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Silkworms

I tried once, and about 75% of the worms died. None of my guys liekd em... ate like 2 a week or something like it. I found it to expensive too, but many people have had much sucess with silkies, but for me, I probably wouldn't go back.

Michael
 
About silkworms...

I have not personally tried to feed my geckos with silk worms, but i have heard from close friends that also raise geckos that they are very nutritional. The only thing is that they are kind of pricy compared to other worms.
 
My Gecko's didn't realy take to them much, but my Beardies loved them. they are very pricey though, and i found it hard to get my beardies to eat other foods after they ate the silk worms, so i stopped feeding them too them. they even quit eating they're veggies for a while, it was like all they wanted where the silk worms.
 
My leos love them! In fact, one of my girls is on a cricket and mealworm hiatus...but she'll eat silkies and watches me to hand feed her now. The spoiled rotten little brat! LOL!!
 
You need to order them in egg form and feed them yourself. It's a lot cheeper that way. You can buy a couple hundred eggs for 10 or 15 bucks, or find someone who will share with you. They're very easy to maintain and breed.
 
Sybella

Sybella,

You know where to find information about the mantein and breedin of the silkworms? And where you can buy the eggs?

Chrsitian
 
Bombyx Mori are very easy to rear. The caterpillars don't roam away from their food, the adult moths don't fly...all the difficulties have been bred out of them by years and years of domesticated/selective breeding. Regarding food, yes ALL they eat is Mulberry leaves but some will take to silkworm chow, which is a powdered form that looks like a block of green tofu once prepared.

I wrote a brief tutorial because a lot of people ask for help. Here you go. :)

Timelines:
egg gestation is 21 days
hatchling to cocoon - 25 to 28 days
cocoon to moth - about 21 days

You'll need a few rubbermaid sweater boxes (1 box per 50 cats), some paper lunch bags and you'll need to save your egg cartons. You'll also need to acquire some eggs or some caterpillars, and a source of Mulberry leaves, of course. During the winter months, you can use Silkworm Chow but I've found that it tends to mold quickly if I'm not careful.
Starting from eggs...Leave them at room temperature until they hatch, putting small clippings of leaves in with the eggs. The hatchling are very small and look like a 1/8th-1/4 inch piece of black thread. I like to start them in a small plastic container with a good fitting lid. Even though the silkworms are dumber than dirt and the instinct to wander has been bred out of them, I still worry that some will escape and die when they are that little. You'll have to gently move them onto fresh leaves every other day or so, but as the caterpillars grow, you will have to feed them several times a day! With each molting, they'll get lighter in color and a little stronger. It is safe to handle them once they're about a half in long. I grab them by the "lump" behind their heads...you'll see what I mean if you look closely at the caterpillar.
When the caterpillars are about 2 inches long and are in their 5th instar ("instar" is the jargon/term for the period between each molt) they will be ready to pupate soon. Watch them closely. The caterpillar will start to turn amber and will appear to shrink up and widen slightly. They will also release their bladder. This is how you know they will spin. Move theme to an egg crate, placed upside down so they don't climb out the holes immediately. It's good to put the upside down eggcrate inside another rubbermaid container too, so that they are contained if they climb out while looking for a good place to spin. Once they have spun the cocoon, you can pull them out and set them in another container, lined with paper napkins. You can leave them uncovered and they will eclose but not fly away. (The ability to fly has been bred out of them too.)
As long as you have several cocoons with moths emerging about the same time, it isn't important for you to be able to sex them. The males will flap around if a female is present...effectively giving themselves away! LOL! When you find two moths mated (stuck together by their rears), put them inside a paper lunch bag. If you are careful, you can grab them by their wings and pluck them off whatever they are standing on without dislodging them from mating. When you put them in the bag, fold the top over and give them some privacy. When they are done mating, they will seperate. At this point, you can pull the male out and put him back with the cocoons to put him back in the running for the next girl. ;)
The female will deposit approximately 200-250 eggs on the inside of the bag. Just leave her until she dies. Moths do not eat, drink or sleep. Their sole purpose is to mate and lay eggs. They only live a few days to a week anyway. The eggs start out yellow and as they firm up, they turn a rose color, then grey. When they are grey, you can put them in the refrigerator for up to a year, pulling them out to incubate whenever you need them. Just cut the paper around the eggs to pull out how ever many you want. Good luck! :)
 
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