Sourcing silkworms in high heat

[Serelonde]

I want to get some bulk silkworms for my veiled because he has decided he is a picky boi and hates chicken nuggets (crickets and roaches) and only likes buttered noodles (worm and caterpillar shaped things), but i live in FL and none of the online suppliers I'm finding will live arrival guarantee in temps over 90F. My local reptile store sometimes has them but they are expensive there.

Does anyone have suggestions for sourcing silkworms in central FL or in high heat climates?

 

[MissSkittles]

You’ll need to have the shipment held at the hub/office of whatever shipping company is being used. I’m also in central Florida and I have my crickets mailed to me and pick them up at my local usps. You could also pay for overnight shipping if you wanted and make sure someone will be home to bring them in immediately as they arrive. It’s not just the heat - ants can and will get into the box and kill your feeders. Try https://framschams.com/collections/live-feeders-silkworms-dubia-roaches They usually have silkies available and looks like they can do USPS hold for pick up.
Another option, and one that I use, is to grow your own. It does take time, patience, lots of chow and excellent sanitation/cleaning practices. I order eggs and chow from https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/silkworm-eggs/silkworm-eggs-normal.html and raise them up. Even though I have 10 lizards, there’s always plenty of silkies to complete their life cycle of becoming moths, mating and producing eggs. I store the eggs in the fridge and thru the year, hatch out whatever I need. It can be challenging though, and like my recent attempt failed horribly. I was fortunate enough to have 4 survive to cocoon. Silkworms have almost no immune system and can very easily fall victim to bacteria, viruses or mold. This may help if you’re interested in trying. https://docs.google.com/document/d/...XBgJbTKg8/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.7svljlnk7rfj It’s from this person from YT. *I haven’t watched this video

 

[Serelonde]

You’ll need to have the shipment held at the hub/office of whatever shipping company is being used. I’m also in central Florida and I have my crickets mailed to me and pick them up at my local usps. You could also pay for overnight shipping if you wanted and make sure someone will be home to bring them in immediately as they arrive. It’s not just the heat - ants can and will get into the box and kill your feeders. Try https://framschams.com/collections/live-feeders-silkworms-dubia-roaches They usually have silkies available and looks like they can do USPS hold for pick up.
Another option, and one that I use, is to grow your own. It does take time, patience, lots of chow and excellent sanitation/cleaning practices. I order eggs and chow from https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/silkworm-eggs/silkworm-eggs-normal.html and raise them up. Even though I have 10 lizards, there’s always plenty of silkies to complete their life cycle of becoming moths, mating and producing eggs. I store the eggs in the fridge and thru the year, hatch out whatever I need. It can be challenging though, and like my recent attempt failed horribly. I was fortunate enough to have 4 survive to cocoon. Silkworms have almost no immune system and can very easily fall victim to bacteria, viruses or mold. This may help if you’re interested in trying. https://docs.google.com/document/d/...XBgJbTKg8/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.7svljlnk7rfj It’s from this person from YT. *I haven’t watched this video

I did see that option, but both east coast suppliers I see (FramsChams and Coastal Silkworms) say that even with USPS Office Hold they won't guarantee live arrival at all if daytime temps exceed 90 degrees. Which is aggravating from Coastal because they are in Jacksonville, so, its already Florida, we both know what to expect here, would rather you just say they are only available seasonally at that point.

And USPS Express shipping is like 50$ even with Office Hold, which is more than the worms themselves.

Come fall, when live arrival guarantee is back in effect, I do want to try ordering a big pile and attempting to start a breeding colony (see if the local indie stores will buy the extras off me if I can manage to keep them alive).

In the meantime, while temps exceed the alive arrival guarantee max, I was hoping that anyone in the central FL/TBA area might know of a local supplier that I could purchase on site from (retail pet supply people do not seem to reliably carry them). Or if someone can let me know if the shipping issue is less likely to actually fall through than the suppliers make it seem, and I can actually safely order them and not stress so much about the live arrival guarantee conditions.

 

[MissSkittles]

It’s been a long time since I’ve ordered live silkies and those suppliers are now out of business. The only other option I can think of is checking at the local ReptiCon and other shows. I recently went to ReptiCon in Melbourne (space coast) and got there late, so most feeders were all sold out. The Daytona show is coming up in August. https://www.reptilebreedersexpo.com/index.htm While you have to pay for parking and entry, it is a great place to find feeders and just a fun day. I bought silkie eggs there, but can’t recall if there were silkworms available. I did pick up some free crickets and other feeders there, which was cool. That was a couple of years ago.

 

[Serelonde]

It’s been a long time since I’ve ordered live silkies and those suppliers are now out of business. The only other option I can think of is checking at the local ReptiCon and other shows. I recently went to ReptiCon in Melbourne (space coast) and got there late, so most feeders were all sold out. The Daytona show is coming up in August. https://www.reptilebreedersexpo.com/index.htm While you have to pay for parking and entry, it is a great place to find feeders and just a fun day. I bought silkie eggs there, but can’t recall if there were silkworms available. I did pick up some free crickets and other feeders there, which was cool. That was a couple of years ago.

Dang, I missed the Tampa one in Spring. Alas, The Boy had not yet decided that he hates crickets at that point.