Growing hornworms...

[forum1983]

What does your setup look like for keeping them? My dragon LOVES hornworms.. He will flip out at the very sight of them. Can you take pictures of the dirt and container?

What do you plan to do with the moths when they come out of their cocoons?

All my pictures are posted above. When the moths come out of the cocoons they will be in the screened cage pictured at the top of this page. Add some sugar water and they'll be good to go.

 

[forum1983]

a few eggs...

How long after taking the cocoons out of the dirt and placing them in the light do they normally hatch. I've had mine out for 3-4 days now, but I put them in a plastic container and placed them in my beardie's viv on the cool side under the fluorescent light. They've been moving everyday a little bit, and today one of them was moving a lot and I thought it was going to hatch and then it hasn't moved the rest of the day. I picked them up, which usually got them to wiggle, but this time they didn't move. Did they die in the cocoon?

 

[Honda99300ex]

no need to dig them up, they wiggle to the surface on their own before emerging, thats kinda how you know they're going to emerge soon. it is very possible you did kill them I have noticed the cocoons turn to a darker brown when the moth is dying/dead.also, most likely if they do emerge, if you have them in a container where they have no where to climb up and inflate their wings, they will have deformed wings and can't fly, which means they can't eat and breed.

 

[Honda99300ex]

What does your setup look like for keeping them? My dragon LOVES hornworms.. He will flip out at the very sight of them. Can you take pictures of the dirt and container?

What do you plan to do with the moths when they come out of their cocoons?

All my pictures are posted above. When the moths come out of the cocoons they will be in the screened cage pictured at the top of this page. Add some sugar water and they'll be good to go.

I got pretty poor results with just sugar water my first time around. try to make the enclosure as natural as possible, the more natural the more happier the moths, and the more eggs...

 

[forum1983]

What does your setup look like for keeping them? My dragon LOVES hornworms.. He will flip out at the very sight of them. Can you take pictures of the dirt and container?

What do you plan to do with the moths when they come out of their cocoons?

All my pictures are posted above. When the moths come out of the cocoons they will be in the screened cage pictured at the top of this page. Add some sugar water and they'll be good to go.

I got pretty poor results with just sugar water my first time around. try to make the enclosure as natural as possible, the more natural the more happier the moths, and the more eggs...

So what, flowers then? I've read that you can use hummingbird food.

no need to dig them up, they wiggle to the surface on their own before emerging, thats kinda how you know they're going to emerge soon. it is very possible you did kill them I have noticed the cocoons turn to a darker brown when the moth is dying/dead.also, most likely if they do emerge, if you have them in a container where they have no where to climb up and inflate their wings, they will have deformed wings and can't fly, which means they can't eat and breed.

Thanks for the good info, but I thought you said that they need to be put on a 14 hour light cycle, if I leave them in the dirt to come out on their own won't they take like 5 months. Or at least that is what you said.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

This question may have already been asked in this thread and i'm sorry if I'm repeating but I ran out of Hornworm chow from mulberry farms and was wondering if there was anything I could mix up or anything they can eat that I can get my hands on locally? I have a good many left and I don't want them to die.. Thanks!

 

[Shoulon]

@-Slave2Scarlett, Give them lettuce. your main goal is to keep them hydrated. =)



So whats the shortest pupa to moth time span you've had?

 

[forum1983]

@-Slave2Scarlett, Give them lettuce. your main goal is to keep them hydrated. =)



So whats the shortest pupa to moth time span you've had?

This question may have already been asked in this thread and i'm sorry if I'm repeating but I ran out of Hornworm chow from mulberry farms and was wondering if there was anything I could mix up or anything they can eat that I can get my hands on locally? I have a good many left and I don't want them to die.. Thanks!

I've actually fed them lettuce and they started to look really bad and basically "diarrhea" everywhere. I'm not sure if it was what I fed them specifically or it was just coincidence, but I wouldn't try feeding them something like that again, nor would I recommend it to anyone else.

Here is a homemade recipe for hornworm food I found in a pdf document that gives credit to a user from this site, darla200010.

1 cup (100 g) of non-toasted wheat germ
1/3 cup (25 g) of non-fat dry milk
4 tablespoons of agar
1 teaspoon pure raw linseed oil (non-boiled)
1/2 tablespoon nutritional flake yeast
1 vitamin C tablet (1000 mg)
2 vitamin B tablets
2 multivitamin tablets
1 tablespoon of table sugar
2 1/2 cups water

1. Place vitamin tablets in blender and reduce to a powder. To this powder, add the wheat germ,
powdered milk, and sugar and blend until the dry components are well-mixed.
2. Remove the dry mix from the blender and add 2.5 cups of boiling water. While mixing at low
speed, add the agar. Be careful to replace the lid on the blender before turning it on. Blend for
one minute and then add the dry mix and continue to mix.
3. Add the linseed oil and increase blender speed. You may need to manually blend the diet
while the blender is running. The diet gets rather viscous at this point.
4. After blending for about 5 minutes, add the nutritional yeast flakes and continue blending for
another minute. Components in the yeast are heat labile, thus, yeast is added as late as possible.
5. Once the diet is thoroughly mixed, pour it into a plastic tray that has a sealable airtight lid. The
diet will solidify and remain usable for about 7 to 10 days if kept refrigerated.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Wow looks like my grocery list just got longer..lol Thanks so much!

 

[Honda99300ex]

That isn't a very good recipe at all!! that's if you can even find everything on the list lol. there is no mold inhibitor in it either, resulting in quick mold and death. I have been breeding them for a few months now, the easiest and cheapest way is ordering dry food from greatlakeshornworms.com it works amazing, and has all the correct vitamins and minerals, so overall healthier for your dragons...just my opinion

 

[forum1983]

That isn't a very good recipe at all!! that's if you can even find everything on the list lol. there is no mold inhibitor in it either, resulting in quick mold and death. I have been breeding them for a few months now, the easiest and cheapest way is ordering dry food from greatlakeshornworms.com it works amazing, and has all the correct vitamins and minerals, so overall healthier for your dragons...just my opinion

Not saying I've tried it, I just found it and thought I would share. I couldn't say if it is a good alternative or not. And I found all the things on the list except the oil, and so far it seems like it might be more expensive then just ordering dry food on the website and cooking it yourself.

 

[Honda99300ex]

ya, I was just trying to give you a heads up. I tried to make it, and lost lots of worms, and almost $50 lol

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

That isn't a very good recipe at all!! that's if you can even find everything on the list lol. there is no mold inhibitor in it either, resulting in quick mold and death. I have been breeding them for a few months now, the easiest and cheapest way is ordering dry food from greatlakeshornworms.com it works amazing, and has all the correct vitamins and minerals, so overall healthier for your dragons...just my opinion

Not saying I've tried it, I just found it and thought I would share. I couldn't say if it is a good alternative or not. And I found all the things on the list except the oil, and so far it seems like it might be more expensive then just ordering dry food on the website and cooking it yourself.

I was just looking for something fast and easy to feed them b/c I didn't have time to order anything else online and it be here before they died...

 

[brennann123]

very nice when you get eggs pm me i will buy some small baby worms for you and alot.

 

[Honda99300ex]

That isn't a very good recipe at all!! that's if you can even find everything on the list lol. there is no mold inhibitor in it either, resulting in quick mold and death. I have been breeding them for a few months now, the easiest and cheapest way is ordering dry food from greatlakeshornworms.com it works amazing, and has all the correct vitamins and minerals, so overall healthier for your dragons...just my opinion

Not saying I've tried it, I just found it and thought I would share. I couldn't say if it is a good alternative or not. And I found all the things on the list except the oil, and so far it seems like it might be more expensive then just ordering dry food on the website and cooking it yourself.

I was just looking for something fast and easy to feed them b/c I didn't have time to order anything else online and it be here before they died...

green peppers work also