Hornworms Turning Black

Hi,

I just got a shipment of Hornworms from my local pet store yesterday. We are in a remote northern location and so they order them from down south and are shipped via air with their other live feeders and fish. This is only the second time I have bought hornworms, and the first time that I have purchased them from this store.

When I opened the box I gave one to Blaze right away, but then I noticed that some of them are turning black, and it seems to be happening from the bottom of their bodies moving upwards. I have taken the ones that were really bad out and separated them from the others, but I'm not sure if this is a disease or something or if there is some other reason why they might look like that. There are at least ten like that out of the 50 in the box and they cost me almost $2.00 each, so if they are diseased I will see if I can get reimbursed, and most importantly I don't want to make Blaze sick. I won't give him those ones, but I'm concerned if it is disease the others may make him sick even if they don't show this black discoloration.

Any ideas what this is?

Thanks,
Crystal

Hi Crystal....when they turn black they are dying. It may have been too hot or too cold during shipment. Are the floppy as well, like they lose the solid feel of their body ? Sometimes they have trouble shedding, but it would only be a few, not a large group of them. You should try to get your money back. I wouldn't order from that store again....you'll get a much better deal + product if you order from Linda'sgonebuggy or Great Lakes hornworm. You can get about 30 + worms plus feed for about $30.00 or so shipped.

Hi AHBD. thanks for the reply. I ended up getting rid of the ones that had the black on them. They seemed fine other than the fact that they had this black discoloration, but I didn't want to take any chances.

I won't be buying them this way again for sure. I can't really buy them in the winter any other way because I would have to have them sent airport-to-airport and it would be too expensive. The previous purchase I made was direct from a supplier and was because I ran out of food completely (he'd been off his food and then suddenly became a pig), and I bought several thousand crickets and almost a thousand different worms to make it worth the shipping price. The money I saved by not purchasing from the store with the mark-up offset the high cost of shipping.

I do have another question though...

When he decided to start eating again after trying to brumate for a while (he was only about 9 months old), he had butterworms for the first time and went nuts for them. The first time I put one in, he started arm waving at it and after he ate it ran up on his log facing me and continued to arm wave. Very funny. When he would see me getting them out of his container he would run up and try to get to them through the sides of the container or grab them from me as I lifted them out. Anyway, they ran out and I also had to start rationing his crickets because they were running out and the pet store here only orders live feeders once/month and we were a few weeks out (I hadn't ordered the previous time because he wasn't eating ). By the time I caved and ordered my big shipment and had it air shipped, he was pretty much biting the tongs when I gave him his crickets. He was pretty hungry, but he did have access to plenty of veggies, just won't eat much of them.

When the order arrived he went nuts for the hornworms - his first time having them - but would still eat his butterworms as well. However, he started turning his nose up at the crickets (literally rolled his eyes) and would barely touch them. Then the hornworms ran out. Since then his appetite has been off, and I'm not sure why. I thought maybe he was spoiled by the hornworms, because of how he acted afterwards, but now I'm not so sure. He will eat his butterworms, but no longer gets excited over them. He will eat some crickets now, but maybe 9-10 per feeding, not near as many as before. For a while I was concerned he was not getting enough calcium because he wouldn't eat his crickets at all (dusted or not), and also would not eat the butterworms if dusted (he could tell. I tested by pulling one out that was not dusted after he refused the dusted one, and he immediately ate it. Also sometimes he would lick them to check). Not dusting the greens at this time because I really want him to start eating more of them, not just a couple of bites.

So he's not going nuts over these new hornworms. He's not interested in the big fat ones, which I have to cut in half because they are huge. The other time I had them he would eat them cut, and would be trying to eat them while I was trying to cut them. Now he doesn't want anything to do with those ones. Maybe too big? If I put a smaller one in and leave it he'll eventually eat it, but not right away like before. I've noticed this with the crickets too, he'll eat them eventually if I leave them long enough. Also, it appears he doesn't like wax worms. I bought 250 of them and he has eaten a few but doesn't really seem to like them. A bit odd?

Do their eating habits change this way as they mature, or should I be concerned that he may be sick? He doesn't seem sick, but I don't know...

I could see how that would be difficult deciding when + how much to order in your circumstances, and from where. As for his appetite, they can start getting fussy at that age....is he a big boy ? Do you know his weight + length or have a full body pic of him ? Sometimes they grow big very quickly and then the appetite takes a dive. Have you tried just leaving a large hornworm in his tank ? Maybe he'd go for one if it was left in there crawling around.

I'm not sure how long he is or how much he weighs. I think he is scared of the bigger hornworms. Left one in there today and he wanted nothing to do with it. I changed it out for a smaller one - will see when I get home if it's gone. Such a waste, because most are quite large and he also is not interested if I cut them. But he is still eating some crickets and butterworms. Now if I can only get him to eat his veggies. He's just like my thirteen-year old daughter!