickly kill silkworms as will contamination if you do not wash your hands before handling silkworms or food.
