Silkworm egg question

BenjiTheCham

Established Member
I feel like I’ve already asked a billion silkworm questions on here, but here’s another lol.

I’ve heat so many different sources say different things about the eggs and I’m not sure what to do. I read some say the eggs need to be heated to a certain temp, some say they’ll hatch faster if they are heated, but they’ll still hatch at room temp, and some say absolutely do not heat the eggs. I decided to stay safe and leave them at room temp (which tends to be low to mid 70’s since the room stays warmer because of the tank. I gave them two months (I would’ve adjusted stuff sooner, but I had a vacation coming up and I figured I’d be best if I didn’t have to add another thing for the person taking care of my chameleon to do). So anyways, I was wondering what should I do? Are my eggs bad? I got them off eBay since everywhere else was sold out. The listing had no description and came with no instructions lol. Or should I heat the eggs. If I were to heat them, how should I do this? Thanks.

image.jpg

Here is a photo of the eggs, we determined in a previous thread that the black dots are marker used to count the eggs.
 
They look like they do when about to hatch, but they should have hatched long ago. I use a heat mat when hatching eggs, but lately haven’t had any luck. Think my fridge got too cold and killed the eggs.It won’t hurt anything to give them more time, but I don’t think they’ll hatch.
 
Ok so they do need to be kept within a certain temperature range. Most of the time, I see people saying not to heat them, thus keep them in a warm room. Also, heating the eggs can dehydrate them. The temperature of the room can affect the time it takes to hatch. I think the given time frame is generally 7 - 20 days, however I had a few late bloomers that hatched after 60 days, but those were in the minority. My room was 21 degrees celsius, and my eggs took about 17 days before I saw the first Kegos. I also kept a damp towel paper in the closed container with the eggs, but not touching them.
 
I hatch mine in a petri dish at room temp after a cooling spell in the refer. It usually takes about 12 days from refer to hatch time.
I don't buy online as I raise my own and don't do anything special in the way of heat or humidity. Works for me😉
 
I feel like I’ve already asked a billion silkworm questions on here, but here’s another lol.

I’ve heat so many different sources say different things about the eggs and I’m not sure what to do. I read some say the eggs need to be heated to a certain temp, some say they’ll hatch faster if they are heated, but they’ll still hatch at room temp, and some say absolutely do not heat the eggs. I decided to stay safe and leave them at room temp (which tends to be low to mid 70’s since the room stays warmer because of the tank. I gave them two months (I would’ve adjusted stuff sooner, but I had a vacation coming up and I figured I’d be best if I didn’t have to add another thing for the person taking care of my chameleon to do). So anyways, I was wondering what should I do? Are my eggs bad? I got them off eBay since everywhere else was sold out. The listing had no description and came with no instructions lol. Or should I heat the eggs. If I were to heat them, how should I do this? Thanks.

View attachment 287800
Here is a photo of the eggs, we determined in a previous thread that the black dots are marker used to count the eggs.
There’s so much disinformation about silkworm eggs out there. I would be very cautious buying eggs from random sources. I would be asking for the exact parameters they raise their colony in. Temperature cycles, light cycles, etc. It all influences how the eggs develop.

Eggs don’t need excess heat to hatch. You can keep them at room temperature and hatch them in 5 days. Maybe they’ll hatch in 10 days. Maybe 3 months. 10 months? No way to verify without the seller telling you exactly how they keep their colony. Ask the person you bought them from.

The usual places (including us) have the reliable eggs in stock. ~6-9 days to hatch once they’re up to room temp.
 
There’s so much disinformation about silkworm eggs out there. I would be very cautious buying eggs from random sources. I would be asking for the exact parameters they raise their colony in. Temperature cycles, light cycles, etc. It all influences how the eggs develop.

Eggs don’t need excess heat to hatch. You can keep them at room temperature and hatch them in 5 days. Maybe they’ll hatch in 10 days. Maybe 3 months. 10 months? No way to verify without the seller telling you exactly how they keep their colony. Ask the person you bought them from.

The usual places (including us) have the reliable eggs in stock. ~6-9 days to hatch once they’re up to room temp.
Okay thanks, that’s good to know
 
I raise my own silkworm eggs from my silkworms that I've bought online. I keep the silkworms and the eggs in the reptile room, which tends to be a degree or 2 higher than in the rest of the house. I tried hatching some in my kitchen and they didn't hatch, however the next batch I kept in the reptile room (my guess is it's about 79 in there), and they hatched. I live in FL, so the heat and humidity isn't an issue, and I don't use any supplimental heat pads on them.
 
@BenjiTheCham I had never hatched any silkworm eggs before but I recently had luck with about 500 eggs. I elevated the petri dish they came in about 1" off a heat mat so they didnt sit directly on the mat. Not sure if this helped at all but all eggs hatched within a 7-10 days. I have about 1000 more eggs that were delivered yesterday, hoping I have the same luck. Mulberry farms has eggs and silkworm chow if you dont want to go the Ebay route. Good luck!
 
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