Silkworm growth?...
- Thread starter gotwqqd
- Start date
bobcochran
Chameleon Enthusiast
30 days would be under absolutely ideal conditions, and probably with mulberry leaves not chow. You can warm up to about 90F. and make sure they don't run out of chow day or night. When kept warmer the chow dries out faster and they won't eat much dried out chow, got to keep it fresh!
They do seem to grow a little slower at first, then take off as they get bigger.
They do seem to grow a little slower at first, then take off as they get bigger.
Andie
Avid Member
I agree with Bob. I'm currently growing them, too, and it's taking forever. Out of the 250 eggs I hatched, I'll be lucky if I get 10 worms total. Very frustrating.
Just keep feeding them. I missed a day here or there & many of them just died
JGuinan007
Avid Member
sorry some reason I thought it said horn worms so sorry
NERVOUS
Avid Member
Glad I clicked on this thread... I was just about to order some Silk worm eggs, but I'm having second thoughts now. I'm gonna stick with the actual worms; which seem to be much easier to deal with.
Two follow-up questions:
1.) Is 10 worms from 250 eggs the typical hatch rate?
2.) Is it typical for die off to occur from missing a single day of feeding?
Two follow-up questions:
1.) Is 10 worms from 250 eggs the typical hatch rate?
2.) Is it typical for die off to occur from missing a single day of feeding?
MeruJack
Avid Member
Their growth rate is dependent upon how much you feed them. If they have access to chow 24/7 they will grow very quickly. I raise all my own silks from eggs. I purchase 250 eggs (supposedly) and end up with over 400 worms. I only feed them a thin layer of grated chow each day and they are ready to feed to my chams about 5 weeks after hatching but then I have smaller chameleon species and don't like the silks to get too big. If I start feeding them off at 5 weeks, I can feed my critters on the worms for about 4 weeks. If they get too big, I feed them to my bearded dragon and give them to my son-in-law to feed to his 3 dragons. In my opinion, silks are one of the easiest feeders to raise. And they are so much cheaper to raise from eggs than to buy them already grown. Try feeding them twice a day but don't let it get too humid in the container or they will die off.
bobcochran
Chameleon Enthusiast
Agreed!!
The main thing is to not let them be without chow at any time. They feed 24/7.
MeruJack
Avid Member
I started to feed off my most recent silks. They are 5-6 weeks old having only been fed a thin layer of chow each day. The reason for only feeding them a thin layer a day is to give me time to feed off the previous batch of silks before these ones are big enough to begin feeding. Here is a picture of the worms I got from "250" eggs. Obviously, there are many more than that and they are growing fast so I will end up not being able to feed them all off before they are too big for my 15 adult chameleons, most of which are smaller species such as Mt. Meru Dwarf Jackson's. I have another 250 eggs ready to hatch any day now. I am hoping to feed those to my twenty-five 2 day-old and 2 week-old babies.
Both of these containers of silks came from one batch of 250 eggs. They hatched 5-6 weeks ago.
Both of these containers of silks came from one batch of 250 eggs. They hatched 5-6 weeks ago.
