So, to share some of our "notes" for anyone else who wants to purchase hornworm eggs and hatch them... :study:
1./ if they are in a shoebox like some sites suggest,
they will escape and you will be doing cattle roundup for awhile!
2./ Rob at greatlakes is going to start offering the empty habitat cups with the mesh already stapled in it. We found our "solution" to be getting those empty cups, and mixing the food when the package arrived. That way you carefully place the eggs in the habitat after food sets up, and you just watch them hatch and peek at them for the first week! :mrgreen:
3./ They are SOOO tiny when the hatch. Their horns look huge compared to their size! but it's fun to watch them wiggle their way to the food.
4./ Try not to disturb the habitat for the first 5 days or so after setting it up. We had our best success this way, we propped it up for ventilation on a bookshelf (tilted on a CD case), which gave us a great viewing spot, but we didn't have to disturb them (and spill eggs!).
:arrow: 5./ Make sure you let the food setup properly! I accidentally mixed a small batch and tried to rush the process... not worth the effort, the food will fall and crush your little guys.
6./ Do NOT use Saran Wrap to cover a plastic shoebox. I used the new wrap that has the texture, what a nightmare. I lost 75% of the little guys, because they stuck and couldn't get off it.
7./ If you need to move the worms when they're tiny, you can GENTLY use their horn ... they hate to have the horn touched!
8./ If you need a partial batch of food, measure it in grams. Every distributor is different on their mixing instructions, so make sure you measure the whole original packet in grams, and divide as needed. I was off by 10 grams of water on a 1/8 batch and it was a gooey mess. I was in a rush and didn't check my math, won't make that mistake again.
9./ Once they are getting above the 2-inch size, watch for overcrowding. They will jockey for position on the mesh ladders, looks like they're ready to throw-down... but overcrowding of a cup will make them eat each other. We found 2 larger guys eating a little guy.
10./ Wanderers... when you hatch eggs, and have only 1-2 beardie mouths to feed, you may notice a worm or two "wandering" aimlessly round and round. This is apparently a sign that they are ready to pupate.
11./ If a hornworm gets "gooey" by getting poo'd on from his buddies, you can carefully wash them off, and pat them dry. Just use minimal water, and be ready to feed off right away.
12./ Yes, they DO bite when they get over 2-inches... I had a blonde-moment and got three in my hand for feeding, and two of them attacked and bit me. Glad the kids weren't home, I said a few inappropriate words! :shock:
13./ We split a "50 egg" order in two cups ... of course, remember there are overages when you order eggs! Be ready to split them up after about 7-10 days!
14./ Be ready to put the cups together ASAP after receiving the eggs -- they can hatch in normally 3-5 days, but we had one hatchling the night we received our eggs!!!
That's all I can think of now, I will update again if we get any new info! We're at 1 week hatchlings right now, and a few are growing faster than others. That's good, tho, as our others are almost all eaten, and li'l Miss Xena gets sassy if she doesn't get a green puffy marshmallow!!! (Spoiled rotten dragon). Not sure yet if we'll try getting moths / breeding ... it would be so much more affordable, but I read up on two college sites, and it's pretty intense on how to do it right... why do I have more feeder bins than beardie vivs?!?!? :!: