Feeding kegos (silkworms that have just hatched)

[bluesoda025]

I've been reading some guides for raising silkworms on the internet and the best way to feed kegos seems to be to finely grate the chow over them, and then grate more the next day when they have eaten most of it up. I have been doing this.. and while it is working okay, I noticed that the chow dries out in about half a day, even though the humidity in the incubator is 84-85%, and so I have to grate the chow twice a day, and then there is a lot of excess chow from this. Can you have too much chow in there? They obviously aren't eating it all before I grate new chow again, because the old ones dry up so quick. Maybe I am grating too finely? Too much? I don't know. I am just worried if mold will be an issue here? But I touched the chow, and it is dry, so I don't think mold should grow. Who knows though, it's a warm and humid environment in the incubator afterall.. Any tips on this would be appreciated.

 

[hammerhead]

No, you're doing the right thing. What happens is the old chow dries up and forms a mat, that you just grate more chow on top. Try using a little less chow, just watch it doesn't get moldy.
The silkies will climb up onto the fresh chow and eat, just don't lay in on too thick. At this stage these guys want to eat every few hours. If they don't get food within 2 hours of hatching they will die. In a week or 2 these little critters will be 1/4 - 1/2 long and really eating alot. Watch humidity, if you have them covered never let condensation form on the inside or the lid. If it does, keep the cover open a little. Any bacteria that forms at this stage can wipe them all out. Be sure to wash everything before using ( I used rubbing alcohol) and always wash your hands and use paper towels, not a dish towel that may have germs. David

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[bluesoda025]

Okay, great, thanks. That looks like what I have going on in my setup. So how many times per day to feed them would be a good number? Right now, I only have time to do it twice a day, since I'm at work for half the day. Will they eat some of the chow even if it's been mostly dried out? I just don't want them to starve while I'm at work, if the chow dries up before I get home. :? But then, it looks like most if not all of them have survived so I guess my schedule works.
Hm, as far as the humidity goes, the incubator seems to be good at keeping it stable. It has a few holes at the top of the lid to let air circulate, so I haven't seen any condensation form.
I guess I need to be even more careful with washing my hands. I will use paper towels from now on instead of a towel.

 

[hammerhead]

They can't eat it once it's dried up. They can't even eat older mulberry leaves at this stage, as their jaws aren't strong enough, they can only eat the new growth leaves. I would just keep doing what you are doing, maybe a little more food before you go to sleep at night too. I can't tell you enough how important it is to keep things sterile that they get in contact with. I got a little lazy at one point in my silkies, and next thing I knew was 1/2 of them were dead. If you have acces to a mulberry tree it's well worth it to use leaves in the future, 'cause they will be eating alot of chow a month from now before they start cocooning.

 

[bluesoda025]

Hm, I see. I guess I will just try to feed them more often (and less at a time) when I am at home then. I have to say, they do grow fast. Only a few days ago, they looked like tiny black threads. Now you can actually see their legs and mouth and such.
When would be a good time to move them to a bigger set up, outside the incubator? I'm thinking of giving it a week, but perhaps they do grow out of it faster..

 

[hammerhead]

I never used an incubator. I put mine on top of my enclosure in a container. Yes, they grow super fast. Once mine were close to a half inch I moved them. What you do is cover them with a paper towel and turn them upside down, gently and put the towel in their next home. They climb back up to the top. Silkies are very fragile, shouldn't be dropped. Thats the easiet way to do it. Once they get 1/2 or more you can pick them up with your fingers or tweezers if you are careful.

 

[bluesoda025]

Hm.. well, they look like they are close to half an inch now, so I will move them to a sterlite tub tonight. So I guess when you transfer them to the bigger setup, you also transfer along the old dried out food and frass, etc.? Is there any way to clean out that old food, because it kind of piles up? I also do not want to disturb them too much, so I suppose leaving it for now is the best option.

 

[hammerhead]

You can probably start using thin strips of chow to feed them. I started with matchstick sizes and quickly cut bigger one as they grew. They don't dry up as fast, and putting them on the ouside of the frass will attract them to it. They smell it pretty quick once you put it in. Once they move you can start to remove the old frass. In a week you will be able to move them with your fingers or tweezers. Be careful not to throw any out in the old frass, some are hard to spot.

 

[bluesoda025]

Hm.. I found that after I put them in the bigger setup, because it's not in a humidity controlled environment, the chow dries up way too fast. The humidity is actually only around 25% in the sterlite because of the ceramic heat emitter that I'm using above it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be warm enough because our house gets cool when no one is home during the day. So what I did was put larger chunks for them, but that does waste a lot of food. :/ Also, they do not move very far to find food, so I just continue feeding most of them on top of the old dried food. Only a small portion of worms have actually moved off of the old food. But that is okay, because there isn't a chance of mold growing in such a dry environment. I suspect the food dries out in a couple of hours, which is a bit annoying. I actually want to kind of increase the humidity a bit, but not so much that mold would be a risk. Would putting a container of water nearby be helpful, I wonder, just to allow the chow to remain moist for a bit longer.
And just so I have an idea of how fast they should be growing, about how big are they usually after 2 weeks?

 

[Gail]

Do you keep their containers covered at all? I've always raised silkies in petri dishes and leave the lids on. Once they get bigger, they go into a square plastic container that either has a few holes drilled in the lid or is cover with plastic wrap.

 

[bluesoda025]

The thing is, I'm not sure if the ceramic heat emitter would be very effective if I put a lid over the top. Actually, maybe it will. I could try putting plastic wrap over it.

 

[bluesoda025]

Well, I have better luck with the second batch of silkworm chow that I made. It doesn't dry out like the first one did. I assume that was because with the first batch, I waited for it to cool a bit before putting it into the plastic storage container. By then, it had already solidified a bit and was kind of crumbly. With the second batch, I didn't wait as long before transferring it to the second container. It really made a difference, and I can actually slice the pieces properly now without them crumbling.

Anyways, the silkworms are still getting bigger, though maybe not as big as I would have expected them to be by now. I assume that was because of my crappy first batch of chow, and it drying out too quick. What is a good time to start feeding them to my dragon? The silkworms are exactly 2 weeks old and probably about an inch or a bit over an inch long. I read somewhere that they can actually get to be 4 inches long.. Is that true?! I just can't imagine them possibly growing so much bigger before cocooning. At about what age do they start cocooning?

 

[hammerhead]

Your silkies are 1/2 way there. At around 30 days they begin searching for a spot to cocoon. The first sign will be a discharge from the silkies. They throwup some green stuff to prepare.If you thought they were eating alot wait till next week, they want food all the time and double or triple in size. Another thing to note is their behavior. When they are with their heads up and not moving, they should be left alone. It's called "praying" , they are ready to molt. When their heads are up and swinging around they are looking for food.

 

[bluesoda025]

Ah, I see; so they aren't going to start cocooning or anything yet. That's a relief. So it's really during the 3rd and 4th week that they start growing super fast? I have also noticed that a few of them do this really quick swinging back and forth motion with their head repeatedly a few times. Is that the same meaning as moving their heads around when they're hungry or something else?

 

[hammerhead]

Have you seen this website? Not sure if I posted it to you. Good information for all stages of rearing with good pics. Worth reading. http://www.wormspit.com/bombyxsilkworms.htm