Silkworms help

[ZuggieTheCham]

So we wanting to get some silkworms for are cham i was just thinking on how would i keep them n keep them alive and what do you feed them ?? as i have boxs for my crickets and locust could i do the same for the worms any suggest would be great. Couple pictures of my cricket and locust houses lol

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

Does anyone have any suggest ???

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

So i just order some silkworms and was just thinking on to house them so i can keep them as long as possible and heathly for my cham ??

 

[Miss Lily]

I keep and wash old cricket tubs and keep mine in those. I cut a sheet of plastic canvas to size and wedge inside the tub creating a false floor. The poop then falls through the holes. They need to be kept clean and don't like sitting in their own poop! Make sure you keep everything clean that you use to care for them and wash your hands before touching the,. They have no immune systems and they can suffer from 'Grasserie' which literally turns them to mush and can wipe out the whole colony!

They only eat Mulberry leaves (which are just beginning to grow again after winter) or Mulberry chow. They can be kept alive for a short time on grated carrots although I haven't tried that myself. You can buy the chow ready made or in powder form and mix your own - this can be more cost effective if you have a lot of silkworms.

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

Could we just buy a other one of the tubs that we have are crickets in wont that work the same n we have just order 60 of them lol how long would u same they are goin to last ?? N it says they come wit some food so we already sorted And are they goin to cocoon ?? Sorry for all the questions just dont have a clue about them we have been reading up like but just wanted to no how other people keep them

 

[Miss Lily]

Where did you order from? They usually only come with enough food for a day, that's all. You will need to buy more as they are eating machines, lol! You can keep them in those boxes you already have if you can somehow create a way for the poop to fall away so they don't sit in it. I usually split mine into several tubs. This way if one in one tub gets sick and it spreads to the others I have only lost a few rather than the whole lot.

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

As mad as it sounds ebay lol but he is a breeder of them. And so i need to find a away to lift the floor have you got any pictures so i can get a ruff idea ??

 

[Miss Lily]

This pic shows the plastic, although I haven't found any with holes big enough for the poop to fall through when they are almost at spinning stage. I tend to put them back onto paper towel again at that stage and clean them daily.

Edit - I think I just found the ebay listing - they say there is 50g of extra food. I think they are a new supplier that have had a thread on RFUK. Usually when you buy from an online store you only get enough food for the journey.

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

I see. that has give me a lot better idea on how to do it i guess it all about practie and learning about how to keep them well thank you for the help you seem to no your stuff i take it you have a lot of cham then ??

 

[Miss Lily]

I only have Monty my juvi Jackson, as I lost Amy a few weeks ago. I am also in the UK and have been keeping chams since 2008! I have raised silkworms though and had more success when I hatched eggs myself. I had 250 hatch all at once just before Christmas and it was taking two hours just to clean and feed them all at the peak! I am now waiting for the first lot of eggs to hatch that the moths laid for me!

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

Sorry to hear about your cham dieing and o right were do you get your silkworms from if you had to order them and do u just give him silk worms all the time then is that main food ??

 

[Miss Lily]

I hatched the eggs to get some for food, but they grow so fast so they became too big for Monty. He has crickets as his main food, but he also loves newly moulted mealworms, silk worms and dubias. He won't eat locusts though, well, he will eat one and when I offer him another he reacts negatively and puffs up at it and actually walks away!

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

Haha aww bless him lol my lil guy seems to like his locust, but the past couple of days or so he's just not interested in his crickets atall will eat mayb a couple and will eat the locust but when I've been getting home from work there's a couple of crickets still in his cage and he just takes no notice of them, that's why weve ordered the silkworms so he can give them a try, but there's not really anywhere we can keep
Getting a constant supply of them in uk been looking for ages and could only find live ones ready to go on eBay, but we've ordered 60 does this mean that there going to grow so much that they will get too big for him b4 he could eat them all? All that's really avalible round our way is crickets,locust,mealworms (herd mealworms arent that good as a main feed and hes not too into them) and waxworms, he goes crazy for waxworms asoon as he sees it he just bolts for it nearly fell the other day trying to get to it as quick as he could hehe but can only giv him about 1 a week. So not really much choice, sorry for the SA lol

 

[Miss Lily]

We can get Calciworms/calcigrubs/Phoenix worms over here and also Dubia roaches. We can also get Morio worms, which are often to referred to on here as 'supers'. Even if the silkworms grow too quick you can get them large enough to pupate, then the moths will mate and lay eggs and you will have a plentiful supply of silkworms then!

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

Ahh were do you get your calci-worms from then? And what does letting them pupate involve ? Do we have to do specific things for the eggs to hatch??

 

[sandrachameleon]

So we wanting to get some silkworms for are cham i was just thinking on how would i keep them n keep them alive and what do you feed them ??

Any container (they dont go far if they have food nearby) will do. They eat mulberry, grape vine leaves, dandelion leaves, etc

SilkWorms 101
Silkworms eat dandelion leaves
http://www.chameleonnews.com/05FebCaruthers.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-...05/#post241334
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juLU3...e=channel_page
https://www.chameleonforums.com/those...kworkms-31456/
http://www.wormspit.com/bombyxsilkworms.htm

 

[Miss Lily]

I have used these people before - they also sell butterworms too, which I had forgotten about! http://www.butterworms.co.uk/

With the silkworms, you just need to keep them clean and feed them and when they get large enough they will spin a silk cocoon and pupate inside it. After 7 - 10 days the moths begin to emerge and will mate pretty much straight away if there is a pair. They will stay locked together for over 24 hours and then they will part and the female may rest before laying her eggs. Some rest and some just get on with it. Once the eggs are laid, they turn dark grey/purple after about 3 days, then you can put them into diapause in the fridge (this simulates winter for them) for at least 4 weeks, then take them out and incubated them and start over again!

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

Any container (they dont go far if they have food nearby) will do. They eat mulberry, grape vine leaves, dandelion leaves, etc

SilkWorms 101
Silkworms eat dandelion leaves
http://www.chameleonnews.com/05FebCaruthers.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-...05/#post241334
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juLU3...e=channel_page
https://www.chameleonforums.com/those...kworkms-31456/
http://www.wormspit.com/bombyxsilkworms.htm

Thank you for all the links big help!

I have used these people before - they also sell butterworms too, which I had forgotten about! http://www.butterworms.co.uk/

With the silkworms, you just need to keep them clean and feed them and when they get large enough they will spin a silk cocoon and pupate inside it. After 7 - 10 days the moths begin to emerge and will mate pretty much straight away if there is a pair. They will stay locked together for over 24 hours and then they will part and the female may rest before laying her eggs. Some rest and some just get on with it. Once the eggs are laid, they turn dark grey/purple after about 3 days, then you can put them into diapause in the fridge (this simulates winter for them) for at least 4 weeks, then take them out and incubated them and start over again!

Thankyou for the website can get all my feeders from there
And thanks for all the info on the silkworms youve really helped us out there and zuggie of corse