Sick from hornworms?

[KarenInCA]

I posted a thread in behavior, but that was because I thought he was shedding, and thus acting strange. But now Im thinking it was hornworms that made him sick and then changed his behavior.

I got 12 hornworms last weekend and their poop was blackish. Then the hornworm chow started smelling rancid, and after feeding them 6 of the 12, he stopped eating except for a hornworm or two, and about 5 dubia, for 3 days, then only 5 dubia and a huge diaharia (not poop and liquid but diaharia) and the whole time he was trying to find the cool side and hide.

Today he seemed better, and then ingested a large pebble while we were sitting outside (another story). I bathed him in pedialyte and also gave him some in a dropper.

But my question is, has anyone ever had a situation when the hornworm chow turned rancid smelling, and if your dragon seemed to get sick from it.

 

[diamc]

I've never had a beardie get sick from eating any horns but I have noticed that if you don't dump the horn worm waste out every day, it can cause moisture to form on the chow which can give off a nasty odor or even cause it to mold. So, you have to be sure to place the cups upside down and raise the cups at a slight incline to help the air circulate, I use a wooden spoon handle to be able to do that. Also faithfully dump the waste off daily and if you see any moisture on the sides of the cup which can occur in humid weather, use a paper towel to wipe it off. If the chow or the horn worms don't smell right, be careful not to feed them.

 

[KarenInCA]

Now you tell me.
J/K
Yeah, I didn't think about the smell really, because my daughter and I don't really like the normal smell of the chow, so I just dump the fras out daily, while holding it away from my body, on the lawn. The blackish fras balls made me think it was odd, but then I still didn't think much of it. It was when Rin started acting sickly that I took close notice to everything, including the smell, which became more and more rancid as the days went on.
I took back the last three, two of which did not grow at all in the entire week...probably because they never ate the chow at all. That's what makes me believe the chow was bad from day one of getting them.

 

[Sauzo]

That's weird. I never had problems with hornworms either but like diamc said, you need to dump the fras every day and make sure the container is propped and flipped over so the food is on top. As for the horrible smell, I again have never encountered that so it is possible that maybe you got a very old batch of food or something? And not having a hornworm grow in an entire week would throw a flag to me as when I get them and put them on top of my boa cage on the radiant heat panel, those hornworms triple their size in about 3 days or so.

 

[diamc]

It is possible that the chow was bad. A few years ago, I ordered horns from a company and most of the horns died quickly so I contacted them, turned out that they were having trouble with the chow and had to switch to a different supplier. So, it can happen. When the horns had arrived and there wasn't much waste in the cups during the 2 day trip here, I knew something wasn't right. If they aren't eating and passing much waste, something isn't right. Would be a good idea to contact the company as they would want to know.

How is your beardie doing now?

 

[KarenInCA]

It is possible that the chow was bad. A few years ago, I ordered horns from a company and most of the horns died quickly so I contacted them, turned out that they were having trouble with the chow and had to switch to a different supplier. So, it can happen. When the horns had arrived and there wasn't much waste in the cups during the 2 day trip here, I knew something wasn't right. If they aren't eating and passing much waste, something isn't right. Would be a good idea to contact the company as they would want to know.

How is your beardie doing now?

Thanks for asking here. Ive replied to your inquiry on the other forum so that you don't have to go back and forth. He's eating like nothing ever happened, once I stopped giving him those hornworms for 3 days, but now we have the stone to worry about. I asked on the other forum how much applesauce is a good amount. If you would, please answer on the other forum for Behavior and my post on Sick Beardie from Hornworms, so that the same issue isn't on both forums. As long as people with more experience see and answer to one of the forums, that's what I need.
Thanks for your help!