Worms

[Dawniegirl]

Please, advise is much needed. I would love to try some worms for my Diego and will be leaving him to be cared for by another while on Vac. I think worms would be easier, for our sitter of our 4 legged family members, to fed him. Diego is going to be 6 months old by then & he is a panter chameleon. If I buy Silkworms (small/ med size) then about how many would be good for him to eat for the day? Are then better worms for him at his age? Also would 10 days of worms by too much for him? Should I have them mix some crickets in between? I don't want him to get to spoiled w/ the worms
Also do you refrigerated silkworms, or maybe all worms? The waxworms we bought I was told to keep in the refrig or they would turn into beetles!
It seem from other threads that a lot of cham owners are fond of the silkies & superworms, but I think he's still too young for the superworms. Plus it seems that superworms are treats but silkie can be more of a staple diet. Please correct me if any of that is wrong. TIA!!!!!
P.s. I already took a mental note from a previous thread that superworms nip... no thank you! If he gets them then tongs will be in order!!! Do silkworms nip?

 

[Dawniegirl]

So I just ordered some silkworms & silkworm food... hope it comes with directions

 

[EmanSami]

If I buy Silkworms (small/ med size) then about how many would be good for him to eat for the day? Are then better worms for him at his age? Also would 10 days of worms by too much for him? Should I have them mix some crickets in between? I don't want him to get to spoiled w/ the worms

I am guessing a six month panther is pretty big. A silkworm cup from Mulberry farms should have about 30ish worms or so. They need some time to eat the chow however if you want to get the most worm for your buck. You also have to deal with the frass(silkworm waste) and dump it out at some point so the silkies are free to eat. Do you have enough time to order/receive a cup and wait for them to grow? Silkworms might not grow as fast as you want. Keeping them close to 80 degrees or so may help with this.

Also do you refrigerated silkworms, or maybe all worms? The waxworms we bought I was told to keep in the refrig or they would turn into beetles!
It seem from other threads that a lot of cham owners are fond of the silkies & superworms, but I think he's still too young for the superworms. Plus it seems that superworms are treats but silkie can be more of a staple diet. Please correct me if any of that is wrong. TIA!!!!!
P.s. I already took a mental note from a previous thread that superworms nip... no thank you! If he gets them then tongs will be in order!!! Do silkworms nip?

My silkies are fine at room temp but I don't think you can refrigerate them or they might die! He is not too young for superworms. There are SUPER worms, then there are superworms. You can order them anywhere from micro sized(sooo tiny) up to full grown(really big). You can order small ones and gutload them but do not refrigerate them! Fridge is for mealworms, waxworms, butterworms etc. Hehe, the superworms won't nip when they are small/medium for sure. Don't worry!

 

[EmanSami]

So I just ordered some silkworms & silkworm food... hope it comes with directions

haha check the timestamp of our posts, you beat me to it.

 

[Dawniegirl]

haha check the timestamp of our posts, you beat me to it.

Funny, I did bet ya! Thanks for that info, when I get them I will now NOT refrigerated them but what is that waste thing? Can I leave them in the cup the come in? They would be for about 10-14 days in the cup depending on when I get the delivery. I ordered the ones that come in the cup w/ food. Plus ordered extra food because they said that the food will last 10 days... unless they meant the worms How long do the silkworms usually last? What I'm trying to do is set it up the easiest I can for another to care for him for about 10 days. I don't see them wanting to deal w/ cricket or worm waste. Also why I purchased got the mist king (missed, or mist- hehe, that no shipment charge by 1 day and 1 hour ) & am anxiously waiting it to come so they will not need to mist either!
p.s. Diego is about 6 inches long not including tail of course. How many would you think he might eat?

 

[EmanSami]

14 days?? crickets sound a easier to me. After a week the silkworm cup should be covered with a layer of frass. Maybe week 1 offer silkworms, then week 2 superworms since they always stay clean and only need room temp.

i dunno.

 

[Dawniegirl]

14 days?? crickets sound a easier to me. After a week the silkworm cup should be covered with a layer of frass. Maybe week 1 offer silkworms, then week 2 superworms since they always stay clean and only need room temp.

i dunno.

Ok I am lost what is "frass" & they get cover with it or you cover them with it.... I'm thinking your saying they will get cover with this
Superworms... maybe I could still add those to my order. What size of those would you recommend? Micro, small, med? I'm thinking small would work. the wax worms he ate were about 1 inch long. Thanks EmanSami!!!

 

[Eltortu]

Hey Dawniegirl, how long are you going to be gone for? If over two weeks silkies might bore your cham, he could go on a hunger strike. Other wise I guess 3-5 of them would be ok, 'till you come back. Is he a "hunter" and your cage is cricket proof -crickets can not scape-? Then, why not get some crickets too and let them loose or cup feed him. Waxworms turn to small hyper active moths! Anyway have fun!

 

[Dawniegirl]

Thanks for info! Yes, he is a hunter. I think I will have them rotate... one day Silkie and then crickets. He now LOVES when he gets a wax worm! I hope he will love the silkies just as much. Thanks again!!!

Hey Dawniegirl, how long are you going to be gone for? If over two weeks silkies might bore your cham, he could go on a hunger strike. Other wise I guess 3-5 of them would be ok, 'till you come back. Is he a "hunter" and your cage is cricket proof -crickets can not scape-? Then, why not get some crickets too and let them loose or cup feed him. Waxworms turn to small hyper active moths! Anyway have fun!

 

[carol5208]

your silkworm cup is going to have to be cleaned out continually also. they come in a cup that you turn upside down so the food is at the top and the idea is they are supposed to poop and it falls on the lid and then you remove the lid and shake the poop off...wrongo! What happens is they begin to spin silk(or something that is viney looking) and it all gets attached to the little trellis in the cup which inturn also catches all the poop! It gets nasty so whoever is watching your cham is gonna have to clean out that cup. You have to remove all the silkworms one by one and they will hang onto the frass and get all tangled up in it. The only good thing is they don't have to have their food prepared like the crickets. btw frass is insect excrement or debris.

 

[kongchi]

Silkworms will die if refrigerated. IMO crickets are the easiest to feed, if you don't want crickets, and you want something that could be refrigerated, try Butterworms that Gesang sells.

 

[Dawniegirl]

HELP needed for worm feeding amounts

New questions/ update: So I've just ordered more Silkies because they were delivered a week early & VERY large (mostly all about 2" w/ some smaller in there too... if I can get through that silk web there are weaving) when I ordered the small/ med.
I've re-order some more worms & they're are going to send me out the small size silkies... so 4-6 is good for a feeding???
Also ordered butterworms 12 count but no size was there to choose from (I know these ones have to be refrigerated ), but how many of these do you feed? Also are these a good staple or treat???
Last but not least Repiworms Medium size, how many of these would he need to be fed? Are these a staple???
Any other info you have would be kindly appreciated. I am very new at doing worms & don't know very much. I'm going to have his caretaker also give his crickets too dusted in the sticky tongue Miner-Al as well as the worms. Diego will be going on 6 months old & is about 6 inches long. My baby will be in the hands of another for about a week so I wanna have it down, Thanks again!!!!!

 

[Dawniegirl]

Butterworms (staple/ amount?) TIA

Didn't wanna start a new thread & new worm question so I'm going back to this thread. Butterworms are they good staple & about how many a day would be good to feed Diego? He is small at about 6", maybe even 5ish" (Not including tail) & 29 grams. TIA

 

[wendyeeeo]

I've tried all the worms - my chams LOVE the silkworms! They are super easy to raise from eggs and care for also!! I mix in some crickets as well, but the silkies are her favorite. So far those are the only insects she's interested in - but maybe mine is more picky than most.

 

[Dawniegirl]

I've tried all the worms - my chams LOVE the silkworms! They are super easy to raise from eggs and care for also!! I mix in some crickets as well, but the silkies are her favorite. So far those are the only insects she's interested in - but maybe mine is more picky than most.

Diego didn't dig the silkies, wait... or was that me . He is on the small side & calcium to phosphorous ratio not good (1:1, should be 2:1) . He has not been shooting his tongue & I hoping the butterworms might do the trick for him because he's not at all interested in crickets even if they are right in front of his face. I wondering if using the butterworms for a week as his staple could do harm or be maybe what he needs. He's current on an antibiotic shot every 3 days & liquid oral calcium daily .1mgl (mL). What do you think? TIA

 

[Eltortu]

Antibiotics? Does he have an infection? Butterworms are high in calcium, and have you tried superworms and waxworms? Try to get some flies also, their fast movement may enticed him to get them. Did he suddendly stop shooting his tonge?

 

[Dawniegirl]

Antibiotics? Does he have an infection? Butterworms are high in calcium, and have you tried superworms and waxworms? Try to get some flies also, their fast movement may enticed him to get them. Did he suddendly stop shooting his tonge?

Yeah he did, all of a sudden a couple days pasted & I realized he hadn't eaten his cricket (they were hiding in the plant). I then realized he could not shot his tongue so I made a vet appt. He has closed his eyes ever since I got him (about 3 months now) he closes his eyes during the day & his right eye was bulged when I got him & still seems to do that still occasionally but not always (mystery). So vet visit last friday he got put on the antibiotics for eye thing & calcium was due to blood test results. The link to post on this... https://www.chameleonforums.com/claforan-update-diegos-meds-53093/ . Do you think he will try to get flies w/ tongue issue? Vet said in about 2 weeks his tongue may be better. So far its only a little bit better & he still doesn't shoot it out. However they did say he will need to exercise it because it's a muscle & he will need to work it some to get back to normal. Maybe the flies might help with that as well. Today he didn't leave from where he was last night & I worried. I don't wanna force feed him & thought maybe the butters might help... maybe he's also tired of the crickets. What do you think? TIA

 

[Eltortu]

I would certainly try flies, or moths or even butterflies -the white ones- just to motivate him to eat, because I think he maybe tired of the same feeders. Whenever my reps go on a hunger strike, I like to get them something out of the ordinary...have you tried to give him a long warm shower?

 

[Eltortu]

What is TIA?...

 

[Dawniegirl]

What is TIA?...

TIA means Thanks In Advance. I tried a warm shower once awhile back.... He didn't try to drink and was stressed so I haven't tried it since. Something to keep in mind if I think he might be getting dehydrated though. I did try eye rinse drops and terramycin. I thought terramycin worked a bit but never resolved it. He eyes are clear and dry and always have been... Mystery. Today he's in a different spot then he feel asleep but dark I'll post his update in a few days... Hope I have some good to post. Thanks for your replies!