Sphinx moth and poisonous plants?

[suzi]

I am waiting for my hornworms to work their way up to the top of the soil, my sticks are wiggling!!! This is my first time. So, my question is this... I have the bucket of soil in a large screen Cham cage with some hibiscus flowers and vines along with a smaller screen cage with a tomato plant in it to stimulate egg laying. I am aware that the leaves of the tomato plant are toxic, which is why they are in a separate cage. What I don't know is what plants may be poisonous(if any) to a chameleon if the chameleon ate a moth that sipped from a nectar flower such as moon flowers, honey suckle, daturas, etc. It seems to me that most nectar flowers are poisonous. Is it just the leaves that would be poisonous and not the flower, similar to the tomato and potato? I have searched online endlessly and can't seem to come up with anything and I would really like to be able to add some more fragrant flowers to the enclosure along with the sugar water. I would like to be able to feed off the moths before they die, but obviously not if it would hurt the chameleon. Anybody know? I would really appreciate any feedback . Thanks so much

 

[carol5208]

. As far as i know the moths do not eat after they hatch, they just mate if they have access to the opposite sex and then die. Correct me someone if I am wrong here. I have hatched silk moths and they are the same. you do not have to feed them. Their purpose is just to reproduce.

 

[suzi]

Thanks Carol, I read that about silkies, I read that the sphinx moth could live for a few months. Now I wonder if that is correct, I would think if they didn't eat, there lifespan would be shorter, hmmm...

 

[clarkrw3]

Ok...my understanding (and I can't currently find the link) about the sphinx is that they do indeed need flowers to drink from and they have to hover over the flowers. This is why so many more people breed silks rather than horns. My understanding of Botany is that nectar is very rarely toxic due to the fact the sole function of the nectar is to attract pollinators and if the nectar was toxic and killed the pollinators nothing would get pollinated.

Here is the link I was looking for
http://www.chameleonnews.com/05DecCaruthers.html

 

[suzi]

Thank you Clark, I actually read that link also, I think your understanding makes sense to me too. Right now I have sugar water in a hummingbird feeder and a couple of hibiscus. I figure if the hibiscus is safe for the chameleon to eat I can't go wrong with that flower, I'll see how it goes. Thanks for the feedback and if you find any new info please keep me posted, thanks so much

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Really hard to provide nectar via plant flowers. You can go the route of feeding sugar water / nectar. But need a good sized cage for them to better feed and mate (if you want fertile eggs). They fly and hover like humming birds. A small enclosure will lead to beat up wings, and moth wing dander everywhere. A tomato plant can be added for females to lay her eggs on. Alot easier to harvest / collect hornworns eggs from leaves without damage. And females will instinctively lay their eggs on this plant (if your shooting for next generation). If simply feeding off, you only need to keep live til their fed off. My exprience is that they only last a week or two in captivity.

...but can produce a ton of eggs in that time.

 

[Carlton]

Really hard to provide nectar via plant flowers. You can go the route of feeding sugar water / nectar. But need a good sized cage for them to better feed and mate (if you want fertile eggs). They fly and hover like humming birds. A small enclosure will lead to beat up wings, and moth wing dander everywhere. A tomato plant can be added for females to lay her eggs on. Alot easier to harvest / collect hornworns eggs from leaves without damage. And females will instinctively lay their eggs on this plant (if your shooting for next generation). If simply feeding off, you only need to keep live til their fed off. My exprience is that they only last a week or two in captivity.

...but can produce a ton of eggs in that time.

If I have more than one or two adult hornworm moths to house until fed, I just set up a cardboard refrigerator box with some window screen panels and a fake Ficus to house them in. Their wings don't mature correctly if they can't hang vertically. I hung a small hummingbird feeder with nectar in the box but didn't really see any feeding. When I don't need the box I just collapse it and store in the garage.

 

[suzi]

Thank you guys, I have them in a 5' tall 2' by 2' mesh cage. Do you think that is big enough? I have 7 moths that I am waiting for. How many do you think I can house in an enclosure that size? And Steve, do you find the ratio of female to male mainly females? I am wondering if I will get a male, how can you tell the difference? Thanks, thanks, and thanks again lol