Horn worms not moving a lot and kind of shriveled

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Staygold

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Since this isn't about raising or breeding the worms I figured it was a health topic and not a feeder topic.

If a hornworm isn't moving that much, and looks a little shrivelled. Does that mean it's going to die?
And if it is going to die will it make my bearded dragon sick if I feed it to her?
I don't want to waste the worm if I don't have to because they cost a dollar fifty each but it's more important to keep lady V Healthy and I would rather just throw them away if they could have any ill effect on her.
Same question for silkworms. If it is dying will it make her sick?

I actually recently had bought 10 silkworms and fed her a couple of them right away. And within the next few days 5 of them had died. I thought they were dying because I couldn't get any silkworm food when I bought the silkworms . But During this time her poop had turned runny and the first day it was runny it was really smelly, but only the first day was smelly,(btw I don't normally notice a smell with her poop because I clean it up as soon as I see it, but the day the poop was smelly I woke up late so it would have been in there longer, so I am not sure if it was smelly because it was in there longer and had time to smell up her cage or because it actually smelled worse than it normally does) since then her poop has returned to a formed shape rather than runny and flattened. By the way I think it was flattened because she walked over it.
Even though her poop has returned to normal, should she be taken to the vet because of those silkworms?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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I don't think the worms would cause any lasting health effects. Probably just an upset stomach which you may have seen the results of. Hornworms will usually remain brightly colored and have have fairly taut skin. They do go through shedding phases in which they'll turn a bit duller and shed off gray layers of skin - that's normal. If they start to look shriveled or discolored, and they are less active, then they are likely dying and should be discarded or at least not fed off until you've observed them further.

Silkworms are similar in that they are a white/gray when they are healthy and their skin appears fairly taut. When they start to look mushy or shriveled they should not be fed off. I've found that with silk worms, it's best to keep them in a container with fresh paper towel at the bottom every day. Remove dead worms when you see them, and grate some fresh food over them daily. I usually roll the food up in plastic wrap into a tube shape and freeze it which makes grating it easier. Picking out small pieces and placing them around the enclosure works too though. A secure lid with plenty of ventilation holes is helpful to protect them as well.
 

Staygold

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":2gnx3p00 said:
I don't think the worms would cause any lasting health effects. Probably just an upset stomach which you may have seen the results of. Hornworms will usually remain brightly colored and have have fairly taut skin. They do go through shedding phases in which they'll turn a bit duller and shed off gray layers of skin - that's normal. If they start to look shriveled or discolored, and they are less active, then they are likely dying and should be discarded or at least not fed off until you've observed them further.

Silkworms are similar in that they are a white/gray when they are healthy and their skin appears fairly taut. When they start to look mushy or shriveled they should not be fed off. I've found that with silk worms, it's best to keep them in a container with fresh paper towel at the bottom every day. Remove dead worms when you see them, and grate some fresh food over them daily. I usually roll the food up in plastic wrap into a tube shape and freeze it which makes grating it easier. Picking out small pieces and placing them around the enclosure works too though. A secure lid with plenty of ventilation holes is helpful to protect them as well.
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much for your reply.
 
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