silkworm size

[bleudolphin]

I am wanting to introduce silkworms into my chameleons diet. I have a panther and a veiled that are around 4-5 months old. I am going to order them from coastal, but I am not sure of what size to get. Can someone please tell me what size I should get? Thanks

 

[Maganda]

My mafana is 4 months and I feed him the medium size 1/2". I would order 50 mediums and 50 smalls. By the time the mediums are all gone the small ones that I had would be big enough to feed to my cham and I would just order another 50 of smalls to grow out again. 5 silkies a day

My ambilobe is about 10 months now and I feed him the large sizes. 5 silkies a day

 

[VerteX]

I would also recommend small (1/2" - 1") and medium (1" - 2") worms. Since silkworms have soft skins, it's possible feed silkworms much larger than a chameleon's regular cricket size diet.

My mafana is 4 months and I feed him the medium size 1/2". I would order 50 mediums and 50 smalls. By the time the mediums are all gone the small ones that I had would be big enough to feed to my cham and I would just order another 50 of smalls to grow out again. 5 silkies a day

My ambilobe is about 10 months now and I feed him the large sizes. 5 silkies a day

Oh my! If I feed 5 silks a day to my female veiled, I have to clean up a very runny poop the next day.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Plus they seem to double in size daily, if fed well!
get small ones..they grow FAST!

-Brad

 

[booshified]

are silk worms good for a staple food? or just occasionally?

 

[VerteX]

Brad uses them as staple as far as I know cuz he hates the crix.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

They are a great staple food!
High in calcium, protein and moisture.
The problem with any one food though is that the chams tend to get "bored".
One of the main reasons to keep a bit of variety on hand.
As long as you are doing a good job of gut loading your feeders, many insects make decent "staple" food....crickets, roaches, silk and zophoba worms are the four that I use consistantly with other "treats" thrown in occasionally.
By the way, If I am the Brad you were referring to....you're right! Crickets are my least favorite...but sometimes you have to throw them in the mix.
I just don't buy them by the hundreds anymore.

-Brad

 

[VerteX]

^^ Of course I was referring to you

 

[PardalisGirl]

silkworm size....

I get the mediums and the smalls too. I will get large and jumbos occasionally for my adult males. Hornworms are good too. They grow super fast. Some chams do get runny poop from silkworms. I have a couple of males that can only have one a day. Great nutrition. Butter worms are a good choice too. High calcium, low fat and easy to keep. Fairly inexpensive too.

 

[davemailcall]

I really like silkies, my only issue is their availability. I hate having to order live things over the web. I'm not home during the day when they can be delivered. But my cham has tackled just about every size I've hit him with except ones over 2inches.

Silkies aren't the most agile things, so to keep him on his toes, I will scatter them on his vines throughout his cage. He has to go get them. Usually 3-4 at a time to make sure he isn't leaving any.

I always have a little dish with a half dozen small mealies in case he wants a little snack later.